Original author: Heimi@Bai Ze Research Institute
Some early Web 3 games (GameFi) were widely criticized for their speculative nature, "the games are not fun to play because they are too focused on profit", and some games are similar to Ponzi schemes, and their revenue depends on attracting new players to buy NFTs or tokens. The failure of these early Web 3 games sounded the alarm for developers who are eager for quick success and emphasized the importance of building a "good gameplay + sustainable incentive" model. With the arrival of the crypto market winter, the Web 3 game track has entered a deep bear state, which is intuitively reflected in the short life cycle of the project and the rapid loss of users.
At the recently concluded Japan Blockchain Week, the game-focused public chain Oasys injected new vitality into the Web 3 game track. At the "Oasys Special Event", Oasys announced its partnerships with many gaming giants and gave us a glimpse of the games being developed on the network. Com 2 uS announced that it would bring its 3A blockchain game "Summoners War: Chronicles" to Oasys, and SEGA and Ubisoft are developing their first blockchain games based on Oasys. SEGA will work with blockchain game developer Double Jump Tokyo to develop the card strategy game "Sangokushi Taisen" using its classic IP, while Ubisoft's first blockchain game is "Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles".
In fact, in the current situation of the crypto market downturn, regulatory resistance and the withdrawal of several Web 2 companies, Sega and Ubisoft developed the first blockchain game through the Oasys network, marking that the two traditional game giants have fully entered the Web 3 field after several years of testing and "fumbling" with Web 3. And their adoption is also a huge driving force for Web 3 and the best proof that Web 3 games will continue to exist.
Ubisoft: Failed to sell NFT, but finally entered the blockchain game
Ubisoft, needless to say, is a well-known video game publisher headquartered in France. It has developed many popular games: "Far Cry" series, "Assassin's Creed" series, "Ghost Recon" series, "Rainbow Six: Siege", "Watch Dogs" series and "Call of Duty" series.
In pursuit of innovation, Ubisoft took a bold step and ventured into the Web 3 field in 2021, when NFT was the hottest, to conduct "experiments" - introducing virtual items in the form of NFTs based on the Tezos network for the PC version of "Ghost Recon: Breakpoint". However, the results did not meet expectations, with only 15 virtual items claimed and the total transaction volume on the NFT market less than $400.
Not only did Ubisoft's "experiment" not attract much attention from gamers, but even NFT enthusiasts seemed to have little interest in it.
On the gamer side, almost no one cares about NFTs. On the Ghost Recon Breakpoint forum on Reddit, most gamers are resistant to NFTs, so only a small number of players are interested in obtaining them. But two of the three NFTs require players to "burn out" 100 hours and 600 hours of game time, respectively, and apparently, at the end of the event, these two NFTs were not even available to many people.
On the NFT enthusiast side, there is a simple reason for their lack of interest. Why would we be interested in a virtual helmet that requires 600 hours of play time to claim when we can find an unlimited amount of investment opportunities throughout the crypto market? Isn’t it better to have “monkeys” with memetic attributes and rich use cases than this helmet?
Ubisoft did not back down in the face of this failure. They continued to delve into the Web 3 field by investing in blockchain game development company Animoca Brands and blockchain game project Frontier. They also issued a number of NFTs again, covering Ubisoft's classic IPs "Rabbit" and "Assassin's Creed".
Back to Ubisoft's recently announced blockchain game "Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles", which is a tactical RPG game based on the Oasys network for PC players. From the introduction, Ubisoft calls the game an "experiment" rather than a "blockchain game", which may be a manifestation of "survival desire" (so as not to scare away traditional game players). Detailed game information, release time and NFT information have not yet been announced, but there is a cool trailer and polarized comment area worth watching. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKPixIolnYwfeature=youtu.be)
What’s most interesting is that there may be an airdrop for OG when the game launches.
And, the smartest VCs in the industry are paying attention.
As a gaming giant, it is not difficult to guess that Ubisoft’s ambition is to develop Web 3 games. This is reflected in its 2021 report “Vision for Blockchain”:
“Blockchain technology is a means to return games to the community, so that the time players spend, the items they buy = their contribution to the game = value. Our position is that taking a smart approach to integrating blockchain into games can achieve a fairer and more player-centric path.”
But whether "Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles" can truly realize their vision can only be found after the game is released.
Sega: New wine in old bottles, revitalizing IP
SEGA is a Japanese-based game development company that is a force to be reckoned with in the gaming industry, with hit franchises including Sonic the Hedgehog (over 1.5 billion copies sold worldwide), Yakuza, Phantasy Star, and Virtua Fighter.
Like Ubisoft, Sega is no stranger to Web 3.
As early as the beginning of 2022, SEGA registered a trademark for "SEGA NFT", indicating that their intentions for NFT and blockchain technology have been around for more than a year. At the game exhibition Game.com 2022 in the same year, SEGA once again expressed its interest in blockchain.
In May of this year, Sega launched its first NFT through Oasy, an NFT marketplace on the Oasys network, themed on its classic IP Virtua Fighter.
As Sega's first blockchain game, Three Kingdoms Wars is not a new IP, but a Web 3 remake of a Web 2 IP. The game is very popular in the gaming community, especially in Japan.
As card strategy games like Gods Unchained become more and more popular in the crypto industry, Three Kingdoms Wars (Web 3 Remake), which has the same high quality and gameplay, will open up a new fan base for this old IP.
According to the existing information, "Three Kingdoms War" (Web 3 Remake) is a card strategy game built on the Oasys network, with two-player battles and novel game design (building a deck within 3 minutes and completing automatic battles). The official trailer shows that the game has beautiful graphics. The game will be launched in late 2023 and will be available only on PC, with languages such as Japanese and English (Chinese and Korean will be added in 2024).
Oasys: A gaming-specific chain jointly created by giants, a hurricane that cannot be ignored
Sega's "Three Kingdoms Wars" will be authorized to be developed by the blockchain game development company Double Jump Tokyo. For those who don't know, one of Double Jump Tokyo's businesses is to provide blockchain game development services to traditional game companies. It has cooperated with many game giants including Sega, Square Enix, and Bandai Namco.
Double Jump Tokyo has developed several blockchain games, the most famous of which are My Crypto Heroes and My Crypto Saga. In 2018, My Crypto Heroes was launched on Ethereum, which attracted a large number of players in a short period of time, but Ethereum's poor user experience limited the entry of new users. Therefore, Double Jump Tokyo turned to develop a public chain dedicated to games, aiming to improve the game experience of players, which is Oasys.
The popularity of NFTs reached its peak in 2021, which was also the beginning of the focus of gaming giants on the Web 3 field. Although hundreds of blockchain games have been launched in the past few years, the gaming experience of players has not been fully optimized. Problems related to high gas fees, slow operation, difficulty for new users, and development-side risks have always existed. Therefore, we can also see that after Oasys was separated from Double Jump Tokyo, the new team came from top game developers and Web 3 companies:
Gabby Dizon: Co-founder of the blockchain gaming union YGG.
Hajime Nakatani: President and CEO of Bandai Namco.
Hironobu Ueno: CEO of Double Jump Tokyo.
Hironao Kunimitsu: Founder of Gumi and CEO of Thirdverse.
Shuji Utsumi: Executive Vice President of SEGA.
Whether it is Com2uS, Sega or the world's most well-known gaming giant Ubisoft, it is not surprising that they adopt the Oasys network. After all, they are also the initial validators of the network.
Compared with the superficial efforts of most other public chains dedicated to games, Oasys has taken an alternative path. Through the modular structure of "public L 1 + dedicated L 2", it uses its own new methods to improve the player experience.
Users do not need to pay Gas fees
In theory, Oasys does not require users to pay for gas fees, which will be borne by the Verse layer (described later). Therefore, end users do not need to prepare initial costs such as gas fees in order to play games. Currently, many blockchain games require initial costs such as gas fees, which is the main barrier for ordinary users/Web 2 players to enter.
Fast operation speed
On many existing blockchain networks, a transaction usually takes several seconds to tens of seconds. This time lag is likely to cause great pressure for Web 2 game players. To this end, Oasys aims to provide a level of response comparable to Web 2 so that ordinary users/Web 2 players can have a smooth gaming experience.
Avoid developer risks
Oasys eliminates the risks that traditional game companies with IP worry about.
There are significant barriers to entry into the current NFT and blockchain gaming space for companies and developers with existing IP, including reputational risk (negative reputation, rumors, etc.), IP protection, etc. This is due to the open, permissionless nature of blockchain. Since blockchain is permissionless, the current situation is that Web 3, while attractive, also has many fraudulent products.
Oasys overcomes the above obstacles and allows companies that already own IP to securely enter the Web 3 space.
To achieve the above three characteristics, we have to mention the Oasys network mechanism. The Oasys network has three layers, and each layer plays an important role.
dApp Layer
Application layer: the layer where users use dApps.
Verse Layer
The Verse layer is the layer where developers build dApps (games, etc.). Each dApp can customize its own dedicated L 2 (Opsitimic rollup) or choose to use an existing L 2, thus avoiding the management of L 2.
The biggest difference between the Oasys chain's Optimistic-rollup and Ethereum's Optimistic-rollup is that it does not require a challenge period (time window), but is verified by the verifiers designated by each L 2. This design has both advantages and disadvantages. Although it gives up a certain degree of time to prevent verification errors, each Oasys L 2 can achieve finalization as soon as possible, which is the most critical ability that chain games should have.
Any developer who stakes 1 million OAS (Oasys’ native token) can quickly customize an L 2 to meet their specific needs, and can set various parameters, such as creating an L 2 for different categories of games, an L 2 focused on NFT projects, and an L 2 focused on DeFi. The above-mentioned “users do not need to pay for Gas fees” depends on this, and developers can choose to bear the Gas fees themselves when setting parameters.
As a result, developers have their own dedicated L 2 in which they can develop games and issue their own FT/NFTs:
Bearing Gas Fees — Optimizing Player Experience
Eliminate fake projects - avoid developer risks
Only build a limited number of dApps — make them run faster
It is worth noting that the current Verse layer has centralization risks. If the developer has problems, the reputation is threatened, or the L2 is no longer operational, then users will suffer losses.
Hub Layer
The Hub layer is Oasys’ L1, which is compatible with EVM and its basic purpose is to securely exchange and store data with a high degree of stability.
The Hub layer does not execute or process detailed transactions like the Verse layer. Instead, the Hub layer handles transactions and data management related to the entire Oasys ecosystem, including:
Record and manage Verse layer Rollup data
Managing FT/NFT
Managing cross-chain bridges
The Verse layer (all L 2) is built on top of the Hub layer, so even if every L 2 is down, developers can still access data from the Hub layer.
The Hub layer uses the Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus algorithm, and anyone who stakes 10 million OAS can become a validator.
In terms of blockchain game development, Oasys provides developers with a high degree of freedom through three novel token standards.
Custom Tokens (vFT/vNFT)
Each developer can issue vFT/vNFT in their own L 2. This token standard has the characteristic that it can only be used in a specific L 2. Therefore, it cannot cross chains and cannot be used in other L 2.
The use cases behind it can be in-game currency (vFT) and IP (vNFT). As in-game currency, vFT cannot be exchanged back to legal tender and can only be used in the game. vNFT can protect the IP of NFT, such as preventing NFT from being used for unintended purposes and preventing counterfeiting. For example, a developer can create an NFT that can only be used in its own L 2.
Highly interoperable tokens (oFT/oNFT)
oFT/oNFT are tokens created on the Hub layer, which can be used in the entire Oasys ecosystem (Verse layer and Hub layer) and cross-chain to other chains (such as Ethereum).
This gives the game developer a lot of flexibility. By utilizing both oFT/oNFT and vFT/vNFT, the developer can open only some in-game tokens to user groups outside of its own L 2, such as character NFTs in the game as vNFTs and land or items as oNFTs.
External Tokens (exFT/exNFT)
exFT/exNFT are tokens minted on networks outside of Oasys, which can be cross-chained to the Oasys ecosystem (Hub layer and Verse layer) through cross-chain bridges.
Oasys' Verse layer currently has 5 L 2 s, each of which is like an all-encompassing small game ecosystem:
MCH Verse: Originally established by Double Jump Tokyo for My Crypto Heroes, other games have since been added, including My Crypto Legends, Prompt Monsters, Loot By Rogue, Remonster, Chian Colosseum Phoenix, and Harbor Bcg.
TCG Verse: L 2 dedicated to card games, there are currently 8 card strategy games online, including "NFTWars", "Climate Guardians Clicker", "CryptoSpells", "The Nemots", "OasChoice", "KyrieTerra", "Eveden: Next Level Card Game" and "Lootadog".
Home Verse: Developed and operated by Double Jump Tokyo, all categories of games can be selected to be launched on this L 2. Currently, there are 8 games online, including "DimeTime", "Defend the kingdoms", "Alkenome Monsters", "Sheepfarm in Meta-land", "Yomi Gradens", "9 Lives Arena", "Brave Frontier Heroes" and "Dark Throne".
Chain Verse: Developed and operated by ChainGardians (a DAO-driven game asset issuance platform), it accepts all independent games. Currently, there are 3 games online, "ChainArena", "Voxel Worlds" and "Race 4 Sky".
Saakuru Verse: Developed and operated by AAG (a Web 3 infrastructure company), all categories of dApps can be launched on this L 2. Currently, only 2 small games are launched, "GOGA" and "TomoOne".
Conclusion
As stated in the white paper, Oasys emphasizes the importance of user trust in L 2 builders, so at this stage we can call Oasys a Web 2.5 blockchain because it compromises on the decentralization of the Verse layer. But according to the roadmap, Oasys' vision is to eventually become a DAO and achieve community-driven on-chain governance.
In addition, since the launch of a game requires the permission of the validator of the L 2 where it is located, we can expect the early development of the Oasys ecosystem to be slower than other new public chains, just as the early development of the Optimism ecosystem was slower than Arbitrum. Therefore, whether Oasys can succeed in the short term will depend on whether it can continue to introduce the core IP of gaming giants to attract more Web 3 developers and users.
However, as things stand, Oasys is like a nascent hurricane sweeping the Web 3 gaming world. Since its launch on the mainnet in October 2022, Oasys has launched 28 blockchain games and established partnerships with many gaming giants, including Ubisoft and Sega’s blockchain game debuts. With more partnerships established and roadmaps developed, Oasys is worth watching in the long term.
Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal once said, "Web 3 games are one of the biggest drivers of mass adoption of cryptocurrencies. In the next 6-18 months, some top games will be released in Web 3. Last year alone, Web 3 games raised more than $2 billion in funding."
Bidding farewell to the barbaric development, will the entry of these "regular forces" mark the beginning of the second half of the Web 3 game? Let us wait and see.
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