Phantom Galaxies Integrates Chainlink VRF To Help Power Fair Planet Generation
We’re excited to announce that Phantom Galaxies — our fast-paced open-world mech shooter ARPG — has integrated Chainlink Verifiable Random Function (VRF) on Polygon mainnet. By integrating the industry-leading decentralized oracle network, we now have access to a tamper-proof and auditable source of randomness needed to help randomize Planet traits upon minting. Ultimately this creates a more exciting and transparent user experience, as users have verifiable assurances that the randomness underpinning Planet trait generation is provably fair and tamper-proof.
Phantom Galaxies is an epic, sprawling sci-fi experience which hurls players into exhilarating interstellar combat, switching between third-person mecha shooting and starship showdowns with the press of a button — as well as marrying traditional gaming with blockchain innovation, allowing players to exercise governance and have true ownership and control of their in-game assets — such as mechs, avatars, game currency, and of course Planets themselves — thanks to the use of fungible tokens (FTs) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
In order to provide users with verifiable assurances that Planet trait generation is provably fair, we needed access to a secure random number generator (RNG) that any user could independently audit. However, RNG solutions for smart contracts require several security considerations to prevent manipulation and ensure system integrity. For instance, RNG solutions derived from blockchain data like block hashes can be exploited by miners/validators, while off-chain RNG solutions derived from off-chain APIs are opaque and don’t provide users with definitive proof about the integrity of the process.
After reviewing various solutions, we selected Chainlink VRF because it’s based on cutting-edge academic research, supported by a time-tested oracle network, and secured through the generation and on-chain verification of cryptographic proofs that prove the integrity of each random number supplied to smart contracts.
Chainlink VRF works by combining block data that is still unknown when the request is made with the oracle node’s pre-committed private key to generate both a random number and a cryptographic proof. The Phantom Galaxies smart contract will only accept the random number input if it has a valid cryptographic proof, and the cryptographic proof can only be generated if the VRF process is tamper-proof. This provides our users with automated and verifiable assurances directly on-chain that the randomness of Planet trait generation is provably fair and was not tampered with by the oracle, outside entities, or the Blowfish Studios team.
“Chainlink VRF, a staple of the Web3 gaming space, provides Phantom Galaxies players with cryptographic assurances that the generation of Planet traits cannot be tampered with by any party,” said Ben Lee, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Blowfish Studios. “This is a powerful feature and a core part of what makes Web3 gaming so exciting.”
About Chainlink
Chainlink is the industry-standard Web3 services platform that has enabled trillions of dollars in transaction volume across DeFi, insurance, gaming, NFTs, and other major industries. As the leading decentralized oracle network, Chainlink enables developers to build feature-rich Web3 applications with seamless access to real-world data and off-chain computation across any blockchain and provides global enterprises with a universal gateway to all blockchains.
Learn more about Chainlink by visiting chain.link or reading the developer documentation at docs.chain.link. To discuss an integration, reach out to an expert.
About Phantom Galaxies
Blowfish Studios, a subsidiary of Animoca Brands, is an award-winning Sydney-based developer and publisher of high-quality multi-platform games, including Winter Ember, Blackwind, Siegecraft, Morphite, Projection: First Light, and Storm Boy. It is currently developing Phantom Galaxies, MotoGP™ Ignition, and Shadowman®: Darque Legacy. For more information visit www.blowfishstudios.com and follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
