Note: This article is a summarised version of the video update for users who prefer a written form instead. Timestamps have been added onto the video for your convenience as well.
Introduction
Over the last few months, the team has gone deep into planning the overall game design. Our philosophy is to be confident in decisions we make about the game and that we could actually deliver them in a realistic time frame before sharing about them instead of promising a whole bunch of stuff and not being able to deliver.
Now that we have got to a point where our direction towards game design is looking good, we would like to share more about them to get the community’s input on our approach. This will the primary focus of our community update for the month of October.
Overview of Contents
- [01:34] Company Vision
- [02:32] Game Vision
- [05:42] Nanoforge System
- [07:41] Crafting System
- [08:52] Marketplace
- [09:51] Assembling a Drone
- [10:31] Drone Configurator
- [11:04] Piloting Drones
- [12:50] Retrieval Drones
- [13:35] Levelling Up
- [15:17] Token Offramp
- [16:28] Beta Launch and Public Launch
- [17:41] Conclusion
Company Vision
DEFY, the game, is a big part of our vision. It is the entirety of our current vision as we look towards creating a fun and rich gameplay experience. Our aim is to blur the boundaries between the physical and virtual worlds, and we think crypto is a cool way to do that — it allows us to do things that weren’t possible before. It might not necessarily be a big world changer right now, but we think it will be in the future, and we want to bring users on that journey.
The alpha phase of DEFY was a way for us to get a feel for the basics of Web3 and what we can do with a location-based gameplay, but there is so much more we want to do.
Game Vision
Part of our vision includes not being primarily focused on the play-to-earn aspect. While we still want our players to be able to earn, we do not necessarily think the way it currently works is ideal.
Having watched other play-to-earn and move-to-earn projects in the space closely, it appears majority follow a common trend — one that involves having players pay a high price for NFTs to start playing the game then having the ability to earn a large amount of crypto back from gameplay. While this encourages and quickly leads to an upward movement in player growth (as new players strive towards earning high rewards), it quickly becomes apparent (in our opinion) that the economics of such a system will not be sustainable long-term.
We have spent a lot of time getting comfortable with what a functioning economy in Web3 could look like and have come up with a whole bunch of gameplay mechanics. These mechanics, if viewed in isolation, may not be clear in how they fit within the economy. However, we believe if they were brought together with the right set of incentive structures, it could fare pretty well for in-game economies.
It is worth noting that building a game in Web3 is a lot harder than classic games due to the open economy nature where assets that players have the ability to own are susceptible to market conditions. Attempting to build a game that stabilises despite some of that stuff is difficult compared to building a Web2 game within a closed economy. We have come up with a game design that we think will be a lot more reliable in both earning and increasing in value over time as the game grows rather than decrease — which is what we have observed in other earn-projects.
The idea is to be able to earn through much more gameplay elements than what we have implemented presently. For example, we believe that creation and trading will be a better way of earning, more sustainable and scales much better, playing a big part in creating longevity than simply paying crypto out. We view the crypto token as the economic machine in Web3 and are trying to ensure our players have a positive long-term journey with us as the economics of the game plays out.
Nanoforge System
One of the systems we have come up with is the idea of a nanoforge system. This crafting mechanic will play an important role in the throughput of the economy.
Meant to be an advanced and futuristic version of stereolithography (the game is set in 2049 after all) which allows manufacturing of parts, the nanoforge is a 3D printer that players can use to combine blueprints and raw materials to forge parts for their drones and other gameplay items.
All players will get access to these 3D printers and utilising the nanoforge will come with an electricity cost to operate, while raw materials will be made available through the map-based gameplay. Each of these items will be NFTs and tradeable as well. Players can use the manufactured parts to assemble their drones or aid with other gameplay elements depending on the item type.
Crafting System
With the nanoforge comes a fully-fledged crafting system. We have designed it in a way where players will be able to pick up raw materials on the map through different activities. These raw materials, when combined with blueprints and the nanoforge, will then provide players the ability to build various parts themselves, which can then be used to enhance gameplay be it via building drone parts or other items.
We have a rough sketch of what the loot table could look like (refer to image above), with the different rarities and characteristics of the system. We are currently looking at how weight could play a role specifically for the crafting of drones, however the crafting system will be used for more than just drones parts.
Marketplace
While the parts made via crafting would be functional and could be used to play the game with, players can also opt to trade them.
A player who owns a nanoforge and can afford $DEFY to acquire the blueprint and raw materials to forge parts could sell the item (an NFT) on an in-game marketplace. In the shorter-term we will likely have the marketplace available initially as a separate web app that players can login to. Players will not only be able to buy/sell raw materials or drone parts in the marketplace, but also acquire entire drones.
Assembling a Drone
The ability to assemble your own drone is the pinnacle of crafting gameplay. Our idea is to equip players with a workshop / drone hangar where players can have a workbench to put the parts together for their drone. The drone configurator will help facilitate this process.
Drone Configurator
The plan is to provide players with a configurator where the user can pick a slot, select a category, and choose whatever parts available in their inventory to attach. If the player owns a bunch of different weapons, they will be able to select and switch between them. Once the drone is assembled it will be playable in-game.
Piloting Drones
What can players do with the drones they have assembled?
At the moment our current gameplay involves exploring about on foot, running around the map, and sometimes being hunted down by drones from Future Systems. Instead of having to head out on foot, we intend to equip players the ability to fly their own drones around the map as the foundation of the game.
While we are still a location-based game that taps on players actually moving about, we figured the moving aspect should be something that enhances gameplay rather than be a pre-requisite to it. This is one of the key changes we have decided on making to the game. Imagine lying in bed and sending your drone out instead to hack towers and collect wallets for you?
The ability to pilot drones also opens up new gameplay techniques such as sending a drone out in one direction while running off in a different direction to collect twice the number of wallets.
Retrieval Drones
One of the new elements to gameplay we will be introducing is the ability for all players to have their own basic retrieval drones for a start.
Essentially an entry-level drone that primarily allow players to send out to collect loot, these basic drones will not have any of the functionalities that crafted drones would carry and will instead be a standalone item similar to the current EMP weapon.
The basic drone would allow brand new players to participate in our location-based gameplay without having to head out on foot from day 1, thus removing a barrier of entry that may discourage new users from playing the game.
Levelling Up
The levelling system is a way for us to have players advance through the game by taking them on a journey through DEFY. As players level up, they can enhance their gameplay by expanding on it as well as get better by building on skills. We want players to be able to level up their Operative account and masks, with the latter carrying the main functionality.
With this we will also introduce a new gameplay mechanic surrounding storage capacity. All masks will have a certain amount of storage space which players can install software upgrades on. For example, in order to build a drone to be able to use a higher tier weapon on it, the accompanying mask will require a specific level upgrade. Levelling up will also give players more storage capacity, which allows for more capabilities from the mask as well as upgrading the capabilities, which will take more storage.
Token Offramp
The ability to pull $DEFY out of the game is one that has taken a while for us to get everything right in setting up.
The plan is to tie the levelling system to the ability to withdraw tokens, while allowing Alpha users to gain access with a much lower-level requirement. Meanwhile, eventual free-to-play users (post-public launch) will have a higher-level requirement to have the ability to withdraw tokens.
Beta Launch and Public Launch
We have two different launch targets that are being planned for while currently being in a heavy development phase.
The beta launch is one where we are currently building out all the foundations to gameplay in preparation for. This includes the first iteration of the nanoforge, crafting, and levelling system, as well as access to retrieval drones and ability to withdraw tokens off-game.
The public launch comes when we officially open the DEFY game on the app stores, and ideally have the drone configurator and marketplace ready for launch.
Conclusion
We hope you find the update both helpful and interesting when it comes to upcoming developments being worked on and the overall direction for our game design. The economic design layout with crafting and assembling parts into a functional drone, in particular, is one that we are keen to get your inputs on.
If you know of other projects that are building composable NFTs like we plan to, feel free to share about them with us as we are always keen to learn from others.
As always, our Discord server is open for you to share suggestions and feedback in the appropriate channels within.
About DEFY
DEFY is passionate about building the next generation tools and platforms that allow users to view and interact with NFTs and other digital collectibles in the real world. DEFY’s vision of the metaverse is one that involves merging the virtual and physical worlds in a compelling and inspiring way.
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