Loom SDK Projects: Axie Infinity — Collect, Breed, and Battle Fantasy Pets on the Blockchain!

Axie Infinity — a game about collecting, raising and battling fantasy creatures on Ethereum will be supercharged by the Loom SDK.

Articles in this Loom SDK Projects series:

1. Pixie Shopping Street, a Clothing Design / Dress-Up Game & Marketplace
2. Neon District, a Blockchain-Based Cyberpunk RPG
3. Axie Infinity — Collect, Breed, and Battle Fantasy Pets on the Blockchain! (you are reading it!) 👈

Today, I am THRILLED to announce that Axie Infinity — a game that lets you battle (and breed) fantasy pets (called Axies) on the blockchain — will be using the Loom SDK to add advanced functionality to the game 🎉

So, if you’ve ever had a fantasy about throwing your Pit Bull in an octagon with your neighbor’s Chihuahua (who keeps peeing on your arugula patch) in an MMA death match — Axie Infinity is for you 😘

With Axie Infinity — you’ll be able to do that legally, with adorable fantasy pets that keep evolving.

Axie Infinity in 20 seconds

Axie Infinity is already using Ethereum to store Axies and will be using the Loom SDK to add advanced functionality to the game.

Since Loom DAppChains are built specifically to make large-scale games possible on the blockchain, Axie Infinity is a perfect addition to the stable.

If you are wondering…

Axie Infinity is a bit like CryptoKitties, but it takes it to the next level.

Unlike CryptoKitties — Axie Infinity lets you battle your pets and level them up.

Axie Infinity is a bit like CryptoKitties, but it takes it to the next level — with breedable fantasy pets you can send to battle!

If you’ve been too busy binge watching Netflix…

This is the third of a series of posts where we’ve been highlighting and giving you sneak peeks into some of the earliest projects that will be using the Loom SDK — which will be publicly released this month (June 2018).

By the way…

Earlier in this series, we covered Pixie Shopping Street — a clothing design and dress-up game (and marketplace) that’s exploring how the Loom SDK can be used to scale their current and future games using DAppChains.

Along with Pixie Shopping Street, we also covered Neon District — a hybrid card-based MMORPG (set in a futuristic, tech-noir world) that joined our SDK.

…and now we got ourselves an adorable game that lets you battle fantasy creatures on the blockchain like an off-duty zookeeper with an overactive imagination!

If that can’t get you hollering like a drunken sailor, I dunno what will! 🍻

Sooooo……

What is Axie Infinity? 🤔

Bunch of Axies — Chillin’….and waiting for their next battle.

Like I mentioned earlier — Axie Infinity is a decentralized game that lets you raise and battle adorable fantasy creatures known as Axies.

Besides collecting and raising, you can even make an ENTIRE TEAM of Axies to battle in the arena.

It’s like Gladiator, but a LOT less intense 😅

Oh — did I mention you can also buy, sell, and trade Axies with other players on the marketplace?

Yup!…because it uses Non-Fungible Tokens to keep track of your unique, never before seen (or repeated again) Axie 😉

…and like ALL fantasy creatures — Axies have their own distinct look and attributes.

So, let’s get to…

The Anatomy of An Axie

Much like your’s— your Axie’s DNA will never be repeated again, and each Axie will have its own distinct qualities.

If you’ve ever played Pokémon or Tamagotchi games — you’ll definitely find similarities with Axie Infinity.

Here’s the deal…

Axie parts are actually inspired by real-life creatures, mythical beasts, and even inanimate objects.

Plus, all Axies belong to one of 6 basic classes.

…and, as of today, only 6 classes are known: Beast, Plant, Bug, Bird, Reptile, Aquatic.

Think of Axie classes as different species with its own unique appearance and abilities

What’s even cooler is that each class has its own unique appearance and abilities.

By the way…if you find classes confusing — think of different classes of Axies as different species of Axies.

For example, while we can have many different species of birds (like herbivorous birds, water diving birds, etc.) — at the end of the day, they are all STILL birds.

Same goes for your Axies 😉

Got it? Cool.

Now, remember how I mentioned each Axie is made up with a bunch of separate parts? (like LEGOs)

Some of those parts are super common, some are quite difficult to find — and a couple of them can only be found in the pages of ancient folklore! 😲

So, how is a fella to know which parts are Common and which parts are Ultra Rare etc.? 🤔

Good question!

To make things easy and convenient, all Axie parts are divided into four categories of rarity:

1. Common: Common parts can be found everywhere. However, this does not mean they are useless. Some Common parts actually contain hidden, unexpected potential.
2. Rare: Rare parts are harder to find than Common parts, but much easier to find than Ultra Rare parts.
3. Ultra Rare: Ultra Rare parts are very difficult to find. But, if you do find any, you’ll be rewarded well in battle.
4. Legendary: I must not speak of these parts… for my own safety.

Each part used to make up Axies is divided into 4 categories of rarity — Common, Rare, Ultra Rare, and Legendary.

Ok, now that you know about all the different Axie parts, it’s time to master…

The Art of Raising (and Parenting) Axies 🤔

All this Axie business ain’t easy — because like it or not, you are now a parent.

Don’t worry, it’s a LOT less complicated than raising human babies — and there’s definitely no real poop to clean up 😉

Your Axies actually live in their own, virtual Terrarium.

Your Axies live in their own virtual Terrarium — and you’ll have to feed, clean and put them to sleep.

…and this Terrarium can have any of the following terrains: Grassland, Sea Shore, Highland, or Arctic.

Each type of terrain has the ability to power up certain types of Axie.

For example, the Sea Shore terrain can power up your Aquatic Axies.

Oh — Did I mention you can even decorate your Terrarium with special items?

Yup…with Axie Infinity, you can summon your inner Martha Stewart¹ and swag up that Terrarium of yours with all sorts of special ornaments!

…but, don’t get too carried away with your new interior design project — because you also have to:

1. Feed Your Axies
2. Clean Your Axies
3. Make Your Axies Go to Sleep (story time not required)

…and MY favorite part?

Through daily activities and battles with other Axies — your Axies gain experience and actually EVOLVE to superior levels.

Ain’t that cool?

The fact that you can SEE a direct relationship between the quality of care you give your Axies and how they evolve makes Axie Infinity SUPER FUN and ADDICTING.

…the other coolest part?

You can also BREED your Axies to create genetic variations.

Seriously.

You can BREED your Axies to create genetic variations that are even stronger

Since each individual Axie is born with variable genes, you can breed them together and pass their genes on to a new offspring.

…and since Axies must be in shape and have tip-top genes when they battle other Axies — creating genetic variations is going to come in real handy.

In this way, the Axie population will always be evolving, much like real animals in the wild.

Well, it’s more like selective breeding, but don’t tell anyone 😉

Look at you!— learning about secret gene editing techniques and assembling magical creatures like some clandestine back alley docta’!

Nice.

So…you picked a nice terrain for the Terrarium, and decorated it with all sorts of cool stuff.

Then, you fed your Axies a bunch of delicious snacks, cleaned them up, and made sure they got adequate sleep.

You even did some genetic engineering and have created a new Axie offspring to create the perfect specimen for battle.

Congratulations! 🤗

Now, it’s time for the most exciting part of Axie Infinity…

Time to Send Your Axies to Battle…and Start Whoopin’ A**

The TL;DR of Axie Battling is…

• Axies will be able to fight each other in animated 3 vs. 3 battles.
• Axies have body parts that correspond to different battle moves.
• EXP can be earned from battles that can be used either to breed or upgrade body parts.

So — each Axie has 4 stats specific to the Axie itself and 3 stats specific to its individual parts.

The 4 base stats are:

• Hit Points (HP)
• Speed
• Skill
• Morale

…and the base stats depend on the Axie’s body parts.

For example, take a look at Ginger’s body parts below to get an understanding of how Base Stats are constructed:

Base stats depend on each Axie’s body parts and their relative strengths

…and when they finally reach the battlefield…

Axies fight each other in 3 vs. 3 battles.

In other words…

Before each battle, you can arrange the formation of your Axies in a 3 x 3 battlefield, taking into account each Axie’s strengths and weaknesses.

Before battle, you can arrange your Axies in a 3 x 3 formation while taking into account their individual strengths and weaknesses.

For example, a player might choose to put the highest Hit Point (HP) Axie on the front lines where they can absorb damage for their more fragile teammates.

Victory depends on how well you use your Axies in a strategic manner — while carefully paying attention to the strengths and weaknesses of every Axie on the battlefield.

The magnitude of damage is based on the attack type and the distance from which the attack was initiated.

Some moves can affect adjacent allies and have less to do with the distance from which that attack was initiated.

So, it really depends on the type of move and how you plan to use it…

Since attacks and the strengths and weaknesses of ALL the Axies (including your opponent’s) on the battlefield VARY — it is important that you strategically place your Axies in optimal positions to ensure a victorious round.

That’s the gist of how the gameplay feels like.

Now, if you are a clever cookie with a healthy dose of skepticism…you are thinking…

Why Does Axie Infinity Need Loom SDK — Huh? 🤔

It’s a great question.

Here are some of the most obvious reasons:

• Native Non-Fungible Token Support: Axie Infinity uses Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) at its core for all Axies and Axie collectibles—and since the Loom SDK supports NFTs natively, it makes perfect sense.
• Cheap and Fast: Loom DAppchains support NFT transactions at lightning speeds without charging per transaction. This allows Axies to unlock capabilities for more interactive and immersive gameplay — particularly engaging in advanced battles.
• Unparalleled Security: Loom’s Plasma Cash implementation secures Axie Infinity’s game assets on Ethereum’s mainnet. Plasma Cash also secures any game asset trades as if it’s on the Ethereum mainnet, but with less fees per transaction. This allows things like trading Axie items between players, PvP battle arenas, PvE story mode, mini-games etc.
• Proof of Play: DAppChains are full-featured blockchains at their core and use Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS), so all wins, losses, and Axie attributes are stored on the DAppChain without costing Ether (i.e. cash money bling bling).

Not too shabby, huh? — If anything, Axie Infinity fits into Loom like a glove.

Of course, when the average (non-technical) user plays a game like Axie Infinity in the future — they’ll have NO CLUE about all this technical mumbo jumbo.

That’s the beauty of it.

These “behind the scenes” sneak peeks are meant to give YOU an “under the hood” perspective into the underlying technology that will drive the future of blockchain games.

…and what exactly is that underlying technology?

Well, at its core — it’s Loom SDK, which makes it stupid simple for any developer to easily build and deploy fully-scalable, decentralized apps on Ethereum.

The best news? The Loom SDK will be released publicly THIS MONTH (June 2018) 😉

So, what are you waiting for? Go tell your grandma about it.

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