Just “Mining” My Business
A look into the design of the Bitizens’ core loop.
Greetings, Guildmates!
Jason here, the Product and Design Guy at the BitGuild Game Studio. Welcome to the next edition in our series of posts to keep you connected with the inner workings of the BitGuild game development team.
A couple of weeks ago I touched base on the creation of our digital realm with a kickoff on what our game is about. If you haven’t yet, you can read up on it here. Today, let’s take a look at how players will be acquiring the content for all of our new Bitizen buddies.
The Base of the Ecosystem
The economy of a crypto game, or nearly any online game for that matter, is the fuel that drives its players through its loops. This is why so many of us have found ourselves spending half the day farming some raid dungeon for that one little set piece that just might drop. As ridiculous as that was, as gamers, we knew it was totally worth it.
One of the beauties of working on the blockchain is that we get to use PLAT, and any crypto token is a form of hard currency that’s… well, real. Translating the reasons why anyone would sacrifice so much time and effort for that one small item into our game will be key. Luckily, buying and selling items is easy to understand.
In Bitizens, obtaining items will make up the core of this ecosystem while providing us with a very scalable framework for future updates, so the next thing to tackle is just how we get those items to you, the player, and your Bitizen that’s waitin’ on some new duds.
From Token to Bitizen
There are literally a hundred ways to execute an item distribution system, whether that be represented in-game via a traditional shop, an item requisition center, or delivered via unladen swallow. There was one way that stood out to us in particular though, based on the nature of the industry; in glorious crypto fashion, we’ve decided to build a mine.
What’s in the Box?
Any one of these boxes will be gifted to you for all of your mining efforts. All you have to do is start smashing on a digital block to start the mining process. After that you’ll get something in exchange for your efforts, ranging from common items, such as a nifty new pair of chinos, through to legendary rarity, which could be something as extravagant as golden armor. Simple and rewarding. There were a couple of specific goals in mind while conceiving this feature:
- The first was to ensure that we provided an easy and understandable way to receive more loot in the game. Our core gameplay loop needs to be streamlined, and easy to grasp. We want to break the barrier of entry to what can otherwise be a daunting gaming genre to undertake for new players.
- The second was to encourage a thriving trade economy. Because mining for content is unpredictable in nature, we will also be building a Marketplace to work alongside it. Our Marketplace system will give users the opportunity to drive supply and demand within the Bitizen ecosystem by buying and selling items that are gained through Mining. Since the Marketplace is the other crucial component in driving the economy for Bitizens, I’ll go into more detail on it in a later post.
Drill Bits
But what’s mining without a drill? I’d like to present, for your viewing pleasure, Dril’rBot 2000!
Williana, our Art Director, has been working on possible representations of the little robot helping you mine away for all the cool loot you can get in the game. I’m partial to the little guy on the right, but what are your thoughts? We’ll throw a poll up on Twitter so you can pick your favorite.
Having been gamers for the better part of our whole lives, our team is committed to delivering an experience, no matter how big or small, that reflects why we so passionately spent hours running Molten Core over and over again. In some games that can be very complex, but it need not be, and our goal is to take the best parts of it and deliver that to you.
While we’re thrilled to be showing you our work in progress on Bitizens, it’s important to remember that it is just that: A work in progress. Because part of our quest is to constantly improve and reiterate, features and content may change by the time we are ready to launch the game in full. We’re always happy to hear your thoughts and suggestions as they will help shape Bitizens into a game that you all want to play.
Now that you know what our Bitizens will look like and how they’ll be getting their prized boxes, next time: The fun stuff that awaits inside them.
— Jason Millena, Head of Product & Design at BitGuild
BitGuild’s mission is to revolutionize the global gaming industry by creating a platform for a brand new class of games that live on the blockchain. Blockchain games completely redefine the relationship between players and developers by facilitating full and true ownership of in-game assets, cheap & safe item trading, cross-game compatibility of items & currency, and more.
