Influence, MMO Space Strategy built on the Blockchain
Unstoppable Games today announced the winners of its $20K community grants awarded for user-generated content for its yet-to-be-released space strategy MMO, Influence, a game built on the blockchain. This grant further enhances the company’s mission to bring players true ownership and governance over Influence, where gameplay and fun are paramount. The grants were awarded to six parties who created or proposed applications that add value and entertainment to the game’s ecosystem, including data analysis tools, a one-stop shop for alliances and guilds, and tools for viewing and ranking assets. Exploitation, the first big release of Influence’s economy, where players can begin exploiting the asteroids they’ve acquired development rights to, will debut in 2022.
“We understand the healthy skepticism around blockchain games and therefore are extremely transparent about our business model, how Influence works, and how we are rewarding our community,” said Chris Lexmond, CEO of Unstoppable Games. “Even before launch we have amassed an avid community who has put their trust in us and we will continue to work directly with them to deliver an amazing gaming experience that they can govern and grow.”
As avid Eve Online players, the developers of Influence definitely take inspiration from the popular space-based, persistent world MMORPG. Influence is truly decentralized, with its mechanics and data on the blockchain.
Players make tactical decisions around mining, building, and refining materials on a limited set of 250,000 asteroids, each with its unique combination of resources.
Each asteroid is a player-ownable NTF and acts as the land in the game.
In solo or collaborative modes, players are challenged to build infrastructure, discover technologies, craft buildings and ships to facilitate trade, engage in combat, and expand their influence across the asteroid belt.
Asteroid owners will be able to realize the fruits of their labor through features like selling and trading the unique materials and products they mine and produce on an open market platform through the in-game utility token SWAY as currency.
It is also a peer-to-peer economy, i.e. marketplaces are owned and operated by players.
There are no NPCs in the game, which means players are the only source of in-game materials. You need to engage or barter with other real people for resources to grow.
While based in a science-fiction world, realism is a priority in Influence and the developers have ensured that travel, resources, manufacturing, research, skill, and combat mechanics all make sense in relation to each other. For example, each asteroid (player’s base) orbits in real-time, affecting travel strategy (each completes an orbit around Adalia in the range of 10-120 real-world days). There are also Keplerian elements for orbital mechanics and planning for travel in four dimensions. Additionally, the game features realistic flight and fuel calculations that include the mass of the ships and the orbital mechanics of the asteroids.
The Influence team is also highly engaged with its community via AMAs and its Discord, where they have hosted conversations and events on space and science with developers, engineers, and scientists, including those from NASA. Championed by its community, Unstoppable has 100% funded Influence via player blockchain purchases held during two-game sales of asteroids. In its community of several thousand simultaneous users, the pre-launch game sales had a 50% participation rate and 50% of the asteroid buyers used blockchain for the first time when they purchased in Influence.
