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The Gala Games Node Ecosystem

The Gala Games Node Ecosystem

by | Nov 25, 2020 | Gala Games

Note: As the Gala Games ecosystem advances, some of the ideas which had initially been planned have been found to be not in alignment with the long-term goals of the ecosystem as a whole.

From the time that the first hunter-gatherers played the first games with rocks and sticks, game ownership has been important. Even in the earliest days of digital gaming, the game you played was YOURS. All OLD-school gamers remember the sound of blowing the dust out of a Nintendo cartridge to get ready to play their favorite game or the pride you took in lining up your PlayStation games on a shelf in your bedroom.

Game companies used to produce things that you could buy, keep and could use whenever and however YOU wanted. There was a sense of pride of ownership in what you could hold in your hands. Fewer and fewer of the 2.65 billion gamers worldwide knows what it means to OWN your game, fully and completely. However, after those golden years of owning physical copies of your games, innovation and growth, gaming took a turn. As consumers got used to digital platforms, suddenly they found that they were playing more and owning less.

This is why we have taken the lead in creating the decentralized Gala Games Ecosystem — to give the power in gaming to the people who should be in charge — the gamers. We know that the future of gaming isn’t in the hands of big game developers who keep tight reins on the worlds they create, but in YOUR hands. Gala Games is leading a revolution in the games industry. It is our goal to create a distributed network of players who own the gaming world.

The Primary Principles of the Gala Games Platform are that you have the right to:

Own Your Content — The tight control of assets and game accounts has stifled a lot of creative thinking. The decentralized Gala Games ecosystem aspires to blow the doors wide open and give players back the control they deserve. If you win a magical sword in a game on the Gala Game Platform, it is yours. It is a verifiable asset on the blockchain you can trade to another person or play with in-game. We do not have the power to take the sword away from you. We can’t stop another company from making a game where the sword is also in use. We want to encourage the possibilities in this space.

Own the Roadmap — The decentralized Gala Games ecosystem wants players to not only own their in-games items, but also for Gala Games players to have a voice in how the Gala Games roadmap develops. Players and node owners will be enlisted, via distributed voting mechanisms, to help determine what games should be added to the platform or what should be funded by the decentralized Gala Games ecosystem.

Much of this is accomplished through the Gala Game Node ecosystem. Operators of a qualifying node you may earn GALA and unique items for providing support to the Gala Network. Currently, these nodes operated on a Proof-of-Availability basis. However, in the very near future the nodes will begin to diversify and expand into other mechanism to further strengthen the network and provide greater functionality to the Gala Games ecosystem as a whole, with the “Proof-of-Availability” being deprecated and replaced by another mechanism. What is found below is a basic outline of our plans and timeline for further decentralization of the network and the future of the Gala Game Node Ecosystem.

Note: Everything above this point represents our CORE philosophy — this means that it should not change, regardless of what else happens. The decentralized Gala Games ecosystem is leading a revolution in this space. Everything that comes AFTER the core philosophy is very much open to change, depending on the technical requirements, legal requirements, and needs of the various situations encountered in the development pipeline. Technology is ever-changing, and development requires flexibility and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances. As such, everything you read below this point is what is being worked towards but should be expected to change as the situation evolves.

The Gala Games Node Ecosystem Map:

This is the current view of the Gala Game Node Ecosystem that Gala Games is working to develop

The key components of the Gala Games Node Ecosystem are:

  • Gala Games: Gala Games, as an entity, provides curatorial and maintenance services to the decentralized network. This includes helping to integrate game studios into the Gala Games Network, updating the node software, maintaining best practices in development, and helping the community grow the network through their marketing efforts.
  • The Game Development Studios: Studios that publish content on the Gala Games Network are able to release NFTs using the Gala Games protocols and tool kits currently under development. It is our goal to make it easy for any company to quickly and easily add their game to the Gala Games Ecosystem with toolkits to produce standardized crypto packages, NFT libraries, and wallets to be integrated into their games. These studios are approved by a majority vote of the Gala Games Full Node holders (both “Founder’s Nodes” and “Paid” nodes…more on these later). These Game Studios will be granted “Game License” NFTs by the Gala Games Ecosystem that will give them access to the Gala Games Ecosystem.
  • The Governance-Based Random Distribution Algo: This part of the Ecosystem is responsible for distributing NFT rewards to the node network. This part of the ecosystem is very much under development and still being discussed internally. While it will initially be a random distribution, the Gala Games team is aware that the Community of Node Owners has a range of thoughts about how this system could be implemented. More information will be released on this in the near future once thoughts and technological research reaches a more rigorous level.
  • Public Database (DB) with Easy-to-Access Endpoints: The Gala Games Node Ecosystem will depend on the work of a whole community of developers who are willing to put their time into growing a decentralized ecosystem. The Gala Games Community has seen this already with GALABASE.io, which was developed outside of the Gala Games team, but the easier it is for developers to run analytics and audits on the Gala Games Ecosystem, the better. Central to this effort will be the creation of a publicly accessible database with easy-to-access endpoints.
  • The Treasure Chest: This is currently available inside of your app.gala.games account, and it is where GALA and NFT rewards collect. This is a critical piece of decentralization. The treasure chest makes it easier for people to control their own GALA and NFTs, and ensures that the system will remain robust and decentralized in the future.
  • The Gala Games Triple-Proof Node System: This deserves a whole section of its own, so keep reading below to understand exactly how the Gala Games Triple-Proof Node System can fundamentally redefine how gamers, game development companies, and the Gala Game Ecosystem interact by radically increasing decentralization.

The decentralized Gala Games ecosystem has a long way to go to achieve this vision, but people are working at it every day. Join The Gala Games Community in our Discord at http://galagames.chat or explore our website at https://gala.games to learn more!

Mirandus Monday: The Second Scroll

Mirandus Monday: The Second Scroll

by | Nov 24, 2020 | Gala Games

Deep in the halls of the mountain king, the walls quiver as a low, deep moan reverberates through the stone. The Minotaur as been wakened from his slumber and waits on his throne! Just outside of his hall, a group of adventurers prepare to charge in amongst the torchlight and piles of gold when they notice a solitary figure stepping into the torchlight.

It is, of course, Leeroy Jenkins.

The Minotaur sits on his throne, challenged by the one man brave enough to confront him.

The reveal of the Monday Mirandus Minotaur reveals a key element of gameplay. Best stated by Game Master Michael McCarthy:

It is my intention to have dungeons and monsters in the world be “living”. They will fight and hunt and breed and sleep. Some monsters will prefer to be in caves or dungeons. Some roam the wild. Some have their own villages.

Walls will repel monsters. They will generally be afraid of them, but the more powerful the monster is the less afraid they’ll be. Same is true for the numbers of monsters. If their population grows large, they might get more bold and invade. If you go into a dungeon and “kick the hornets nest”, you might anger the Minotaur King. He won’t stay on his throne and cry about it. He will gather his troops and launch an attack.

If you don’t have a strong deed, I wouldn’t recommend throwing it up near a dungeon. One Leeroy Jenkins could bring down fire on a local hamlet.

What is being put together in Mirandus has never been attempted before. A deep simulation world in which the world itself is as much alive as the players. In which you, as a player character, have limitless choices in how you are going to proceed through the world, what you are going to do to earn your living, and how you are going to live.

The Deed of the Day

Last week, we released a new deed image and layout each day of the week:

This week, the first deed of the week is a step up into the rarified air of the nobility with the Village of the Baron!

Your “Home” in the Village of the Baron. Look out over your village from the top window! Don’t forget to collect the taxes!
The Village of the Baron is the first deed where a good number of the Medium-sized plots are available.

Michael McCarthy is hard at work building out what will become the limits of the World of Mirandus. Next Monday, at 9:00am PST, information on the next tier of shops will be released in a special Mirandus Monday announcement. At this time, a snapshot will also be taken of the existing Mirandus deeds, so that a portion of the existing shops can be released to the deed holders at a later date, as well as to the node network (once distribution resumes). If you would like to an opportunity to receive some of the shops that will be released into the world, make sure you have a deed by that time!

Concerning Citadels

There has been a LOT of speculation on exactly what a citadel will look like within the world of Mirandus. Each citadel will be custom designed and tailored to the needs and requirements of its owner, with specific buffs, advantages, and an aesthetic to match its owner. Is that you? Are you powerful enough to be a King?

There is a LOT more coming for Mirandus, so make sure to keep in touch, watch the Discord (http://galagames.chat) and get ready for more interesting news! Follow Gala Games on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or in our Discord!

Awesome Changes Coming to the Gala Games Platform!

Awesome Changes Coming to the Gala Games Platform!

by | Nov 19, 2020 | Gala Games

We are delighted to announce that today two new major changes go live on the Gala Games Platform tonight!

There are a couple excellent UI changes that will make the lives easier for all Gala Gamers! The first of these is the “Notifications” button in the top-right corner!

Now you will know when you receive new items or GALA!

There are also several awesome features! Read below to find out more!

Mint on Demand

Mint On Demand!: This is the view from inside the Treasure Chest. These are all just testnet items, not real NFTs, in this picture…just a sneak peek at the way Gala Games Engineers test things before they are released!

Firstly, the “mint on demand” feature has been implemented. This means that your GALA and NFTs will collect in your Treasure Chest, and you can mint them whenever you would like. These items will not exist on the blockchain until you mint them. However, the most important change means that YOU have control to mint YOUR items and GALA when YOU want them. You even get to choose which items you want to mint, so you don’t have to fill your inventory with items you don’t need unless you want them.

New Signup Flow

Secondly, and this is a HUGE change, the account signup flow has been changed to move the wallet creation part of the journey to a later date, if desired by the user. This means that a user can still collect rewards in their Treasure Chest, can play Town Star, and can participate in the community without going through the wallet creation step. This will make it MUCH easier for YOU to share Town Star with your friends. The more users come to the Gala Games Platform, the better it is for everyone.

What comes next?:

The next improvement that will be coming in the near future will be the node distribution being released from the time-locked distribution. This will mean that you will no longer have to worry about having your node online at a specific time, as long as you have met the minimum requirements for the day. Of course, we recommend you leave your node on all the time, but we realize this isn’t possible for everyone. This change will make it easier for people to get included in the distribution when they come from areas of the world in which time zones make it inconvenient to worry about node connectivity in the middle of the night.

Keep watch for an update on Crypto Crafting soon! It is the final stages of testing, and then we will all feel the ground rumble under the treads of hundreds of CraneBots!

Mirandus Monday: The First Scroll

Mirandus Monday: The First Scroll

by | Nov 17, 2020 | Gala Games

Listen carefully, oh ye adventurers! Can you hear the sound of the war horns on the breeze? The groan of monsters straining against their chains in the deep dungeons? Can you feel the winds of adventure?

It is a long ways away, but Mirandus is coming. Now, before we get into the REALLY fun stuff, we do need to add in a disclaimer. This is an update on development and on how things will exist in game as we see it at this moment. Details may change and the specific implementation might be somewhat different in the final release. We always do our best to stick to our plans, but in game development sometimes changes are required.

That said…

…this is what it will look like!

Sample Image from Mirandus showing some of the stylistic elements and development trajectory.

As you recall from our first announcement:

Mirandus is an epic fantasy RPG set in a massive world ruled by five player-monarchs. In game, players have absolute freedom of choice: they can set out into the wilderness alone to try their fortunes against the monsters of the deep woods and dungeons, join with one of the monarchs to serve as a knight in their court, or set up shop in one of the five great cities of the realm. Player ownership of in-game assets is a central mechanic, with players being able to hold land deeds which allow them to claim parts of the wilderness and set up holdfasts ranging from small farms to massive cities. In Mirandus, you decide who you will be and choose your own quest in the epic fight against evil.

In the world of Mirandus, property is power.

— Players can purchase deeds to different property types

— A deed is a template which can be “stamped” on the geography

— Once a deed is placed, it cannot be moved unless all buildings are razed

In the world of Mirandus, property is safety.

— Players are ONLY safe within the walls of property

— Better deeds mean better walls, which keep higher level monsters out.

— Example “A Farm Hamlet deed has a rustic wood fence which no low-level monsters will cross. A Citadel deed will repel monsters with very high levels.”

But what does this mean exactly? What is a Homestead? What can you do with an Outpost? If I am one of the Five Kings, how big will my city be? Do I need a deed to play? (No! Of course not! We believe Mirandus should be free to play for everyone!)

To answer these (and MANY other) questions, this is the first in our series of “Mirandus Mondays” in which we will release some critical new information on Mondays…this might be a development update, a screenshot, or some other piece of information on exactly how the game will function.

Today, in addition to the beautiful image above, we are also releasing a bit more information on how Mirandus Deeds function. As you know, there are only 1625 Mirandus Deeds that will exist in the world…if you have one of those deeds, you are one of a very very elite few.

As an example, today we will discuss The Homestead.

The Humble Homestead — An Adventurer’s Rest

The Homestead is the smallest and humblest of any dwelling in the world of Mirandus. It is just a cabin for you to rest your weary bones and to recuperate on your travels.

The image on the deed, which will be associated with the NFT in the future, represents only the dwelling. However, in addition to that, each Homestead will have several additional spots that can be utilized by the owners.

The Deed “Footprint” for the Homestead. The golden area represents your “house.”

Each Homestead comes with two smaller sub-plots, that can be filled with a variety of shops, tents, carts, or farming locations. These spots can be rented out at the discretion of the owner.

For example, you could:

  • Deploy a tent to allow adventurers to rest and recover their health
  • Set up a potion cart, allowing adventurers to buy elixirs or other magical ingredients
  • Treat your Homestead like a hunting lodge, collecting and selling game from the wilderness

Your imagination is the limit for the Homestead, and it only gets better from here! Each level of deed has more and more spaces that Deed-holders can rent or otherwise occupy, all the way up to the Citadel, which will have a whole city.

There is a LOT more coming for Mirandus, so make sure to keep in touch, watch the Discord (http://galagames.chat) and get ready for more interesting news!

Follow Gala Games on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or in our Discord!