We toss a lot of terms around in the development world that can often leave users scratching their heads. Not knowing the jargon is nothing to be ashamed of.
This is DevSpeak, where we demystify the dense arcanity that is tech jargon. While this may be a fairly basic review for many, even if you know your stuff in the dev world you may find some tidbits that you didn’t know before.
Nobody begins from the same starting point in tech, but that doesn’t mean you can’t brush up on fundamentals to form a solid foundation of knowledge.
Check out our previous DevSpeak articles to level up your tech knowledge!
Today we’re taking a deep dive into SDKs. We’ve talked a lot about SDKs this year – particularly the GalaChain SDK. If you were ever confused about how that SDK fits into development, now is your chance to get some insight!
SDK: Defined
SDK stands for Software Development Kit. This is a full package of tools designed to build software on a particular platform or in a particular programming language. SDKs allow a pre-built pipeline to build new tools and projects. Often these are released so that developers can easily integrate new apps with a service or ecosystem.
An SDK can vary in what it contains based on the needs of the specific platform it was designed for, but they usually have some basic things in common:
Libraries. These are repositories of code snippets and pre-constructed commands that perform specific functions on the platform and will be needed to build and plug anything into the existing infrastructure.
Documentation. An SDK is a full kit, so it should have some degree of documentation and instructional material on how to use it and what it can do.
Debugging Tools. Most SDKs will include compilers, testing frameworks or other tools to debug work and find coding issues as they develop.
IDEs. Integrated Development Environments are visual editors used to develop on the platform. This component may vary wildly depending on which SDK we’re talking about, but most have some form of graphical interface that developers can work within.
APIs. Application Programming Interfaces are absolutely essential for any SDK, as they allow new developments to use them to easily interact with features on the platform. APIs are essentially small bits of code that have a specific, common purpose and can be “called” easily to access the platform’s services. (More on these coming in a future DevSpeak!)
There are other things that may be included in an SDK. Those are the big five, but really anything that helps developers access and create in your ecosystem easier should go into your SDK.
https://github.com/GalaChain/sdk The GalaChain SDKgives developers the tools they need to plug applications into GalaChain’s infrastructure.
Why SDKs?
SDKs are more than just an occasional find in the development world. Many of the tools you see in your daily life were created through an SDK.
Literally any application that interacts with Microsoft Windows you’ve ever used probably used the Microsoft SDK during their development. This allows developers outside the company to innovate tools on top of the base Windows software, while keeping the definition of what is and what isn’t official Microsoft software clear.
Let’s say you develop a platform that nearly a billion people are using… Congratulations on your success! You want the platform to grow and become more feature-rich, but what hope can your limited dev team have of innovating to keep up with the demands of such a vast amount of people!?
Eventually, you just can’t keep up and competition develops a better platform. But what if you could invite other people to make apps that work within your platform? Then the innovation of all those people on your platform could actually help your platform grow, scale and develop!
SDK in Practice
Now let’s make it a little more complicated. Let’s take a look at Ethereum.
Ethereum is a fairly simple blockchain at its base level. The Ethereum team created the programming language “Solidity” in 2014, which serves as the key language of Ethereum Smart Contracts. They released it as part of a GNU General Public License. This enabled it to be used by everyone, and developers quickly began going through their repository to make more specialized tools… including more specialized SDKs.
Now there are tons of Ethereum SDKs that all let developers build dApps on the Ethereum Network. External developers know what tools they need. Ethereum never would’ve been able to keep up with everything that’s happened on their blockchain in the decade since if they had kept it all in-house. Now people have provided so many additional tools for the Ethereum Network that its use cases have grown much more varied and valuable for even more users.
Bottom line is, brilliance doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Instead of guarding development as an internal responsibility entirely, organizations and developers can use SDKs for external developers to work within their framework. More development, more room for innovation.
Developing Together
This is the basic story of the information revolution as a hole. Take what has been done, and build on it to make it better. The internet as we know it was developed over years as a series of languages, protocols and systems that all synchronize and build off of each other.
No one person or team ever could’ve designed something so sweeping. Our tech is what it is because of community development.
SDKs are key to that culture in development. They allow people to set the basic framework for what can be done in their ecosystem, then developers can innovate new ways to use those tools. As each successive wave of development builds on top of each other, our digital systems get more robust and specialized.
Hopefully this quick rundown gave you some basic idea of what SDKs are and the role that they serve in the tech world. We’ll be back soon with more DevSpeak.
Are you a Gala Gold member with a tech term that you think people would love to see explained in a future DevSpeak article? Let us know on Discord in the #Gala-Gold-Suggestions channel!
As technology continually advances in leaps and bounds, ownership has been revealed as the single most empowering benefit to web3 tech in the gaming sector. The freedom that comes with web3’s application in the gaming world has led to an all-out gaming revolution.
At Gala Games, we are at the forefront of this revolution, leveraging the power of web3 to empower players with true ownership of their in-game items. One of the most significant benefits of this ownership is the ability to trade assets on secondary markets like OpenSea, creating a dynamic and flexible gaming ecosystem.
Limited-Time Primary Sales and the Power of Secondary Markets
Primary sales of Gala Games items are often limited in supply and time, creating a sense of urgency and exclusivity for our players. However, once these primary sales conclude, the items don’t simply vanish.
The Gala Games OpenSea Collection page
Thanks to the secondary market, users can continue to buy and sell these coveted assets. Platforms like OpenSea facilitate this by allowing players to list and purchase Gala Games NFTs, providing access to items that are no longer available through primary sales.
Bridging from GalaChain to Ethereum
Originally minted on GalaChain for use within our gaming titles, Gala Games NFTs are designed for seamless interoperability. They can be easily bridged to Ethereum, where they become tradeable on OpenSea and transferable through Ethereum wallets. This flexibility ensures that players can maximize the utility and value of their assets across different platforms and applications.
When you’re ready to take an item from the secondary market into its game and play with it, it’s easy to bridge the item from Ethereum to GalaChain through your Gala account, using your connected Ethereum wallet. Learn more about connecting your Ethereum wallet here.
A New Era of Player Freedom and Control
The traditional gaming model often locks players into a single title, especially when they’ve invested significant time and money into acquiring in-game assets. However, with web3 ownership, this is no longer the case.
Players now have the freedom to explore new games without losing what they’ve accumulated in previous games, even if they leave a game behind altogether. We’d hate to see you say goodbye to any of our games, but we want to ensure you have the freedom to do so without hurting your Gala Games collection. This paradigm shift promotes player freedom and control, breaking the cycle of being entrenched in a single game and encouraging exploration within the gaming ecosystem.
Browsing Celestial Claim NFTs from Echoes of Empire on the secondary market
Unlock Web3 Ownership
At Gala Games, we believe in the power of web3 to transform the gaming industry. The tradability of in-game items is a cornerstone of this transformation, providing players with unprecedented freedom and control over their digital assets. By leveraging platforms like OpenSea and the interoperability of GalaChain and Ethereum, we are creating a vibrant and dynamic marketplace that empowers players like never before.
We love our communities at Gala. Even as they have grown and multiplied, first from solely Gala Games into multiple entertainment genres with Gala Music and Gala Film, then branching out into industries beyond entertainment with the release of the developer friendly GalaChain SDK. This family will get bigger and bigger, but we’re still (and always) a family.
One of the most foundational groups in our community is the Gala Founder’s Node operator ecosystem. Since the very beginning, they have been there, powering our network in exchange for $GALA even before GalaChain existed. Today, the operators of this massive DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network) are behind one of the largest decentralized networks in the world.
As always, we want to thank our dedicated Founder’s Node operators for acting as the engine of our network. You are true pioneers who have believed in our web3 mission of empowerment through ownership, some of you since our earliest days. Thank you.
Understanding Gala Founder’s Nodes
At the core of our Gala Ecosystem lies the innovative and powerful Founder’s Nodes. These nodes are the backbone that supports and drives our entire network, playing a critical role in ensuring the smooth and efficient operation of our decentralized platform.
Think of a node as an intersection of data on a blockchain, or a joint. In the same way that a traffic intersection is governed and regulated by a traffic light, a blockchain intersection is regulated by a node.
The most fascinating thing about nodes in web3 is how they make decentralized networks possible, essentially turning operators’ home computers into agents (or employees) of the blockchain. By running a simple program in the background, operators can power the network, even with little to no understanding of how it’s working.
The distribution of data across a network of nodes is foundational to a decentralized ecosystem like Gala.
What Are Founder’s Nodes?
Founder’s Nodes are specialized servers operated by community members who have acquired a license to run them. These nodes are integral to the functioning of our GalaChain, contributing to various essential tasks such as securing the network and storing data. Think of them as the silent workhorses that keep our ecosystem thriving.
Incentives for Node Operators
Operating a Founder’s Node means collecting daily $GALA as it is generated. Node operators receive daily distributions of $GALA tokens, our ecosystem’s digital currency, for their contributions to the network. This reward mechanism not only incentivizes node operators but also ensures the continuous and sustainable operation of the network.
Distribution to Founder’s Node operators is one of the main ways that $GALA first enters into circulation. The amount of $GALA distributed to operators each day depends on the number of active operators and the current circulating supply of $GALA, using a dynamic halving model as described in the Ecosystem Blueprint.
Governance and Decentralization
Our vision for Gala is deeply rooted in the principles of decentralization. Founder’s Nodes play a crucial role in this vision by participating in governance through consensus voting. Node operators have the power to influence major decisions, such as the distribution of $GALA and other significant ecosystem developments. This participatory approach ensures that our community has a voice in shaping the future of the Gala Ecosystem.
Founder’s Nodes are the foundation upon which our Gala Ecosystem is built. They provide essential services, secure the network, and empower our community through governance participation. By running these nodes, our dedicated operators contribute to the resilience and growth of the GalaChain, helping us drive the decentralized revolution forward.
With Legacy, success is a game. If you can think like an entrepreneur, successfully designing and shipping products with the help of a well-managed workforce, you may just have what it takes to excel in a Legacy Design Competition!
Don’t let the relaxing feel of Legacy fool you. This game is a cutthroat strategy competition of time and resource management. Everything is laid back until that competition starts, then it’s all about the bottom line. You’ll be riding your workers hard and clicking for all you’re worth.
It’s all about the Gems, baby. It is only with Gems that you can enter Design Competitions, which are the only way to secure precious Legacy Tickets that convert to $GALA rewards.
Gem Packs are sold in varying quantities in the Gala Games store to ensure you always have the ability to jump on a Design Competition when you’re prepared to crush it!
As you advance through the game and build your business empire, you’ll unlock the ability to compete at higher leagues, where the prizes increase (but so do the Gem entry costs)!
Unlocking Design Competitions
Don’t worry! Your benefactors will not let you compete in a Design Competition until you’re ready, but once you’ve unlocked participation in your first competitions, you better not miss out!
Once you’re eligible to compete, you’ll see a notice up top informing you of the type of competition that’s coming up with a countdown until it begins.
There are two main focuses for Design Competitions in the early stages of Legacy:
Most Sales
In this type of competition, you’ll want to create a product that moves quickly, regardless of how much money you’ll make with each sale. Sometimes it’s all about proving to the clientele that you can keep up with their demand– Do that and you’re destined for big bucks in the biz world!
Most Revenue
These contests are all about bringing in cold, hard cash, no matter how complex the items you’re selling. This is when you can really push your entrepreneurial creativity to its limits to design some extravagant and expensive products. But be careful, speed also matters and you’ll want to strike a balance!
Limited Market
One of the easiest oversights for a new Legacy player that can cost you prizes is the market for your products. Check it out!
Once you’ve designed a product in your Factory’s Design Board, you’ll always have a limited market to work with before the demand runs out. A “Market Left” of 40 units may seem like a lot, but keep the following points in mind when you get rolling with a good product:
You’ll always be selling two units at a time, no matter your product, so think of 40 units as 20 sales.
When you’re effectively selling one product, be thinking about maximizing your next one.
Make sure your workers are getting enough rest to stay productive when it’s time to switch.
Most Design Competitions are an hour long, meaning you’ll have to shift products more than once!
Designing and selling with streamlined efficiency isn’t just a game of rushing. It’s about endurance and stamina as well. Make sure that you’re managing your build attentively, backing up your workers with your mouse play the whole time if you can. Don’t assume that just because they work without you that they don’t need you!
Good luck in your upcoming Design Competitions with Legacy!
If you haven’t played this awesome and unique game yet, we encourage you to give it a try. You can play either as a landowning Guild Leader (browse secondary market land here), or a Legacy Key player in someone else’s Guild. Either way, we think you’ll love it!
What are you waiting for? Time to build that Legacy!
The path has been long, adventurer. Do you see it on the horizon? Mirandus awaits!
The world of Mirandus isn’t simply discovered… it’s crafted specifically for the mighty Exemplars who eagerly await their adventures in this new world. Bringing this complex world to life requires incremental victories and building on the successes of yesterday to create more robust mechanics and an engaging Mirandus tomorrow.
We’re not at the end of this journey yet, adventurer… but your destination grows closer each day.
Watch the full Town Hall to get more info on the latest updates!
Small Steps Heading Towards Big Leaps
In the third quarter of 2024, we hope to hit some major goals that may seem incremental from the outside looking in, but are absolutely essential to the next steps in opening Mirandus for exploration.
Our first milestone target will be July. During this period we hope to fully test the infrastructure and processes of our release pipeline. By this point, we’re planning to have refined the core set of gameplay mechanics and for engineering analytics to have identified main weaknesses and priorities as we move towards live servers.
As we approach the end of the quarter, we hope to reach our second milestone in September. For this benchmark, we’re planning to have a workable system in place for all basic crafting recipes, including related and art and gameplay integrations. These recipes and items will expand over time. This initial system will serve as the foundation for testing and optimization before being filled out with additional items.
A Strong End to 2024
As the year comes to a close, we’re going to get more ambitious in the milestones we’re hoping to reach. We’ll build on the fundamentals we’ve established in Q3, and Mirandus will start to look more like a real world.
For our third milestone in October, we’re hoping to have a solid first pass on combat and analytics. Again, these systems will start off very basic. Getting a solid foundation on these, however, is absolutely necessary to building a fun game.
By the end of December, we hope to hit our fourth major milestone. At this time, we hope to have a very basic version of deed and building placement within the game. This will likely be limited to buildings dealing with food, armor and weapons to start. We also hope to have a functional UI for store management and the full ability to get people into the game… for longer than just a few hour playtest!
Into the Future
Game development is never quite a straightforward A to B path, and we acknowledge that unexpected issues may come up that could require us to deviate from this roadmap. We do believe, however, that these goals are realistic and achievable over the next six months.
Beyond 2024, the focus can move beyond fundamental systems as we begin giving the world of Mirandus more depth. This is when the full realization of Exemplars and Materium in game will begin, as well as refining enemies, bosses and dungeons.
2024 will be the year of establishing the foundation. 2025 will use that foundation to create everything that makes Mirandus Mirandus.
The Journey and the End of the Path
Boiling the development of such a large project as Mirandus down to some itemized milestones belies the actual progress that ironing out seemingly inconsequential systems can create in MMORPG development.
In a world as vast as Mirandus, every system relies on those underneath and around it to function and create a fun and engaging experience. While 2024 may seem less exciting than what’s coming on the horizon, the work we do in the next six months hopefully results in Exemplars discovering all that the wild land of Mirandus has to offer in 2025.
We’ll keep you updated regularly as we move through the year. Hopefully knowing where we’re headed makes you as excited as we are as we craft the world of Mirandus for the arrival of Exemplars!
