Fantasy MMORPG Game - Powered Exclusively By ApeCoin
Ecosystem Fund Allocation
Alganon is a fantasy MMORPG game with PvE and PvP elements. More extensive info is available at the game’s legacy website.
You can access legacy game assets below.
- Game Images
- Game Videos
- 20-min Narrated (English) Game Preview (April 2023 Dev Build)
- Script for 20-min Game Preview
- Alganon Comic (partnership with DC Comics)
Alganon is a completed game and so, it will retain all its pre-existing gameplay elements. It will however have specific Web3 elements integrated such as an Ethereum based blockchain backend, integrated Web3 wallet, tokenomics, and an NFT marketplace.
Derek Smart, the President and CTO of 3000AD, Inc, is a videogame industry legend who has been in the industry for over three decades.
Website: http://dereksmart.com/about/
LinkedIn: Derek Smart - CEO & CTO - 3000AD, Inc | LinkedIn
Twitter: https://x.com/dsmart
3000AD, Inc, based on south Florida, was formed in 1992 by videogame industry icon Derek Smart.
Today, we are one of the oldest independent videogame development studios.
Our first game, the legendary Battlecruiser 3000AD (aka BC3K), was released in 1996 by Take Two Interactive (TTWO). Accounting for over 14% of its revenue, BC3K was one of the titles included in that company’s SEC profile when it went public in 1997.
To date, we have developed and published over a dozen games across several franchise properties that we own.
Over the years we have had various partnership and collaboration deals with various publishers and partners such as Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Valve, Sony, GameStop and many others both in the gaming industry and in various international markets.
Website: http://www.3000ad.com
LinkedIn: https://linked.com/company/3000ad-inc
Twitter: https://x.com/3000ad_games
We are all aware that gaming continues to be one of the many ways, if not the main way, to grow and engage a community. Gaming brings people together, it forges relationships, builds friendships and creates a nurturing environment for like-minded people.
This Web2 game, which is 100% completed, was purchased by my 3000AD (About Us) studio a few years ago. Our dev team was responsible for completing the game, creating two expansion packs, getting it on Steam, creating various publishing and marketing partnerships etc.
In late 2021, with myself as the lead and primary investor, together with two investor friends, I created a new Web3 startup, Wide Span Ventures, specifically to develop and publish Web3 games. The upgrading and relaunching of Alganon is our first Web3 game for release in 2024; to be followed by another Web2 game, a combined arms MMOFPS, set for release in late 2025 using the same Web3 tech and practices incorporated into and created for Alganon.
There aren’t very many Web3 games out there which are within the realms of standard Web2 games. And those that are rumored or announced, are several years away from completion because making games is a long-term, grueling and very expensive process. And most, in fact up to 90% of games, will ultimately fail.
In fact, most Web3 games today are blatant cash grabs which forget to bring the fun. In Alganon, an almost $30M game project that has been tried and tested over the years - and only ever released in North America, the ApeCoin community has the opportunity to be the first community to roll out a worthy Web2/Web3 crossover game that is as fun as it is addictive.
We are currently far ahead of the pack because we have a completed core AA game that’s built on a “Game First” principle; and Web3 games are shaping up to be the future of gaming.
An MMORPG game like Alganon takes years and several million Dollars to make. Its original design is perfectly suited for Web3.
Though the game isn’t as old as some other MMORPG games (e.g. Everquest, WoW, Runescape etc), the visuals require various improvements. And those improvements also require an upgrade of the graphics component of the custom game engine which was built specifically for the game.
TECH
Alganon was developed using an in-house custom game engine that includes the client, server and various backend services which power its economy, user data, world, web UI etc.
The graphics kernel is part of the legacy C/C++ custom game engine based on DX9. We are currently (it’s currently in testing) porting to DX11. This allows us to take advantage of visual improvements which will complement the new 2D/3D art assets - all of which are being recreated at a higher quality while not compromising the performance of the game. The game will retain its colorful visual style, however it will be more stylized (similar to Fortnite and its ilk).
We are also doing a parallel test port to UE5 via the game’s editor which uses the game client. This port, which will take longer, will also help us determine whether or not it’s worth the time and expense of adopting the UE5 graphics kernel. The key selling point of a UE5 port is that it makes it far easier to on-board additional team members down the road as-needed. It’s a lot more difficult and time-consuming to on-board engineers to use a custom game engine.
As a 100% completed Web2 game, the bulk of the coding for this Web3 integration by our team and other third-parties is in the Web3 implementation and visual improvements as follows:
- Blockchain backend integration
- Third-party in-game Web3 wallet integration + UI/UX
- Third-party NFT marketplace integration + UI/UX
- Complete upgrade of the game’s entire 2D/3D asset library
- Upgrade of the graphics engine from DX9 to DX11 (and later to UE5 if needed)
The DX9 to DX11 graphics engine upgrade is immaterial in terms of scope. In fact, it’s all but completed.
The 2D/3D art assets improvement takes up about 80% of the project and is being done in parallel using experienced third-party content creation studios (such as Quarantine Studios and Ironbelly Studios and individuals who worked with us on the legacy Alganon game) who have worked on our games over the years. As a result, the dev work will be completed long before the 2D/3D art assets are completed and integrated. It is, after all, a massive MMO game.
For Web3 deployment, since the creation of the startup in 2021, we have engaged various third-parties to assist with the project. As such, we have select contracts, SOW, and proposals from groups such as KapitalDAO / Fenryr for on-going general advisory in all aspects related to Web3 deployment and management of this project - including community engagement; Altura for use of their API and toolset for an in-game wallet and white label NFT marketplace, Catalin Alexandru Consulting SRL for on-going workups of the game’s economics and tokenomics adjustments, Polygon BD (and other comparable chains) for use of their blockchain backend API etc.
WEB3 HOOKS & TOKENOMICS
Alganon, as an MMORPG, is already a massive game with a lot of assets. It is currently a client-only download.
The game will retain the pre-existing micro-transactions (MT) model.
For the Web3 version, we will probably only be converting high value consumables and assets to NFTs; though there’s no real reason that all the game’s items couldn’t be converted as such.
NFT items will be available in the game’s pre-existing marketplace (which is being upgraded to support NFT items) and possibly also on OpenSea (TBD).
These NFT items include ancillary items, potions, spells, weapons, player skins, pets, mounts, and land parcels.
NFT items will be traded via the game’s current cash shop which will be augmented using a third-party White label NFT marketplace API or OpenSea (TBD).
We are currently working with a third-party consulting firm to revise the game’s pre-existing economics model to take into account robust Web3 tokenomics models.
The game already supports both F2P and B2P. This allows us to determine the barrier of entry. For example:
- Will it be F2P with no barrier (no cost) of entry?
- Will it be B2P and thus require $APE to play? If so, how much $APE?
- Will the $APE requirement be based on tiers (which determine what you get)?
- Will there be daily reward drops for regular players?
- Will there be special tiers for owners of Yuga Labs’ BAYC and MAYC asset holders?
- Will there be special tiers for Mocaverse asset owners?
The game will retain the pre-existing in-game currency called $Tribute. The introduction of the $APE token will allow it to map to $Tribute at a specific rate. e.g. in the pre-existing game, $1.00 (fiat) is the equivalent of 185 $Tribute.
In short, you buy $Tribute using $APE, then buy items and other assets in the game using $Tribute.
NOTE: Due to regulatory concerns, we cannot allow a $Tribute to $APE transfer as that puts us in the money transfer business.
USER GENERATED CONTENT (UGC)
Due to its design, Alganon does not support UGC in the general sense of the term.
However, every single 2D/3D asset in the game can be reskinned. For example, we could have ApeCoin logos on banners in the street, on buildings, on flag poles.
Also, we can integrate - with permission from Yuga Labs - 3D models of BAYC & MAYC characters so that you can enter and play the game as your own Ape avatar. Same applies to Mocaverse character assets. It’s all automatic.
The only work involved is in the creation of a set number of 2D/3D art assets which can then be used to map your BAYC/MAYC/MOCA avatar to.
Also, because certain visible weapons are sized according to the pre-existing characters, additional work will be required to match these to the new character models. That would also include character animation creation.
We can also incorporate NFT shields (see AIP-254) and similar NFT art assets. All completely seamless because we have a fully functional game engine. It just works.
Similarly, creating land in Alganon is trivial. We created new land parcels in the original game and its expansion packs. However, for this Web3 effort, we won’t be able to sell land on pre-existing parcels as that would break many game quests. Instead, for future expansions, we can create land parcels and sell them separately. Due to the game’s design, we can then sell pre-existing buildings (houses, fences etc.) assets (aka prefabs) to create towns and entire cities on the parcels of land. As in the original game, players will still be able to move from parcel to parcel without issue as that’s already designed into the game.
There are many benefits to the ApeCoin DAO.
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$APE TOKEN USE: For a period of 12 MONTHS from the date of initial implementation (Alpha, Beta, Release Candidate, Final) in the game, we will EXCLUSIVELY use the $APE token as the game’s official cryptocurrency.
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GAMING: ApeCoin immediately gets its own full blown MMORPG game in a massively popular game genre, and which can be rebranded and reskinned as-needed. This will attract thousands of gamers beyond the current 130K count of the pre-existing token holders.
Web2 gamers who are already familiar with the game, will no doubt return to it, and we have taken steps to ensure that on-boarding them to Web3 is a seamless experience which goes from in-game wallet creation to buying $APE. We’ve got it all covered.
We can of course also allow fiat, but there’s no point in doing that with the ApeCoin licensed version of the game.
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COMMUNITY: The ApeCoin community, though relatively small in comparison to other gaming communities, has the potential to greatly expand its user base via this game.
No more trolling the Discord server or endless scrolling on Discourse. You can fire up the game and go trade, explore, and adventure with your friends. Or just hang around at sunset and chat using text or voice comms. The game server runs 24-7 (except when it resets); so even if you get bored harassing the thousands of game NPCs or doing quests, you can always be assured that there’s a live person to chat or play with at any time of day.
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CLOUT: Compared to pre-existing and upcoming Web3 games - nothing - compares to Alganon. The ApeCoin DAO being the first to co-fund the release of a core Web2 game bridged over to Web3 creates the kind of marketing, clout and credibility that marketing can never buy. The game is here. It works. It’s been tried and tested for many years. And it’s a fun gaming experience as per the many online reviews of the legacy game. I believe that this will set the bar - even the impetus - for others with similar Web2 properties to consider a similar collaboration with ApeCoin DAO. This isn’t some empty Metaverse “game” experience nor a promise of what is to come. The game is here. It’s playable. It’s extensible. And it’s coming to the ApeCoin DAO.
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MARKETING: Where applicable in our marketing and PR efforts for the game, we will mention that the game uses the $APE token, and that the Web3 release was co-funded through a grant from the ApeCoin DAO. We will also use the official ApeCoin logo as-needed in various marketing efforts as well as in the game.
- The Alganon game will be launched on the ETH network.
- The $APE token will be the exclusive cryptocurrency token for the game for a period of 12 months (renewable as-needed).
- The ApeCoin DAO and the $APE token will be marketed as part of the game’s marketing efforts.
- Written permission or a licensing agreement from the Ape Foundation for the use of the ApeCoin logo.
- Implementation of the $APE token as well as requisite development, testing and auditing of the associated smart contract.
- Implementation of the $APE token in the game’s backend systems as well as in its Web3 wallet UI/UX structure.
The creation, testing, implementation and auditing of the smart contract and $APE token will take place during the course of the game’s Web3 implementation.
The above period will run from Web3 development and implementation builds (Alpha, Beta, Release Candidate) through to the final release and deployment of the game in the Q3/24 to Q4/24 time frame.
Total Ecosystem Grant: $500K - to be paid in $APE
Breakdown:
- $300K (1 year, renewable*)
- $200K (one-time)
*Renewable upon request at the sole discretion of the Ape Foundation or the Metaverse Working Group; and at the same $300K cost, within 90 days of current term expiration. No subsequent AIP required.