Aurory: When GameFi Meets the Golden Paradigm of Video Games
Author: Lu Chang
Axie Infinity remains popular, and new GameFi games are emerging one after another. The GameFi sector has once again become the focus of the market. Driven by P2E, blockchain game projects are still heating up in terms of both token prices and discussions. As investors continue to rush back and forth among various homogeneous GameFi projects, it might be a good idea to slow down and consider from an ecological perspective to find the next promising GameFi segment.
Among the major new public chains, if there is a network whose GameFi has yet to explode, Solana must be one of them. After months of continuous growth, projects such as DEX, lending, aggregators, and NFTs have gradually matured, and the ecosystem has become increasingly robust. GameFi projects are also starting to emerge. Previously, Rhythm detailed the phenomenon of the explosive purchase of Star Atlas, while another game, which is completely different in style, genre, and gameplay from Star Atlas, has also joined the fast lane of the Solana GameFi sector.
Aurory is a J-RPG style GameFi game on Solana. If Star Atlas is the EVE of blockchain games, then Aurory could become the Pokémon of blockchain games. It is more beautiful and relaxed, appealing to a broader audience, while still maintaining the core mechanism of Play to Earn.
As a pioneer of GameFi in the Solana ecosystem, Aurory has received investments from Alameda Research, Solana, Serum, and others. Team members have experience working at top companies like Gameloft, EA, and Ubisoft, and have participated in the release of several AAA titles. Although the game has not officially launched yet, the related materials suggest that this game gives us a sense of something "unusual."
J-RPG: A Classic Paradigm from the Golden Age
Have you heard of J-RPG?
Since the end of the last century, the video game industry has gradually entered its golden age. At that time, video games had gone through the enlightenment phase of the 70s and 80s, gradually shedding their primitive forms, and began to show some mature design paradigms, which were gradually accepted by mainstream society and eventually evolved into the current "ninth art."
(The world's first video game "Tennis for Two" was born in 1958, but this game running on an oscilloscope had limited playability.)
During this rapid development of video games, Japanese game developers made unparalleled contributions to the industry's growth, and J-RPG shone brightly during this time, evolving from infancy to maturity, and still occupies a place in the gaming industry today.
J-RPG, or Japanese RPG, is a genre of games that originated in Japan. Mechanically, the main difference from American RPGs is that J-RPG emphasizes the evolution of the plot, storytelling, and character development. These more continuous designs not only extend the lifespan of the game but also provide players with more metaphysical enjoyment, allowing games to become a form of ninth art with textual value.
In terms of gameplay, J-RPGs often adopt turn-based or semi-turn-based operation modes, giving players ample time to think with each move, avoiding the tense atmosphere of frantic operations.
The most obvious characteristic of J-RPGs is their art style, which mostly adopts a "2D" Japanese anime aesthetic. The casual and beautiful art style is one reason why J-RPGs can reach a broader audience compared to Western RPGs.
Many works from the golden age of J-RPGs are still mentioned today. From Japan's "national-level" IP "Dragon Quest" to "Final Fantasy," which single-handedly boosted the PS console, to "Chrono Trigger," "Golden Sun," "Xenoblade Chronicles," and "The Legend of Heroes," there are too many excellent works in this category that have left their mark in gaming history, making it difficult to determine the best J-RPG. However, when it comes to the most well-known JRPG, everyone likely has the same answer: Pokémon.
Aurory: Bringing Pokémon to the Blockchain World
Collecting, nurturing, battling, and trading—this simple yet not monotonous mechanism has made Pokémon a runaway success, captivating the world for over twenty years. Aurory is also a GameFi version of J-RPG that draws on Pokémon's mechanics.
Unlike the simplistic art styles of most blockchain games, Aurory's graphics are more refined, presented in a familiar Japanese art style. The story of Aurory takes place in a world called Antik, filled with mysterious creatures known as Nefties. Nefties only reveal themselves to those they deem worthy and provide incredible powers to the humans who tame them.
Just like Squirtle residing in a Poké Ball, Nefties typically stay safely in the wallets of humans. Players can continuously explore the world of Antik and capture new Nefties with their wallets, nurturing their Nefties through battles with other trainers. Each Nefty has different characteristics: offense, support, defense, destruction, and manipulation. A well-coordinated Nefties team can make battles easier for players.
(Aurory gameplay demonstration)
Unlike most GameFi projects, Aurory has designed both single-player and multiplayer modes. In single-player mode, players can immerse themselves in the world of Antik through the storyline, and more importantly, players have the opportunity to receive their first Nefty for free.
In previous GameFi projects, high initial investments deterred some players from participating, but Aurory does not face this issue. The free Nefty provided in single-player mode allows players to experience the game more quickly and at a lower cost, and the lower barrier to entry is beneficial for attracting new players. In multiplayer mode, players can challenge other trainers with their assembled Nefties teams and participate in tournaments.
Aurory's Token Economics
Aurory uses AURY as its governance token, with a total supply of 100 million AURY. The specific token distribution, issuance schedule, and lock-up release timeline are shown in the diagram below.
AURY has multiple uses in the game, including:
• Buying and selling NFT creatures, items, and cards
• Rewarding top players in single-player PvE mode
• Rewarding players who win battles
• Paying staking rewards, allowing players to earn passive income
• Integrating the virtual economy with the real-world economy through centralized or decentralized exchanges
Additionally, the team has designed a lock-up mechanism where locking AURY can yield xAURY. Measures to create deflationary pressure on AURY through burning or other methods are also in development.
Unlike the common dual-token economic model in GameFi, Aurory only issues one token, AURY, but extensively utilizes NFTs in the game. In addition to Nefties and items, the game also features a land mechanism. Land can be used for respawning or teleporting, facilitating quick exploration across distant maps. Additionally, owning land unlocks randomly generated dungeons, with different rarities producing varying qualities of rewards.
Dungeons will be randomly generated on the world map each week, and players can also explore dungeons on others' lands, paying a fee to the landowner. Therefore, land leasing is also an effective way to earn passive income.
Strong Investor Lineup and Team with AAA Background
In recent months, the public chain craze has reignited, and among these rapidly rising new public chains, Solana may be the most dazzling. As SOL rises, the value of the entire Solana ecosystem has also increased. The so-called "SBF four-piece set" of SOL, FTT, RAY, and SRM has seen significant growth, with these leading projects in different sectors capturing ecological value as the ecosystem develops. However, when we look at GameFi, it is somewhat disappointing that Solana's GameFi has not yet fully rolled out.
In the current hot GameFi trend, players find it difficult to find suitable projects on Solana to participate in earning, which is somewhat regrettable for Solana. Solana is a representative of high-performance public chains, capable of processing 50,000 transactions per second with very low transaction fees. These technological advancements allow Solana to run high-computation, high-concurrency projects smoothly—such as GameFi games with better experiences, higher playability, and more modern designs.
Although Solana's GameFi sector has not yet seen an explosion, this also means that the sector is still in its early stages: there is an advantage for early entrants and greater growth potential. Take Star Atlas as an example, another pioneer of GameFi on Solana. At the end of August, Star Atlas's dual-token IE0 sparked market enthusiasm, and as one of the earlier projects on Solana, it kept everyone on the edge of their seats, but perhaps due to overly ambitious plans, the game's launch is still far off.
Aurory also features a rich economic system, a highly free game world, and a well-developed Play to Earn mechanism that is eye-catching. Although Aurory's theme differs from Star Atlas, its audience is clearly broader and does not limit itself to hardcore players like AAA games.
Sometimes, being an early mover is not necessarily an advantage. If the project's foundation is not outstanding, early movers may become martyrs. While it is difficult to assess the quality of a project that has not yet launched, the project's investors can serve as a reference for evaluating it.
Aurory is a project directly invested in by Solana, which indicates that it has garnered some attention within the ecosystem. In addition to Solana, investors also include Alameda Research, founded by SBF, and Serum, a leading DEX in the Solana ecosystem.
Aurory's team is also noteworthy. Team members have experience from top gaming companies like Gameloft, EA, and Ubisoft. For example, Jonathan, a team member of Aurory, has been responsible for the release of several AAA games, including "Assassin's Creed: Valhalla," "Immortals: Fenyx Rising," "Far Cry 6," "Far Cry: Primal," "Far Cry 4," "Just Dance 3 (Kinect)," "Scott Pilgrim vs The World: The Game," and "Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands." His keen insight into AAA game production is an important support for Aurory's shift towards more mainstream game development.
As a visually impressive J-RPG, Aurory's artistic team is also outstanding. Keith Ebanks has worked as a 3D artist in the gaming industry for over six years. Manish has over ten years of multimedia and video game experience, having collaborated with various studios (such as Ludia and Moment Factory). Tigran has been making games since 2004, a history even older than the famous game engine Unity.
By mid-October, the Aurory team announced on their blog that the team size has now exceeded 20 people. While this development team may not compare to AAA games, it is certainly capable of handling a game of this scale. It is worth noting that even the highly acclaimed domestic AAA game "Gu Jian Qi Tan 3" had a development team of only about 50 people.
NFTs, GameFi, Metaverse—Aurory's Ambitions Go Beyond These
Aurory is not only a pioneering GameFi project on Solana; it is also one of the pioneers of Solana NFTs. As early as the end of August, Aurory successfully sold 10,000 NFTs at a price of 5 SOL each.
(Aurory still has considerable transaction volume and impressive prices on NFT platforms)
These NFTs are called Aurorians. They serve as both 3D skins for players in the game and as identity markers for players in the metaverse. Additionally, they have various functional uses in the game: special badges displayed on leaderboards, access to special modes with enhanced rewards, opportunities to receive airdrops, and participation in governance through DAOrory.
When the NFT market was booming, the entire NFT sector surged, making it difficult for people to distinguish between different NFT projects. However, as the overall NFT market cooled down, the differences between various projects began to emerge. Some projects gradually fell silent, while Aurory, initially treated by many as just an avatar, is nearing the completion of its game development.
The ancient practice of gaming has always faced innovation and transformation. J-RPG led the golden age of the gaming industry in the last century, the birth of the internet brought RPGs into the era of social multiplayer online games, and Aurory, after drawing on this classic paradigm of J-RPG, aims to bring it into the crypto world. The transformation of gaming technology continues to provide us with more advanced forms of experience, and the emergence of the P2E mechanism brings this change to a deeper level—this is a clever integration of online economies and the real world.
What Aurory aims to create is not just an avatar NFT or a GameFi project, but a metaverse owned by a DAO. In the Antik universe, players battle, socialize, and make friends, while the design of the P2E mechanism empowers players with real-world income through the value of tokens.
Moreover, this metaverse has an even more important mission: to promote the broader use of crypto.
Aurory also plans to create an easy-to-use platform for newcomers to educate them about some basic knowledge of crypto in original, interesting, and beneficial ways: such as how to create wallets, execute transactions, stake, and yield farm. The Aurory team's goal is to create an engaging in-game economy through innovative and attractive gameplay. By creating a popular, educational, and fully functional platform, they aim to attract a large number of players into the crypto world and convert them into broader crypto users.