There is a lot of debate regarding in-game economies, and one thing for sure is that the vast majority of them fail hard, really hard.
Whether we like it or not, we are still in an experimental period where we haven’t seen a decent, sustainable economy yet. Think of any “mainstream” NFT Game; none of them has a viable play-to-earn token model so far. Most are pegged to the growth rate, relying either on breeding or new players, and growth hits the ceiling at a point.
Even when there is no breeding, there’s still no demand for the token, which drives the price down as players try to cash out.
The sad truth is most game economies last a few months (if not weeks) before reaching an all-time low and destroying players’ interest.
With that being said, today, I reap the opportunity to talk about LAVA, Vulcan Forged’s secondary token, that goes above and beyond with an interesting series of burning mechanisms aiming to survive over the years.
Let me remind you that burning tokens doesn’t actually increase the price on its own. There should be buy orders (demand) to do so. Players must spend to receive. It’s as simple as it sounds; in every economy, someone else must give for someone to take.
Before we Talk About LAVA, Let’s Talk Vulcan Forged.
Vulcan Forged is a gaming studio and an ecosystem of games/dapps also working on Elysium sidechain dubbed the “Home of all Metaverses.” Elysium uses Substrate to mix and match the best of all EVM chains, and it’s developed using Rust. This next-generation program language designed by Mozilla Foundation is also used in Polkadot/Kusama and is recognized by Google for its security and capabilities.
While the main currency of Elysium is going to be PYR, the transaction fees will use LAVA, and NFT Landowners of the VulcanVerse MMORPG game are going to become node validators if they decide to upgrade their Land plots.
Elysium is close to public launch, and it’s expected to arrive within the next months. The TestNet explorer went live recently.
On the other hand, over 20 confirmed projects are building on Elysium, with some being very popular such as the P2E game Chumbi Valley and the flagship game of the studio, VulcanVerse. A recent tweet from yesterday revealed that big fashion brand names would join the Vulcan Forged ecosystem as it expands in the Metaverse sector.
The majority of the games will use LAVA as the play-to-earn token, and any game can apply to use it by depositing the appropriate fee in PYR Tokens. This eliminates the hurdle for all developers who would like to integrate a play-to-earn economy but lack knowledge or want to focus entirely on the game.
Another significant aspect is the interoperability of in-game assets, which allow players to use them in different games. These are not games developed only by Vulcan. I’m talking about separate gaming studios that are building on VF and Elysium.
Let’s Talk LAVA Token Burn.
LAVA is the play-to-earn token of the ecosystem operating on Polygon sidechain with an uncapped supply and can be earned by playing Vulcan’s games.
If you are familiar with Vulcan Forged, you know that there are insane burning mechanisms that aim to keep a balance between minting and burning. At the same time, players are required to spend their LAVA (and PYR) for various necessary activities.
But that’s not all. Players are required to play. A universal experience system in place determines when and how many tokens a player can withdraw. For example, both Berserk and VulcanVerse reward players with XP; it’s the same experience and doesn’t tie to a specific game.
Below is a list of LAVA burning mechanisms. Some are already in place, while others will come in the future.
- Upgrade Land to bring more scholars and become an Elysium network validator to generate fees from transactions – also needs PYR. Check this article for more information.
- Unlock a variety of in-game features in many games.
- Purchase interoperable (and not) in-game items.
- Purchase consumables in various games.
- Activate NFT seeds. (Used in VulcanVerse.)
- Upgrade Vulcanite stats. Interoperable “Pets” between games. There are non-NFT and NFT ones.)
- Summon higher level Vulcanites for a short period
- Upgrade Titans & Gods. Interoperable NFTs used in various games.
- Crafting economy — workshops, the Blacksmith, etc.
- Foraging rewards unlock.
- Joining Tournaments.
- Staking cold LAVA in the Vulcan City LAVA Bank.
- Guild economy Inc. registration, HQ, customization, etc. with LAVA rental fee
- Customization options from a VulcanVerse shop. Learn how to setup your own VulcanVerse shop.
- VulcanVerse city wall adjacent plot assets.
- Courier NPCs to send letters & notes to others.
- Road quick travel transport.
- Corner/gate plot portals to Vulcan City.
- Staking in the VulcanDex exchange.
- Elysium transactions fees.
Now Let’s Talk Experience Points (XP)
In a nutshell, XP is a verification system measured based on time spent within the games. The amount of XP earned depends on the wins, the daily quests, the achievements, and other things.
Experience Points are also used in the following actions:
- Avatar level-up.
- Vulcanite stats level-up.
- Events participation.
- Gamble in Vulcan Poker.
- Unlock features in Berserk game.
- Upgrade items / cosmetics.
Finally, a steady flow of experience is a must if you plan to stake PYR in land plots as inactive game accounts won’t get any staking rewards.
The Verdict.
Vulcan Forged seems to seriously take the economy of their games with dozens of burning mechanisms and actions that require players to own LAVA. In combination with the upcoming Elysium blockchain, LAVA could be on the right path as a prime example of a play-to-earn token.
The vast majority of the games today have insufficient burning mechanisms, and players have no reason to spend their tokens back to the game.
As of today, LAVA is tradeable using the VulcanDEX on Polygon.
Don’t miss Vulcon2 Event This Summer.
Combine business with pleasure and visit Greece this summer! The Vulcon2 event will take place in Athens, Greece, on June 14th, with our CEO George Tsagkarakis being one of the guest speakers. You can read all about the Vulcan Forged Event in a previous article.
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Disclaimer:
We use affiliate links when possible. At no cost to you, we may earn some crypto or nfts.
While we strive for the accuracy of the content, we provide it “as-is.” We take no responsibility for any actions or results. We write about games, treat them as games. We don’t give investment advices. Always do your own, extensive research.
Full Disclosure: The eGamers.io Media owns both PYR and LAVA tokens.
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