Mythical Games and Polkadot

Ecosystem Digest
1

Mythical Games and Polkadot

TLDR

The Mythos Foundation and Mythical Games are collaborating with Polkadot to create a dynamic and mutually beneficial partnership. We propose a token swap involving 1,000,000 DOT to be exchanged for an equivalent amount in MYTHOS tokens. This swap aims to fuel an incentive pool for engaging the community, developers, and players within the Polkadot ecosystem. Mythical Games is moving its operations to a public chain secured by Polkadot, positioning Polkadot as a leader in blockchain gaming by surpassing other web3 gaming chains in NFT sales and daily active players.

The partnership between Mythical and Polkadot is more than just good news for DOT holders; it’s a game-changer. It marks the beginning of a new era in blockchain gaming, promising a more immersive and rewarding experience for everyone involved. For DOT holders, this partnership not only showcases the network’s growing appeal but also positions them at the cutting edge of the blockchain gaming revolution.

Intro

In the fast-paced world of digital innovation, combining gaming with blockchain technology is creating new opportunities for gamers and developers alike. This combination is set to change how we think about playing and owning game assets, with Web3 gaming leading the charge. Mythical Games is at the forefront of this revolution, especially known for creating the top blockchain game, NFL Rivals. This piece looks into how Mythical’s move to Polkadot is a big win for DOT holders and the broader Polkadot community.

Why Web3 Gaming?

Gaming has always been quick to adopt new technologies, and Web3 gaming is no exception. By using blockchain, Web3 gaming gives players more control and ownership over their in-game items, making the gaming experience richer and providing real value for their time and achievements.

However, it’s essential to acknowledge that Web3 gaming is still in its early stages. A significant factor hindering its widespread adoption is the current lack of mature tooling and infrastructure tailored for game development in the blockchain space. This gap makes it challenging for developers to fully realize their visions and for players to experience the seamless gameplay they are accustomed to in traditional gaming.

Polkadot, with its advanced technology stack, is notably closer to bridging this gap. One of the key features that set Polkadot apart is its compatibility with WebAssembly (WASM), which aligns more closely with the needs and practices of game developers than what is typically offered by platforms solely focusing on the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). Despite maintaining EVM compatibility, which ensures that it remains accessible to a broad range of developers and projects, Polkadot’s embrace of WASM opens new avenues for performance optimization and innovation in game development. This compatibility is crucial because it allows developers to use a wide range of programming languages and tools they are already familiar with, thus lowering the barrier to entry for creating sophisticated and engaging Web3 games.

Polkadot’s unique architecture enables the exploration of additional architectures for Web3 games that were previously difficult or impossible to achieve. Its ability to support multiple parallel blockchains (parachains) that can each be tailored for specific use cases or functionalities allows for a level of customization and scalability that can significantly benefit the gaming industry. This architectural flexibility means that game developers can design their blockchain environments to support the specific needs of their games, whether it’s handling a high volume of transactions, managing complex in- game economies, or integrating novel gameplay mechanics that leverage blockchain’s inherent properties.

While Web3 gaming is still navigating through its nascent phase, the integration of technologies like Polkadot represents a promising leap forward. By providing a platform that aligns more closely with the practicalities of game development and offering the potential for innovative game architectures, Polkadot is helping to pave the way for the next generation of gaming. This progress not only promises to make the development of Web3 games more accessible and efficient but also to enhance the overall gaming experience for players, making it richer, more immersive, and rewarding. Introducing Mythical Games and the Mythos Blockchain on Polkadot.

Why MYTHICAL?

Mythical Games distinguishes itself in the blockchain gaming sector not just as any game developer, but as a professional studio with a repertoire that includes AAA titles. With a team composed of veterans from the gaming industry, Mythical has demonstrated its prowess through the development and success of games like NFL Rivals, which seamlessly integrates the thrill of mainstream gaming with the innovative aspects of blockchain technology. This blend of high-quality gaming experiences with blockchain’s unique capabilities underlines Mythical’s exceptional position in the market. Their commitment to excellence is not only evident in their product output but also in the company’s scale and achievements. As a studio that prioritizes cutting-edge technology and player-centric designs, Mythical has garnered attention and acclaim within the gaming community and beyond.

Having Mythical Games transition to Polkadot serves as a compelling endorsement of Polkadot’s technical and architectural merits. This move is pivotal for several reasons: it sets a precedent for other game developers and industries, showcasing Polkadot as a viable and superior platform for building and deploying blockchain applications. The unique attributes of Polkadot, such as interoperability, scalability, and the innovative use of parachains, provide a fertile ground for developers to innovate without the constraints typical of other blockchain ecosystems. Mythical’s decision to build on Polkadot could encourage a wave of new projects across various sectors to explore how Polkadot’s infrastructure can benefit their own applications and services.

Moreover, Mythical’s presence on Polkadot is advantageous for the ecosystem for several objective reasons:

Professionalism and Expertise: Mythical’s background in creating engaging, high-quality games brings additional professionalism and expertise to the Polkadot community. This can elevate the standard of projects and encourage a culture of excellence within the ecosystem.

Best-Practice Example: Mythical Games’ integration with Polkadot is a prime example of leveraging Polkadot’s unique advantages (such as interoperability, scalability, and customized blockchain creation) that can be utilized to address the specific needs of blockchain gaming. This partnership not only highlights Polkadot’s technical strengths but also sets a benchmark for others. Mythical’s success on Polkadot will serve as a key case study, encouraging innovation and adoption within the Polkadot ecosystem.

Cross-Industry Attraction: Mythical acts a beacon for other industries, highlighting Polkadot’s capacity to support complex, high-quality applications with large user amounts (NFL Rivals alone has over 3M users. This can lead to a diversified ecosystem where technology from various fields converges, fostering innovation and growth.

The support from Mythical’s visionary founders also makes Polkadot even more appealing as a tech-forward ecosystem (see in this context: “Beyond the Hype: Why Polkadot Stands Out!” featuring John Linden, the CEO of Mythical Games).

Mythical has:

  • A strong track record with popular games like NFL Rivals.
  • The capability to captivate and maintain a vast user base.
  • A commitment to the decentralized, player-empowered principles of Web3.

"Mythical Games’ play-and-own model and partnerships with global brands, like the NFL, has the potential to onboard millions of Web2 natives to Web3”
(Randy Wasinger, Forkast Labs & CryptoSlam)

Why Mythical is Good for Polkadot: increasing demand for DOT Blockspace

The Mythos Foundation, supported by Mythical Games, aims to revolutionize Web3 gaming by focusing on cross-chain infrastructure, evolving NFTs and game economies, integrating gaming guilds, expanding traditional esports into Web3, and collaborating with traditional gaming platforms for future policies (see the mythos.foundation website).

Mythical’s integration into Polkadot will deliver significant benefits to both. Mythos blockchain, previously operated as a permissioned EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) blockchain and gaming ecosystem, utilizes the MYTH utility token. It supports flagship gaming titles like NFL Rivals, Nitro Nation World Tour, and Blankos Block Party. With ca. 2M transactions per month, and ca. 700k wallets, Mythos will now be bridged to Polkadot.

The integration of Mythical into the Polkadot Ecosystem facilitates significant advancements:

  1. It serves as a large-scale on-ramp for gaming, introducing the existing Mythos ecosystem, including DMarket, its games, and a vibrant user base, to Polkadot.

  2. This move offers developers a superior framework for future game development and releases, through the availability of Substrate.

  3. With active user onboarding 700k+ active wallets, and an even larger player-base are brought to Polkadot (4M+ players). This not only boosts the ecosystem’s vibrancy but also increases the demand for DOT blockspace, enhancing DOT’s overall utility and value.

Mythos will be bridged to Polkadot via Snowbridge, future token will be issued on Substrate. The compatibility layer with the existing EVM ecosystem will stay to be ready to onboard future Substrate initiatives faster to the Mythos and Polkadot ecosystem.

Incentives for DOT Holders

Mythos Foundation Switzerland proposes that 1,000,000 DOT from the Polkadot treasury be allotted towards a token swap. In exchange, Mythos Foundation will supply the equivalent amount in MYTHOS tokens, which will be reserved for an incentive pool.

We propose that the MYTHOS token supplied be reserved in a gaming- focused incentive pool, which will be controlled by Mythos Foundation Switzerland.

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I’m not aware of anyone in the Polkadot ecosystem that isn’t excited for Mythos migrating to Polkadot. The original post does a good job of outlining the value propositions for Polkadot (I agree with the article’s conclusions). There are also clear value props for Mythical to move onto a public (vs. permissioned) chain, such as (a) enhanced security, (b) increased access to liquidity, (c) interoperability with dozens of L1s, (d) access to premium blockspace, etc. So, in my opinion, this move is a mutually beneficial one.

With regard to the token swap, I have a few questions.

  1. What is meant by ‘equivalent amount’, as noted below?

    At present, $DOT is trading at 11.26 USD and $MYTH is trading at 0.34 USD.

    If by equivalent, one means 1,000,000 $MYTH, then this proposed swap would see the treasury acquiring $MYTH tokens at roughly 33x their current valuation. If this is the case, why not propose the treasury just buy 1m DOT worth of MYTH on the open market, instead?

    If by equivalent you mean the USD-equivalent in MYTH, then I’m 100% on board with the idea.

    Either way, some clarification on the meaning of ‘equivalent’ would be useful.

  2. Regarding the earmarking of MYTH for specific uses:

    While I have nothing against the allocation of these tokens to a gaming incentive pool, I do think that a more detailed explanation on how this pool would drive value back to DOT holders and the treasury is warranted. Is the line of reasoning that funding this proposal is effectively a marketing campaign? If so, what are the metrics that we can use to measure success (e.g. wallet downloads, new projects coming to Polkadot, etc)?

In summary, I’m not opposed to spending the money, but believe some additional details prior to heading to OpenGov will help stakeholders better understand/weigh the merits of this proposal.

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I think that this is an interesting proposal for the Polkadot DAO to consider, and one that I’m personally in favor of seeing come to fruition. Granted, I have some bias (or maybe I’ve just had the privilege to gain a more direct understanding of the Mythos team) - I believe the achievements of Mythical Games are nothing less than impressive, and as I’ve gotten to know John & the team building Mythos, I have been impressed (and appreciate) their genuine passion for supporting the Polkadot ecosystem.

Naturally, I’m interested to learn more about the vision for how MYTHOS will be leveraged to grow & nurture both developer & user activity across Polkadot. That being said - I believe that if this is used for the common-benefit of the ecosystem and with the Mythical (soon to be Mythos) network bringing so much weight to the ecosystem, that this presents a strategic business opportunity for the Polkadot DAO to uptake. If it’s an exchange of 1,000,000 DOT for an equivalent USDC/USDT market price sum of MYTHOS, then that is fair. This is equal to ~$10M both ways. The Polkadot ecosystem will essentially have a ~$10M fund of MYTHOS to be strategically deployed in incentive pools that can, alongside the Mythos chain itself, position Polkadot as the leading ecosystem for Web3 gaming.

Right now, from what I see, Avalanche is being noted as the gaming chain; however, Mythical is already winning in the Web3 gaming sector across every category: real users, sales volume, transaction counts - and the pedigree of the project’s partners is the best of AAA gaming. So, while Avalanche may be commonly noted as the gaming chain today, I support this proposal because I believe it will become a catalyst for Polkadot being known as the best ecosystem for Web3 gaming going into the future.

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