Redstone Network launches to support full on-chain Ethereum gaming

red stonenew Ethereum The scaling network, designed for fully on-chain gaming and an “autonomous world,” launched its mainnet today and several early games are already available to play.

Developed by an Ethereum startup gridRedstone is built using: optimismOP stack extension technology. But this is more than just a rebranding of Layer 2 technologies that also power networks like: Base and Jorah—Redstone has been significantly retooled to suit the needs and demands of video games, especially those that use blockchain for purposes beyond asset ownership.

“We’ve had some really cool contributions from our core developers to the OP stack,” said Ben Jones, co-founder of Optimism. decryptionThis is GG. “This is the first (network) that’s not just tweaking the dial a little bit.”

Many cryptocurrency or “Web3” games utilize technologies such as NFTs for unique user-owned items or cryptocurrencies for a decentralized economy. However, fully on-chain or autonomous games operate within the capabilities and limitations of decentralized technologies by placing game logic or rules on-chain to drive playable games.

“In most cases, if you fully embrace the system or medium you are building, you tend to get more interesting results and sometimes better harmony purely from a product development perspective.” Lattice Co-Founder and CEO Justin Gilbert said decryptionThis is GG.

Gilbert says his team has fully embraced this building model based on Ethereum, “a computer that should be multiplayer by necessity, not by choice.” Following early experimental games such as dark forestHis team has created or helped build on other chains, including zkDungeon and OPCraft, and has designed Redstone to be better suited to these games, which are now available to the public.

Certainly, cryptocurrency games can be built on layer 1 networks as well as general purpose layer 2 scaling networks. However, fully on-chain gaming may be hindered by the way these networks are typically designed. For example, games must have low latency and a constant flow of player input, reducing friction when interacting with the blockchain.

Redstone is built to do just that and also features the first implementation of Plasma Mode, an alternative data availability protocol co-developed by Lattice and OP Labs. Plasma mode increases transaction throughput by: Off-chain data availability providerHowever, it also includes permissionless Ethereum layer 1 features that allow any user to challenge suspicious inputs.

Simply put, Plasma mode makes different kinds of design trade-offs to power games and other high-throughput decentralized apps, but also includes on-chain features that can challenge potential threats. Inspired by plasma concept Co-authored by Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin in 2017 (more recently, Shined a fresh light), which will be available across the OP stack in the future.

This is combined with MUD, Lattice’s engine for on-chain Ethereum gaming. It’s being used in the studio’s own Sky Strife, a tactical strategy game similar to Nintendo’s classic Advance Wars that you can play today. Other Redstone-released games also use MUD, and EVE Online developer CCP Games also uses this engine. Project Awakening Game—Gilbert said CCP has not yet selected a network for the project.

with sky stripes Initial lineup of Redstone games Titles include: biomeSandbox game similar to Minecraft; DF Ares, a community-driven revival of the Dark Forest; and downstreamIt has been described as an “infinitely moddable MMO” and “the world’s first post-Singularity civilization simulator.”

One of the most notable games on the release list is: to, a game from ARPA that sounds like a mix of an abstract art project, a virtual pet simulator, and a crypto-social experiment. Or, as an ARPA representative explained:DEAR is a digital creature that transforms based on the collective actions of all players – whether they feed the creature or abuse it, a tug-of-war between the two forces.”

“Experimental” is a fair term to describe most of what’s happening with Redstone and fully on-chain gaming. Some of the early games were far from mass market in aesthetic and were built around new and unfamiliar concepts.

Gilbert said there are a number of benefits to being fully on-chain, such as the ability to easily deploy game modifications and create new business models around existing games. While fully on-chain games (FOCGs) cannot end or disappear like some Web2 games, autonomous worlds (AWs) can offer new kinds of play mechanics and experiences.

But whether there is any business here remains to be seen.

“For most studios that raise capital to build on-chain games, no one knows if it will actually become a worthwhile market,” Gilbert said. “Most people who are doing this seriously don’t even know if they have a business model mature enough to actually do this.”

But they are still working to push the boundaries of what is possible on-chain.

“There’s a lot of noise about ‘how are we going to monetize’ FOCG before it really materializes,” said Majorknight, ARPA co-founder and CTO. decryptionThis is GG. “Creating urgent profits is killer of innovation. At best, it creates a one-hit wonder like this: Play to Earn “The games we saw had nothing to do with FOCG production or infrastructure improvements.”

Majorknight further praised the Lattice team for its attempt to power a new type of on-chain game, describing it as a team of “young, talented and driven people focused on building the infrastructure” for these games.

“FOCG’s original vision was to leverage risk-free, creative scenarios to test the potential of new blockchain applications and push the boundaries of infrastructure. This is similar to the relationship between games and simulations, or games and GPUs, in science/engineering. .” they added. “Who else would we collaborate with if not the team that coined the term FOCG/AW and established this vision beyond short-sighted monetization?”

Editor: Stephen Graves