Abstract
To implement a purely skill based game that utilizes the CU IP to attract more competitive players to the ecosystem. This game will focus solely on high level decision making and risk vs reward scenarios, much like poker.
Motivation
Recently we have had a proposal brought forth for a new game to CU that I personally felt was lacking in a lot of areas, was very redundant and was asking for large upfront funding based on nothing but an idea for a game. I found this predatory and would like to offer the community an alternative option, a strategic game that is truly skill based. There will be 0 pay to win mechanics and stats on unicorns and shadowcorns will have no effects. Our team comes from an e-sports background and we value competitive integrity, deep decision making and balance above all else.
Overview
Unicorn Arena(name pending) is a unique game where 8 of the 9 unicorn classes are chosen randomly each game as the combatants in the arena. The 2-4 players have betting tokens that they will place on the unicorn combatant of their choosing. Each round, once each combatant has a card played on it, the unicorn combatant with the lowest numbered card on it will be eliminated. Cards can only be played on the combatant class that it matches, with the exception of shadowcorn cards which act as wild cards. They are able to be played on any combatant and will void the unicorn power the next card played on top of it. The eliminations continue until there are only 3 unicorn combatants remaining, and those that had bets on those combatants will receive points.
Betting
Placing smart bets is the most important part of Unicorn Arena. Each round only 1 bet can be placed on each combatant, and players only have a maximum of 5 bets during the duration of the game. The earlier round you make the bet, the more points it is worth at the end of the game. Choosing a combatant that you can protect based on the cards in your hand is important, and teaming up with another player by betting with them in a later round is very beneficial. Players also are able to place 1 secret bet only in the first round. This bet will not be visible to the other players and is worth the most. You can only place a secret bet on a combatant card that you currently have in your hand. Bet values are as follows
Secret Bet- 5 points
Round 1 - 4 points
Round 2 - 3 points
Round 3 - 2 points
Round 4 - 1 point
Unicorn Abilities
To add another layer of depth and give outplay opportunities, each unicorn combatant has its own unique ability. To use the ability you must be the backer of that combatant, meaning you have the most visible betting points on that specific combatant. The ability can be used any time you play a card on that combatant. Players have the option to reveal their secret bet to gain control of a combatant, with the risk of being targeted because their secret bet has been exposed. The abilities are as follows:
- Cloud (Cloudy Day)
When you activate the ability, you may choose another player. Randomly draw half (rounded up) of that player’s cards from his hand and set them face down in front of him without looking at them. The player cannot use those cards in any way on his next turn. He must return them to his hand during phase 3 of his turn, after discarding cards but before refilling his hand to 8 cards.
- Crystal (Precious Gems)
All Crystal unicorn cards on the Crystal unicorn are worth .5 more no matter the player. Shadowcorn cards are unaffected.
- Heart (Charm)
When you activate the ability, you may pick any one other player and name a Unicorn class that has not yet been eliminated. That player must give you one combat card depicting that unicorn class if he has one. If he does not, he must show you his hand to prove it. The player cannot give you a card that has been placed face down due to the Cloud’s special power, and does not show you the face down cards.
- Omnom (Three Course Meal)
When you activate the ability, you may choose another player who has at least 3 cards in his hand. Draw 3 cards from that player’s hand and look at them, keep 1 card of your choice, and return the other 2 to the player without showing them to anyone else. You cannot draw from cards that have been placed face down due to the Cloud’s power.
- Star (Star Struck)
When you activate the ability, you may swap any two visible combat cards depicting the same unicorn class (Including the Star).
- Moon (To the Moon!)
When you activate the ability, you may discard any one visible combat card from any other creature in the current combat row. Any card revealed through this ability’s use is now the top card for that creature.
- Candy (Sugar Free)
Subtract 2 to the number of a combat card on the board, values can fall below 0.
- Flower (Overgrown)
Can block playing combat cards on any Unicorn for 3 turns.
- Rainbow (Pot of Gold)
Anytime you play on this unicorn, you get a random 0-10 pot of gold card
Unicorn Utility & Passive Bonuses
To play Unicorn Arena you’ll be required to own at least 1 unicorn or Shadowcorn. The unicorn or Shadowcorn that the player joins the game with will act as their avatar and name during gameplay. Each Unicorn Class Group (Wonder/Mystery/Light) has an additional ability within the game with Shadowcorns representing a unique class group of their own. Each of these perks add yet another decision for the player to make. With extensive testing, they have all performed equally and their effectiveness varies from game to game.
Shadowcorn: The player receives 1 extra bet token to start the game.
Light: (Cloud/Rainbow/Heart) Being the Primary combatant backer of a unicorn gives +1 to each stat card played on them, excluding shadowcorn cards.
Mystery: (Moon/Star/Crystal) The player can play their secret bet during the second round and once the second round starts, the player can see all other player’s secret bets.
Wonder: (Candy/Flower/Omnom) The player’s starting hand is 6 random cards with a unique 0 and 10 Shadowncorn card instead of 8 random cards.
Cost & Timelines
We believe in our game’s ability to stand on its own. We are already deep into development and have fully functional prototype still in progress. The next step is to get this in the hands of the CU community to let us know what you think.
Initial Cost: 8 eth or 20k USDC whichever is smaller USD value at the time
We are asking for only a small upfront cost to cover servers, additional feature testing and to cover the hours for our dev who has been hard at work. Only with community approval and feedback will we continue to add in the web3 integration.
Community Playtest: 1 month after proposal approval
We want to be up and running as soon as possible and will be ready to stress test and hear community feedback. We expect this to run 4-6 weeks while we compile feedback and make any necessary changes. After this stage we will have a community vote to decide if they believe our game will add value to the CU ecosystem. If the community collectively decides we should continue then we will move to the web3 integration and full launch stage.
Web3 integration and full launch: 4-8 weeks, 1 time payment 25 eth or 60k USDC whichever is smaller USD value at the time
This is our estimated budget for solidity development and full web3 integration for the game. 10k will be dedicated to security, and all costs will be passed transparently to the DAO.
Entry Fees
Initially entry will be completely free and with full launch we would like to make rbw entry fee rooms. We would like to keep the entry fee pegged to specific dollar amounts to keep rbw fluctuations from causing entry to become too cheap or expensive. We are proposing a very small rake of 1-3%, all of which will go back to the CU treasury. Seeing how a high rake can turn off the average player, we believe this is vital for large adoption. With enough liquidity, a true elo system will be implemented for fair matchmaking and leaderboard rewards. This is a bet on the success of CU in the upcoming bull run.
Conclusion
We’re a passionate group of OG’s who want to bring a real strategy game to the ecosystem instead of another half baked auto battler. We’re offering a more cost effective product and an exponentially more rich, replayable and fleshed out game than other proposals. We prefer action over promises. We believe in easy to learn hard to master loops. Let’s bring a real strategy game to the CU IP. I’ve included a few screenshots from our internal testing, will post some gameplay videos later
