On May 3rd, @0xPARC tweeted that they will be hosting a hackathon for blockchain games in collaboration with @ETHGlobal and @latticexyz. This online hackathon, called "Autonomous Worlds Hackathon," will last for 5 days.
First, let's talk about 0xPARC and Lattice. Both of them are well-known in the field of blockchain games. The groundbreaking blockchain game "Dark Forest" was created by 0xPARC. Here is an excerpt from their official introduction:
"The 0xPARC Foundation is dedicated to promoting application layer innovation on Ethereum and other decentralized platforms. Our main focus areas include:
- Research and development. We support experimental applications that utilize new cryptographic primitives, such as zero-knowledge cryptography. The 0xPARC project aims to push the technical boundaries of cryptographic applications both within and outside of blockchain.
- Open-source tools and infrastructure. New application design patterns require new tools and infrastructure. We encourage the development of these tools based on the values of an open ecosystem.
- Education and ecosystem development. We are committed to bringing more developers, technologists, writers, and thinkers to the forefront of decentralized application development. We achieve this goal through educational programs and other community initiatives.
Projects that we fund, provide operational support for, or otherwise participate in include Dark Forest, Lattice, ZKonduit, EthUniversity, Index Supply, and more."
For those who are familiar with my introduction to the blockchain game engine MUD, you may know about Lattice. Strictly speaking, Lattice is the name of the company, and their products include the game engine MUD and the blockchain game .
Fully On-Chain Game, or blockchain game, refers to games where both assets and game rules are stored on the blockchain, as opposed to GameFi games where only assets are on the blockchain. However, this technical description is more focused on the technology aspect. To expand the narrative, 0xPARC and Lattice proposed the term "Autonomous Worlds" (https://0xparc.org/blog/autonomous-worlds), while myself, @FunBlocksFun, @DFArchon, and others proposed the term "DeGame" (decentralized game). For more details on the concept of DeGame, you can refer to my blog article: https://captainz.xlog.app/degame-de-yan-bian-he-you-xi-de-xie-yi-hua
For those who have never participated in an online hackathon, we decided to give it a try. This hackathon is mainly conducted online and lasts for 5 days. Registration needs to be done through the official link provided by ETHGlobal, and the deadline is the 16th of the month in Los Angeles time. During the registration process, participants need to provide their basic information and resume, as well as stake a small amount of ETH to verify the validity of their wallets. Then comes the brainstorming and team formation period, where participants can introduce themselves and their ideas in the ETHGlobal Discord group to form teams on the spot. After that, participants can create their own projects and choose their teammates on the official website.
The opening ceremony of the hackathon will be hosted by three experts: @TheRealKartik from ETHGlobal, @l_udens, and @_alvarius from Lattice. This will be followed by a series of online lectures on various tools and knowledge, such as how to use MUD to create 2D and 3D games, ZK machine learning, and more. The specific content can be found in the table below, and those who are interested can look for ETHGlobal for replays.
From the 19th to the evening of the 23rd, the hackathon competition will take place. The rules are to come up with your own idea within these few days and try your best to create a project. When submitting, participants need to provide a project overview, code, and a demo video. Since game development is more complex compared to DeFi, with many aspects to consider, most projects will only have a demo. The list of the top 10 winning projects is as follows:
To learn more about these projects, you can refer to FunBlock's article: https://mirror.xyz/0x949B1fE8B1860E51fa550131EB0F21729cA68A1A/o1Dz_9xMtBjAaQ_HLJC_3pdqztF3jvakOWGqsy7iYG0
We know that besides getting to know outstanding development teams and projects, hackathons also serve the purpose of understanding industry trends. We can also get a glimpse of the cutting-edge research directions in blockchain games through the award descriptions set by the competition.
Optimism:
- Creating fully on-chain games using the OP Stack
0xPARC:
- MUD Plugins & modules for ZK
- ZKML MUD Plugin
- FHE powered dungeon master
- Cryptographic fog of war with MPC
Lattice:
- Non-games Autonomous Worlds
- Composable engineering
- Fully MUD-powered DeFi. MUD Swap?
NFT.Storage:
- Storing Autonomous Worlds NFT metadata using NFT.Storage
Finally, let's conclude this article with an introduction to Autonomous Worlds based on this event.
The emergence of new computing forms has made it possible to create new types of virtual worlds. Autonomous Worlds are not just worlds that happen to exist on the blockchain, but rather worlds that cannot exist in any other circumstances. Personal computing allowed early game developers to create single-player game worlds, where isolated individuals could immerse themselves in text-based adventures or pixelated worlds on the screen. Network computing expanded these private interactive experiences into multiplayer worlds: server-based multiplayer dungeons and massively multiplayer online games that no longer depended on the participation of a single player.
With the advent of on-chain computing, the possibilities for Autonomous Worlds have also emerged: multi-authored, extremely persistent worlds that can be experienced and extended by multiple residents. These worlds are no longer read-only containers for private immersion or collective experiences, but rather collaborative communities guided by digital consensus, with open-ended development.
The unique advantages of Autonomous Worlds can be seen from early experiments in blockchain games, but their full potential is yet to be realized. In this hackathon, we invite developers and game designers to build games and tools to test the fullest expression of Autonomous Worlds in their eyes.