Introduction 

Yuga Labs’ first foray into Web3 gaming, the Otherside, is a metaverse project that has garnered considerable attention in the cryptocurrency industry. It is an immersive new addition to the MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) genre, with a unique twist that sets it apart from other games.

What is The Otherside?

The Otherside is an MMORPG that operates on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC). This game uniquely integrates NFTs (non-fungible tokens) to give players ownership of in-game assets, a feature revolutionizing the gaming industry. The game requires users to connect their Metamask wallet to interact with it and purchase assets using BNB or BUSD.

In the Otherside, players can engage in PvP (players versus players) and PvE (players versus environment) battles, explore the game's universe, and complete quests to earn rewards.

The Otherside is powered by Improbable’s M2 technology, allowing over 10,000 players to interact simultaneously in a single place. 

It supports rich, immersive gameplay, AI and physics, and natural voice chat, even in crowds of thousands. In addition, players can move between metaverses, creating new types of gameplay and social possibilities. 

Metaverse Mechanics

The term "metaverse" refers to a parallel virtual world that exists separately from the physical world. This digital universe allows users to navigate between both realms seamlessly, fostering a new dimension of social interaction, creativity, and self-expression.

Metaverses are limited in scale by the number of communication operations they can process per second, or ‘ops.’ Most online game worlds can handle around 10,000 ops per second. 

The Otherside, on the other hand, can run more than half a billion ops per second, enabling new gameplay and interactions at an unprecedented scale.

The Otherside also solves issues in bandwidth and rendering, allowing large crowds to look different using machine learning. In addition, players can bring their external NFT characters to Otherside, making it a personalized gaming experience.

Otherside Metaverse

The Otherside Metaverse is built on several key components, each playing a critical role in shaping users' experiences in this virtual space. The Otherside comprises a combination of a galaxy and an archipelago, featuring islands that stretch from the Biogenic Swamp in the center of the world to the Infinite Expanse in the outer region.

Otherside NFT Integration

Players can acquire unique in-game assets, such as skins, weapons, armor, or other elements stored as NFTs on the blockchain. These NFTs are tradable both within the game and on external NFT marketplaces.

Otherdeeds

An essential component of Otherside will be the in-game land NFTs known as Otherdeeds, a collection of Ethereum-based tokens made up of an exclusive blend of environment, sediment, and treasures that may include resources or powerful artifacts.

The lands are constructed on five layers: Biogenic Swamp, Chemical Goo, Rainbow Atmos, Cosmic Dream, and Infinite Expanse. 

Otherdeeds enable players to claim virtual plots of land within the Otherside metaverse that they can build on, extract resources from, and monetize. In addition, owners of Otherdeed NFTs can customize their virtual environments and assets using various creative tools within the Otherside platform.

Otherdeed NFTs offer various virtual environments, each with its distinct theme and aesthetic. For example, the "VirtuaLoft," a futuristic, neon-lit apartment, towers over a bustling cyber-city, and the "Nymphaea," a serene garden oasis surrounded by waterfalls and lush vegetation. Other environments include the "Halcyon Station," a sci-fi space station orbiting a distant planet, and the "Crystal Isles," a mystical realm of crystal formations and floating islands.

Each Otherdeed NFT generates up to four renewable resources, namely Anima, Ore, Shard, and Root, which players can harvest and utilize. These resources vary in rarity, with some being more abundant than others. They serve as the foundational materials that enable players to shape their virtual world.

Unlike static representations of land, Otherdeeds are dynamic NFTs (dNFTs) that evolve as players advance in the game. Unlike regular NFTs, dNFTs are immutable non-fungible tokens; their metadata is changeable. 

dNFTs make NFTs more deflationary as digital assets because changes in their value are not exclusively determined by market factors but also by their dynamically evolving attributes.

Otherdeeds can be bought, sold, or traded on various NFT marketplaces, including OpenSea. 

Owners of Otherdeed NFTs have complete control over their virtual land and can develop it as they see fit, subject to the rules and regulations set by Otherside developers.

In-game Currency

The Otherside has an in-game currency known as “Essence.” This currency is essential for almost all transactions and interactions within the game. Whether purchasing items or engaging in battles, Essence plays a pivotal role in the gameplay experience. 

Earning and managing this currency effectively can enhance a player's ability to progress in the game, unlock new capabilities, and gain a competitive edge.

Interacting in the Metaverse

Interaction is at the heart of the Otherside Metaverse experience. The metaverse is intended to be interoperable, enabling users to move between metaverses seamlessly.

In addition to interacting with other players, users can attend events, explore various virtual environments, and even own land in the game world.

This level of interaction and immersion is comparable to other prominent metaverse projects like Sandbox and Decentraland.

Customizing the Metaverse Experience

Customization is another vital aspect of the Otherside Metaverse. Users can create and customize their avatars, allowing them to shape their experiences and express their unique identities in the digital world. 

This customization extends to owning and shaping land within the game world, giving players a sense of ownership and control over their virtual environment.

Secure Asset Management

The Otherside's reliance on blockchain technology ensures secure asset management. Players can confidently buy, sell, and trade NFTs representing in-game items, characters, and land within the Otherside universe.

Not only does this assure players that their transactions are secure, and their assets are genuinely owned, but it also opens up many opportunities for them to monetize their gaming experience. Players can earn real-world profits from their virtual gaming activities, from trading rare items to selling valuable lands.

Moreover, thanks to blockchain's decentralized nature, players enjoy freedom from interference by any central authority. This gives them complete control over their assets, offering a sense of autonomy that traditional online games do not provide.

Launch Challenges

The Otherside NFT land sale experienced issues due to unexpectedly high gas prices, leading to significant changes in its implementation. The sale initially followed a Dutch auction format but was later shifted to releasing Otherdeeds in waves to accommodate the issue.

A Dutch-style auction is a mechanism used to determine the price of an asset based on competitive bidding. In a Dutch auction, the price starts high and gradually decreases until a bidder is willing to accept it. 

Bidders indicate the quantities of an asset they are willing to purchase at the current price, and the auction continues until all the goods are sold or until the price reaches a level where there are no more buyers.

In cryptocurrency, a Dutch-style auction may be used to sell tokens or digital assets to the public. The auction begins with a high initial price, and as time passes, the price decreases incrementally until it reaches a level where participants are willing to buy.

During a Dutch-style auction in the crypto space, where participants are actively bidding and engaging in transactions to purchase tokens or assets, the high activity level can lead to congestion on the blockchain network. This congestion can cause transaction processing times to increase and result in higher gas fees as users compete to have their transactions processed quickly.

As gas prices soared, the sale implementation underwent notable changes to adapt to the challenging environment. Unfortunately, these alterations could not prevent a series of failed transactions, resulting in financial losses for specific participants.

Otherdeed NFTs were overpriced at launch, and their high value contributed to the escalation of gas prices and exacerbated transaction issues. This pricing decision strained participants' budgets and amplified the challenges of completing transactions in a volatile market environment.

Nonetheless, despite the challenges faced during the launch, Yuga Labs generated over $300 million in revenue from the sale of Otherdeeds.

Role of Yuga Labs

Yuga Labs is the primary force behind the creation of Otherside. Known for their successful Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) collection, they have expanded their NFT universe by launching Otherside. 

This expansion is more than just an addition to their existing NFT projects; it represents an entirely new MMORPG endeavor linked to the BAYC ecosystem.

The Otherside is designed to blend the mechanics of traditional MMORPGs and Web3-enabled virtual worlds, creating an interoperable metaRPG where users can move between various metaverses.

Collaborations and Partnerships

The development and success of Otherside are not solely attributed to Yuga Labs. Several notable partnerships and collaborations have been instrumental in shaping the project.

Venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz, Animoca Brands, and Improbable are critical players in creating and owning Otherside. Additionally, the ApeCoin DAO, the entity behind ApeCoin, holds significant influence over the new MMORPG as it is directly tied to the ApeCoin ecosystem. The Otherside also includes prominent NFT collections like Cool Cats, World of Women, and CrypToadz.

The combined effort of these organizations aims to provide a unique and immersive experience for Otherside. 

By enabling users to create, own, customize, and monetize their in-game assets, alongside engaging in PvP and PvE battles, exploring the game's world, and completing quests to earn rewards, Otherside is genuinely revolutionizing the MMORPG and NFT gaming space.

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