gm everyone, I’m derio, ethereumnavi’s owner.
In this issue, I would like to introduce and explain Isaac, the first on-chain game project on Starknet that is an “on-chain reality”.
Recently, crypto-native projects have become more prominent in the “gaming” space, especially in the Starknet area, where there is a lot of active development.
And since I felt that Topology’s “Isaac,” which I will introduce here, is a very high-profile product in the Starknet ecosystem and one that should be kept in mind in terms of on-chain games, I decided to take it up as a subject matter.
However, the fact is that Starknet’s development language is Cairo, which is different from Solidity in Ethereum (L1) and therefore difficult to understand through reading code.
Therefore, the purpose of this article is to introduce Starknet’s on-chain game “Isaac” to give you an Overview of the project, what makes it so eye-opening, and the advanced model used to make it a reality.
Let me begin by describing the structure of this article.
I will begin with a description of the actual state of Topology, the organization that operates the on-chain game Isaac, which is the main topic of this article.
The next section describes Isaac, the first on-chain game project on Starknet to be an “on-chain reality”.
Finally, I overview the DAO architectural pattern “CarseDAO” with a governance structure for managing infinite games and the governance body “IsaacDAO” created according to this pattern.
I hope that this article will be of some help to those who are interested in understanding the Overview of “Isaac,” its points of interest, and the truth about its architecture for developing DAO with Play-to-Vote (P2V).
※This article is for general informational purposes only and is not intended to be and should not be construed as legal or investment advice. Therefore, it is not a recommendation to purchase any particular FT/NFT and should be used only as a study.
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Premise: About the governing body Topology
The on-chain game “Isaac” will be discussed in the next chapter. First, this chapter will take an in-depth look at the main operating organization, Topology.
Overview
The first premise is that Topology is the name of the organization and Topology’s on-chain game is called Isaac.
Topology is an organization that is working to create the next generation of video game platforms and envisions a “future of the digital world” that pushes the boundaries of what was previously thought possible.
In order to realize the future of the new digital world, they call themselves Topology’s “on-chain reality” and strive to build a future where everyone is free, permissionless, and trustless.
Topology’s mission is to “unleash the true potential of humanity in a world that is always inclusive,” while also striving to “build an eternal (semi-permanent) world,” and to this end, Topology places importance on the following elements.
- Inclusive design
- Composable design
- Interoperable design
Therefore, Topology’s new products are expected to be designed around the above vision.
Founder
Topology’s founders are guiltygyoza (hereinafter referred to as Gyoza) and kunho. (※According to the author’s research.)
The former, Gyoza, in particular, is a well-known figure that anyone who follows information on on-chain games has probably seen at least once.
Gyoza’s three main areas of interest are ①Crypto, ②infinite games, and ③AI, and the theme of this article, “Isaac,” is in pursuit of ① and ②.
This is the compendium of Topology. In the next section, I will look at a brief overview of the on-chain game called “Isaac” that Topology is currently developing and what it is really about.
What is Isaac?
概要
Isaac is Starknet’s first “on-chain reality” project.
Isaac was inspired by the novels “Three Bodies” and “Wandering Earth” by Chinese science fiction writer Liu Jixin.
In this project, the former helps “define the overall flow of reality and its purpose,” while the latter helps “define what presents a solution to the purpose“.
derioIf you are interested in the on-chain game, this may be a novel series you should read.
In this article, I will not talk about the “three-body problem,” which is a problem in celestial mechanics that has not yet been completely solved because multiple equations are involved when there are three planets, although Newton’s theory of universal gravitation is valid when two planets are assumed to exist in the universe. This is a problem in celestial mechanics that has not yet been completely solved.
How this three-body problem is reflected in the game’s worldview is discussed in detail in the “Story” section that follows.
Isaac also claims that all game logic is coded in the Cairo language and stored in a smart contract (Starknet) for on-chain execution, while also providing a form of governance by play that differs from typical token-based forms of governance. Governance by play”, which is different from the common form of governance by tokens.
derioThe details of this area will be discussed in depth in each part later, so let’s just start with the Overview.
Incidentally, the name “Isaac” has the following three meanings:
- The suggestion that Newtonian mechanics is involved (Isaac Newton)
- The meaning of the creation of the world in the context of religious figures (Isaac, one of the Taisho (the Great Patriarchs) in the “Book of Genesis” in the Old Testament)
- The meaning of subjectivity in relation to describing the mechanisms of objective reality, given that Isaac is the name of humanity
Story
First, all players are set to coexist on “EV”, “one small (negligible mass) planet in danger of extinction”. (Hereinafter described as “EV planet.”)
And around the EV planet I live on, there are three solar systems (the sun and a group of celestial bodies composed around it): Böyük, Orta, and Balaca.
Naturally, the EV planet and the three solar systems are not stationary; imagine that they are moving in their own orbits.
As you can imagine from the size relationship of the EV planets and the three solar systems, the EV planets are very poor, so if they collide with one of the solar systems, they disappear and it is game over. (If it moves too far away, it will become extremely cold, which will be critical for the survival of the human race.)
Therefore, there is no PvP incentive in the structure of the game, and all players ultimately either “win together” or “die together,” making it a massive co-op game (PvE).
It can also be called a “multi-cooperative on-chain game” in which all players are competing for survival, as “all players drive like cars around the EV planet, dodging three solar systems and ultimately trying to escape from the solar system.”
Outline of game clear conditions
Players must work together to change the fate of EV planets in order to avoid their extinction.
All players must work together to escape the three irregular solar systems and build various devices on the EV planets, including
- Factories
- Power grids
- NDPE (nuclear rocket)
The general flow is for all players to cooperate in deploying factories and power grids, while taking into account the rotation of the EV planet and its relative position to the sun to place NDPEs, strategically timing their launch, and choosing one or the other depending on the situation.
- Change the orbit of an EV planet as a temporary measure to avoid collision with a solar system
- Drive the planet to escape velocity with a safe escape route to escape from the 3 solar systems and complete the game
If the game is cleared by selecting ②, wouldn’t it make sense to select ① ?
Some may think this way, but in fact, to achieve ②, several conditions must be met, such as the speed of the planetary EVs being above a certain level and the distance relationship between the three solar systems, whose orbits are unreadable.
In other words, you can choose ① as a temporary measure by consensus among the players, or you can choose ② if you think, “Now is a good time! If the player decides that he or she is ready to play, the basic flow is to choose ②.
Planet EV is not “round” but “square
The word “planet” conjures up an image of a “round” planet, but the planetary EV in this project is a “square” one, a cube with a length of D on each side.
As shown in the photo above, each face of the cube called Planet EV is dotted with colorful squares, which represent resource harvesters, refineries, and nuclear power generation equipment.
Participants in the game will construct these various buildings, collect electricity, harvest resources, transport resources, and ultimately build a nuclear engine called an NDPE in order to escape from the three solar systems.
Current Status
Previously, people who completed Solve to Mint (solving on-chain puzzles to earn the right to play Isaac) from this site or those who were specially invited to play were able to play.
However, as of October 15, 2022, it is not available for play.
About CarseDAO and IsaacDAO
Finally, this chapter will first describe CarseDAO, a DAO architectural pattern with a governance structure for managing infinite games.
Then, after that, I will give an overview of the “IsaacDAO”, a governance body created according to the CarseDAO standard model.
What is CarseDAO ?
There are at least two kinds of games,” James P. Carse states at the beginning of his book.
‘One is called a finite game, and the other is called an infinite game.’ Finite games are played for the purpose of winning; infinite games are played for the purpose of continuing play.”
As mentioned earlier, “CarseDAO” is a DAO with a governance structure to manage infinite games.
And in his book, Carse makes the argument that there are at least two types of games: finite games and infinite games.
The Isaac management team believes that governance is very important in on-chain games from the very first phase, and since Isaac is an infinite game of the latter, they have composed an “IsaacDAO” (see below for details) that incorporates the model Carse advocates.
In the CarseDAO model, you need to play the game to be entitled to vote.
The goal of this DAO model is to “ensure that games are managed by people who have played/really understood the games, not by people who buy up governors’ tokens (≒have capital power).
CarseDAO aims to “become the standard model for Play-to-Vote (P2V),” and Topology seeks to redefine open game development through this model.
What is IsaacDAO ?
IsaacDAO is a governance body created according to the CarseDAO Standard Model introduced in the previous section.
Its philosophy is to strive for simplicity and integrity, to explore secondary voting dynamism, and to adopt full forking potential.
An essential part of IsaacDAO is the quantification of “meaningful play” in the Isaac reality.
In essence, those who contribute to the overall ecosystem through “meaningful play” will be given governance rights to determine how the game evolves in the future.
Play the game a lot, vote a lot. The governance model will be based on a cycle of lots of games, lots of votes, and lots of iterations, which will eliminate coin voting altogether.
For more details on how meaningful play will be quantified, please refer to Quantifying meaningful play, but briefly, points will be awarded to those who activate the NDPE, those who participate as players in a successful escape from a universe with three solar systems, and so on. The points will be awarded to those who have successfully launched the NDPE or participated as a player in a successful escape from a universe with three solar systems.
However, as mentioned above, at the time of writing, the alpha version of the game has been stopped and cannot be played, so when the game can be played again, I would like to discuss this project as well as its practical application.
Summary
Nouns DAO JAPAN aims to be the best Nouns community in the world. Click here to join the Discord.
In this article, I introduced and explained Topology’s on-chain game “Isaac” on Starknet.
I hope that this article has been helpful to those who are interested in understanding the Overview of “Isaac,” its points of interest, and the truth about its architecture to develop DAO with Play-to-Vote (P2V).
If you found it helpful, I would appreciate it if you could share it on Twitter, comment on it, etc.
🆙posted an article in English about Topology & Isaac.@guiltygyoza @topology_gg https://t.co/MVLCZuRrXn
— でりおてんちょー｜derio (@yutakandori) March 9, 2023
