Building interoperable onchain video games was a distant dream, but the foundations have been set for interoperability of game tokens and game NFTs with the Superchain. With Layer 2 and Layer 3 solutions, particularly the Optimism Stack, you can seamlessly enable token interoperability between different games. This guide will help you navigate the planning steps you need to take to get your video game onchain so it can be connected to the wider open Metaverse, leveraging the benefits of interoperability, low fees, and secure asset transfers.
Step 1: Choose Your Blockchain Setup
The Optimism Superchain offers an advanced infrastructure with native interoperability for tokens. This means you can start building the foundations for a game that has onchain capabilities on Layer 2 and take advantage of low fees and fast transactions without having to go through Ethereum Mainnet. Key features like Secure Message Passing and the SupERC20 token standard will allow your players to send assets (like game tokens and NFTs linked to game assets) across different games and L2s, ensuring a seamless user experience.
Key Benefits:
Low Fees: Keep transactions affordable for players.
Fast Transactions: Enjoy ~2-second latency
Interoperability: Tokens and NFTs assets can be used across multiple games on different chains supported by the Superchain.
Step 2: Integrating Wallets and NFTs
For your game to be truly onchain, you need to integrate wallet connects early in the development process. More on this in another post, but as a start, explore the Onchain Kit for ways to enable your players to log in with their wallets.
Here’s what you’ll need:
Wallet Integration: Find a plug-in for your game engine that supports L2 wallet logins.
NFT Gating: Allow access to in-game features based on NFTs. For example, a specific item or character could be used only if the player holds a certain NFT.
Step 3: Implementing Secure Message Passing
The Secure Message Passing protocol in Optimism allows for cross-chain messaging between different L2s. This is crucial for enabling interoperability across onchain video games. For instance, a player could buy a skin in your game with tokens they earned in some other game, all powered by cross-chain message passing.
Steps to plan:
Use the SuperchainERC20 specification for tokenized assets.
Set up message passing to transfer items or tokens between chains without the need for L1 (Ethereum) confirmation.
Step 4: Optimize for Security & Latency
While cross-chain transactions provide scalability and flexibility, it’s important to understand the latency-security tradeoff. If you need ultimate security from L1 confirmations, it could take around 20 minutes for a transaction to finalize. However, for gaming, you can optimistically accept transactions with ~2 second latency, and the Superchain’s fork choice rules ensure consistency over time.
Step 5: Testing Your Game
Before deploying your game, use SuperSim, a local dev environment that simulates interoperability on the Superchain. This allows you to test cross-chain interactions, asset transfers, and other onchain functionalities without real-world consequences.
Onchain video games on the Superchain will bring a new level of scalability, ownership, and player engagement. By planning and integrating wallet logins, NFTs, and secure message passing early on in your game development, you can help create a rich, interoperable gaming ecosystem across the Metaverse. With the Optimism Superchain, the possibilities are here. Let’s build the future of gaming, where assets and economies flow seamlessly across games and chains.
