Introducing Strategotchi
I would like to formally introduce the community to the game I’ve been working on, Strategotchi, and see if this is something the DAO is interested in funding for further development. As it stands, Strategotchi is a board game I designed to be played in person on an IRL board. Since its inception, the game has been refined and undergone multiple iterations which we were able to achieve through community testing. We are now at the point where the game is ready for the next step in its evolution and that is to bring it to the digital realm, creating a fully web 3 version to be enjoyed by owners of Aavegotchi and Gotchiverse assets.
What is Strategotchi?
A turn-based strategy and resource management game based on the map of the Gotchiverse grid, and revolving around the greater Aavegotchi community (more on this later)
Goals of Strategotchi
- Engage the community with a fun and competitive game
- Provide an outlet for competitive gaming between Guilds and individuals
- Provide new utility to protocol and Gotchiverse assets
- Create a sink for Gotchiverse and/or protocol assets/tokens
- Create a battleground for Guild vs Guild competition, an E-sports arena for Guilds
Why Strategotchi?
When it comes to the Aavegotchi protocol and the Gotchiverse, and if you’ve been around for long enough, you may have heard the saying: “The DAO IS the RPG.” While some may view this is as having negative connotations, we decided to embrace the concept and create a gamified version of our chaotic DAO, complete with politics, alliances, resource management, and well, strategy.
The result was Strategotchi, a turn-based strategy game that sees players racing to secure vital resources, bidding for positions of dominance, politicking for strategic alliances, and crafting to upgrade their assets, all while under the impending threat of an inevitable Lickquidator invasion!
We then thought, what if we push this concept even further and highlight what is perhaps THE greatest asset the Aavegotchi ecosystem possesses? Its community!
The result was the invention of Guild Cards - NFT card decks featuring prominent members of the community as own-able characters you can use in battle!
With Guild cards, players are able to collect, trade and deploy various commanders from the Aavegotchi community as their battle generals!
Fancy yourself a powerful attacker like Dr. Wagmi? A strong defender of your guild like Goobz? Perhaps you are the sly cunning type like HARDKOR or a pacifist like Coderdan. Whatever your personality and play style, you can construct your Guild Deck to match your preference.
But that’s just one aspect of the DAO as a game. What about alliances? Who you know is sometimes more important than what you know and for this reason, diplomacy and alliances play a huge role in the battle mechanics of this game, where players may request assistance in battle from other players.
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Lets take a step back and describe the game setup, win conditions, and the various units, game phases, resources and actions that a player can utilize.
Setup:
The game is played on a map that divides the Gotchiverse Grid into several regions. Some of these regions contain special icons representing alchemica deposits, portals and defensive structures. Each player starts the game with 3 GHST tokens and 3 Gotchi units (1 inside the Citadel and 2 on their Home Parcel, which contains their Altaar.) Players roll the dice to determine their starting position on the 3 Influence Tracks and then select a hand of seven Guild Cards to be used in battle. At the start of the game, the players at the highest position on the Whale Track, the Alpha Track and the Gamer Track receive the Godlike ROFL, the Alpha Drop, and the Black Axe special tokens. The 3 Gotchiverse Decks are shuffled and placed on the board. The Liquidator Invasion Deck is shuffled and placed on the board. Each player places their marker on position 1 of the Altar track.
Win condition:
Be the first player to upgrade their Altaar to level 9
GAMEPLAY:
Each round is split into three phases:
1 - Gotchiverse phase
2 - Planning phase
3 - Action phase
1 - Gotchiverse Decks: (Gotchiverse Phase)
At the start of each round, one card from each of the 3 Gotchiverse decks is revealed and its effects are carried out. The Gotchiverse decks can allow players to summon units, make players bid for positions on the 3 Influence Tracks, restrict certain order types, or cause a liquidator invasion
2 - Placing Orders: (Planning Phase)
Players place one order token on every region with a unit they control, outlining the basic action those units can perform. All orders are revealed once they have all been placed, requiring players to strategize and out-think their opponents. There are 5 types of orders:
March orders: used to move units from one region to another and initiate battle if an enemy unit occupies the new region.
Defend orders: provide bonuses to units being attacked
Support orders: allow units in adjacent areas to participate in battles
Rekt Orders: allow players to remove certain enemy order types in adjacent areas.
Paamp orders: used to extract resources, upgrade units, or upgrade the Altaar.
3 - Resolving Orders: (Action Phase)
Orders are resolved in turn with each player alternating resolving an order of a specific type. The order of play follows the order of positions on the Whale Track. First, players alternate resolving any Raid Orders in play order. Next, any March orders are resolved in turn order. Finally, Paamp orders are resolved in turn order.
Influence Tracks:
A dice roll is used to determine players’ starting positions on the 3 Influence Tracks.
1. Whale Track:
Determines who goes first in turn order. The player in the highest position of the Whale track receives the Godlike ROFL special token which grants them the ability to choose who wins ties in bidding
2. DAO Track:
Determines how many special orders a player can place on the game board at once. The player in the highest position of the DAO track receives the Alpha Drop special token which grants them the ability to peak at hidden Liquidator Invasion Cards OR change a placed order after all orders have been revealed .
3. Gamer Track:
Determines who is the strongest in battle. The player in the highest position of the Gamer Track receives the Black Axe special token which grants them the ability to add +1 combat strength to any battle one time per round.
Liquidator Invasion Track & Deck:
Throughout the game, as players battle each other for control of resources, the threat of a liquidator invasion looms. The numbers on the track determines the strength of the invasion and the cards in the Liquidator Invasion Deck contain effects (both punishments and rewards)
If the track reaches level 9 a liquidator invasion (with a strength of 9) is immediately started and players must work together, bidding GHST tokens to match the strength of the attack. In the case of a strength 9 attack, players must bid at least 9 GHST tokens collectively to win the battle. After the bidding, the top card in the Liquidator Invasion deck is revealed, showing the effects of both a win and a loss. If the players cooperatively match or exceed the strength of the Liquidator invasion, the win condition is applied, and vise versa.
The Liquidator Invasion track is advanced when a Gotchiverse card containing a special Liquidator icon is revealed.
Resolving battles:
When a player marches 1 or more of his units into an area containing units of an opposing player, battle ensues.
Combat is resolved by comparing the Total Combat Strength of the battling sides. The player with the highest Combat Strength wins the battle. In the case of ties the player who is higher on the Gamer Track wins.
The following elements can contribute to Combat Strength:
- Units in combat
- Defensive structures
- Supporting units
- Defence orders (defender only)
- March orders (attacker only)
- The Black Axe token
- Guild Card bonuses
The player resolving the March order is the Attacker (his units are attacking) while the opponent occupying the contested area is the Defender (his units are defending). Any supporting units (via Support Orders from an adjacent area) are considered Supporting.
Combat is resolved in the following order:
- Call for Support
- Calculate Initial Combat Strength
- Choose and reveal Guild Cards
- Use The Black Axe (if applicable)
- Calculate Final Combat Strength
- Combat resolution
Call for support:
During the first stage of combat, both Attacker and Defender may plead for support from all areas adjacent to the embattled area that contain a Support Order.
Players who control such adjacent territories may now grant or refuse their Supporting Combat Strength to either the attacker or the defender.
supporting Combat Strength is the combined Combat Strength of all units in the supporting area.
Support may be given to any adjacent combat, whether a supporting player’s own forces are in combat, or the combat is between two other players.
If there are multiple Support Orders adjacent to the embattled area, support must be declared (or refused) in turn order.
Types of Units:
1 - Gotchi Units
2 - Knight Units
3 - Berserker Units
1 - Gotchi units are the basic combat unit and represent a combat strength of 1, both on offence and defence
2 - Knights can be summoned by upgrading a Gotchi unit (when applicable). They represent a combat strength of 2, both on attack and defence
3 - Berserker Units can also be summoned by upgrading a Gotchi unit (when Applicable). They represent a combat strength of 4 on attack, but 0 on defence.
Bidding:
All bidding in the game is done secretly. Each player chooses the amount of GHST they are willing to bid (whether for positions on the 3 Influence Tracks, or to defend a Liquidator Invasion) and simultaneously reveal once everyone is ready.
Whether a player wins or loses a bid, all GHST tokens used to bid are burned and discarded (unless some card effect says otherwise)
Guild cards:
Once a battle ensues the attacking and defending players each choose and place one of their guild cards face down. Each Guild card contains a character (representing the leader of the current battle), its combat strength, and often some written effects and icons. Once both players have chosen their card, both cards are revealed. The Guild Card Combat Strength is added to each Players Total Combat Strength respectively and all written card effects are applied. After the battle, both cards are placed in the players’ respective discard pile. Once a player’s last card is discarded, all 7 are returned to the player’s hand.
Axe and Shield icons: (icons on the Guild cards that determine casualties in battle)
Certain cards contain various amounts of Axe and Shield icons. These icons determine if the units belonging to the player who lost the combat are killed or respawn in the Citaadel. For every Axe icon on the winning player’s Guild card, the losing player must destroy 1 unit. However, every shield icon on the losing player’s Guild card negates one axe (and one death)
Example: player 1 resolves his March Order by moving 3 Gotchi units into an area controlled by an opposing player holding 2 Gotchi units. The Initial Combat Stengths are 3 vs 2. Player 1 chooses to play Dr. WAGMI, a card with a Combat Strength of 4, written effect “Immediately destroy one of your opponents attacking or defending Gotchi units” and no axe or shield icons. Player 2 plays “Goobz,” a card with a Combat Strength of 2, 2 shield icons and written effect: “if defending, add +1 Defensive Power to ALL defending units.” Player 1 adds 4 to his initial Combat Strength of 3 for a Total Combat strength of 7. Player 2 must immediately destroy 1 Gotchi unit bringing his initial Combat strength to 1. He then multiplies the single unit’s strength by 2 as indicated on the Goobz card and adds 2 (card strength) for a total of 4. The Final Combat strengths are now 7 v 4, and because no Axe icons are present on the Dr. Wagmi card, the losing player’s single unit is respawned in the Citaadel.
Upgrading your Aaltar: (the PAMP+ order)
Players can upgrade their Aalter by interacting with the Altar icon on their Home Parcel. A PAMP* order must be played on the Home Parcel. When resolving, the player will have the choice to upgrade the altar.
The PAMP+ order also gives a player the option to interact with Portal icons which can allow a player to summon one new Gotchi unit or upgrade an existing one
PAMP* orders can also be used like a regular PAMP order, which allows players to interact with the other icons on the areas, including the GHST icon which can be used to gain 2 GHST tokens (1 for the order and 1 for the icon)
If a player chooses to upgrade their Altar, they must discard the number of GHST tokens represented on the Altar Track for the tier they are upgrading to. For the lowest tier (level 1- level 4) a cost of 2 GHST applies. For the middle tier (level 5 - level 8] a cost of 4 GHST applies, and for the final upgrade (level 9) a cost of 6 GHST applies.
Besides being the victory condition (upgrading to L9 altar), upgrading your altar allows players to have larger Gotchigangs (a group of units on the same area). The exact numbers are indicated on the Altar track for each tier. Tier 0 allows a max Gotchigang of 2 units. Tier 1 allows a Gotchigang consisting of 3 units. Tier 2 allows a Gotchigang of 4 units, and the Final tier allows a Gotchigang of 5units (note that in some game modes, reaching L9 is automatically a victory, while in others there may be further steps, such as summoning and sacrificing the sacrificial Gotchi. More on that later).
ECONOMICS
Token Sinks:
Providing sinks to our ecosystem’s various tokens has always been a major concern of ours and Strategotchi hopes to aid in that. One of the ways we envision this happening is by charging a smol amount of one or more of our tokens and burning a % of it. The remaining % we imagine would be split between the DAO, and used for player rewards. There are many ways to go about this and I am hoping for community feedback on their preference for how we should do it.
Deflationary Assets:
Another idea we are exited to explore is the idea of deflating our native protocol and Gotchiverse assets. One of the more extreme yet exciting ideas that originated during our play testing phase was the idea of the sacrificial Gotchi.
Sacrificial Gotchi:
In this advanced game mode, the normal end-game scenario is extended to add one more mission required to secure the win - the summoning, escorting and sacrifice of “the sacrificial Gotchi.”
When we first came up with this idea, we never imagined it as using an actual Aavegotchi, but with recent developments like the Forge, and the subsequent smelting of Gotchis and wearables, we feel confident that we can create a series of high-stakes game modes (for the true degens) that would take actual protocol and Gotchiverse assets and sacrifice them. Imagine Portal wars, but instead of winner takes all, winner takes the alloy/essence of the losing player’s buy-in.
This would create a nice deflationary pressure on wearables and Gotchis if such a mode gained traction. Again, we are open to community suggestions and would like to know what other ideas you guys have to make this game both fun and awesome for the continued success of our ecosystem.
Wearable Utility:
Another major goal of ours was to be able to utilize protocol assets in the game. One of the most straight forward ideas we’ve had is the ability to have a (sorta) free-to-play mode (for ppl already invested in wearables) where your wearables can be used in place of Guild cards, or in combination with them. (Guild cards will be NFTs sold in packs of 3, where you get 3 random cards.)
Questions, Strenghts and Weaknesses:
Here are some strengths and weaknesses we see in the project.
Strengths:
-
A fun and challenging game
-
Multiplayer game can be the basis for many competitions and tournaments for individuals as well as guilds, and provide a well needed outlet for aggression in the community.
-
Beautiful Graphics: With myself as Design Lead and with the help of other professionals in the design field such as Stellar Hobbes, our team will ensure a high level of polish and bring our extensive experience and background in game design, animation and UI to the table.
-
Proven Devs: With Shah as lead dev, we will have a proven dev who has capabilities in Unity as well as Solidity and has created the game Lickquidator Chase. He is also a person of vision, coming up with ideas that were ahead of their time such as the Aarcade Platform
-
A proven concept: The game is fun. Its been tried, tested and reiterated upon to the point where we have a fun game loop that is addictive, intuitive and easy to grasp
-
Balance: extensive testing has allowed us to achieve a well balanced game with tons of replay value.
-
Variety: Players can choose a wide variety of tactics and strategies through in-game choices, alliances as well as their Guild Deck builds.
Weaknesses:
Long games: this is a feature of board games that requires players to be committed to a long drawn out game.
Does not take Gotchi traits into account: While we can gatekeep the game by requiring ownership of certain assets, the nature of the game does not take advantage of individual gotchi traits. However, wearables and their stats CAN be used as a substitute for Guild Cards
Conclusion:
I would love to tap the community’s collective brain power to figure out how to make this a success. We are very passionate about this game and have been working on it silently for many months, dedicating countless hours to improving the game to the point where we feel confident about sharing it with you guys.
I will be providing a rough estimate of costs and a timeline including milestones and deliverables so that the process is completely transparent and the DAO feels comfortable that we are sticking to a schedule and shipping. For reference, our initial very rough estimates were well under 50k GHST in total but i will be finalizing the costs breakdown and updating you guys on that very soon!
