Blockchain games run the gamut of attaching cryptocurrency to a framework or building a game out of blockchain-based assets -- in 0xUniverse, players will discover and trade planets that are virtual assets on the Ethereum blockchain.

Developed by 0xGames, 0xUniverse is one of a stable of games produced and published by the developer that uses the Ethereum blockchain and non-fungible tokens in order to represent blockchain assets in the game.

At its core, 0xUniverse is simple: buy planets, invent rockets, launch rockets, and then get more planets.

The planets themselves are virtual blockchain assets of varying rarity and in the 0xUniverse galaxy there are a limited number of planets. The planets themselves also provide certain resources that are needed to build and deploy rockets.

0xUniverse is a browser-based game and also features mobile apps on Android and iOS.

Planets: Beautiful, procedurally rendered places to plant your flag

Planets are essentially the primary asset of 0xUniverse. They contain the resources needed to research and deploy rockets – and rockets are need to discover other planets.

Planets themselves come in different rarities: common, rare, epic, and legendary. The higher the rarity, the more resources and population are produced by that world, as a result, higher tier rarity planets will sell for more on the market.

Planets can be sold and purchased for Ethereum on the market. The market interface is fairly intuitive, and includes a filtering option – which is very important because as the game progresses, players may find themselves lacking specific elements to build bigger and better rockets. This also means that certain planets with rarer resources will have higher demand on the market when it comes time to sell them.

Legendary planets also come with their own special back stories and often considerable resources. The story is only available to the owner of the planet, so the only way to read it would be to discover or buy that planet. Currently there are very few legendary planets and they are gorgeous.

One example is Startree: this world appears to be a giant glass ball, inside is a spiraling, starfilled Yule tree, topped with a giant glittering star. Other legendary planets include Bennywise, a giant clown skull; Dstation, looks like a space station; Hallomoon, a jack-o’-lantern planet; and The Hidden Planet, which is a cloud-swaddled Athenean temple with golden statues rising from its surface.

Planets build the portfolio of the player, and since they’re virtual assets, they can be viewed on the players Ethereum account.

Each planet also has a 3D representation visible inside of the 0xUniverse client – web or mobile. The representations are procedurally generated spheres with interesting features created by polygons, some of them have rings, some have orbital debris, some even have moons – higher tier planets may even be shattered or have other unique features.

Also, importantly, rockets can only be launched from planets. As a result, having more plants means being able to reach more of the universe to explore.

In the spirit of entrepreneurship, it’s also possible to rent out your planets to other players so that they can launch their rockets from yours. This is a way to earn more Ethereum from just playing the game.

Gameplay: Wait for resources to build, launch rockets, explore for planets

The gameplay loop for 0xUniverse is extremely simple: get planets, earn resources, research rockets, build rockets, launch rockets, discover new planets, and repeat.

Earning resources is a waiting game. Every planet owned produces resources from people to different types of elements and minerals (which themselves have their own rarity). Different types of rockets require different resources to build and launch, but all rockets require a particular number of people. Once these resource needs are met, a rocket and be built and sent out into the universe.

Like any blockchain game, it is necessary to spend a little cryptocurrency to get going. This is right out of the gate because the game will let you know (as a first quest) that you need to own at least one planet to start – planets are fundamental to researching and launching rockets.

It is possible to buy planets from other players (who will sell them for ETH) or purchase a bundle from the Galaxy Hypermarket. These come in bundles of $10, $25, and $50. Each bundle comes with a set of planets (common, rare, and potentially epic) and also a number of transactions that will be gas-free.

When a rocket is launched, there’s also an overlay for the galaxy that displays where to send it. This looks like a giant circular tile map, the color of the tiles (the brightness) shows how many planets have been discovered in that region.

Every launch also comes with some risk. Not all launches will succeed in finding a planet. They also cost resources (people in this case) and Ethereum gas that is not refunded on a failure. The rewards, however, are rather worth it since every planet represents an investment in the game and in Ethereum.

Outside of the gameplay loop of 0xUniverse, which in of itself is a collectable game, there is a vibrant community of players trading, renting, and exploring the game. Like any other multiplayer game with an internal economy, this means that there are opportunities to make extra currency by participating in that market.

In an update during June 2019, 0xGames also added four corporations to the game, which sold for 50 ETH each (approximately $7,000), which are larger groups of players who have bought in by purchasing one of 10,000 shares. Each share represents a 0.01% stake in the corporation. Just like the stock market, and real-world corporations, shareholders can also receive dividends and vote on the activity of the corporation. Corporations will also be able to engage in a Masters of Orion sort of colony management including the construction of buildings, which require energy tokens to build (which are another type of cryptocurrency).

Taking that into account, the market of 0xUniverse isn’t embedded entirely in the game, which means that currency earned from trading, renting, and exploring can be cashed out. This has brought in both players who want to collect planets and players who are looking to invest and earn Ethereum in the virtual assets.

Blockchain: Transactions occur on Ethereum and can be verified with a block viewer

Everything on 0xUniverse runs through the Ethereum blockchain. Planets themselves are represented as assets on Ethereum and Ethereum gas is required to do launch rockets, register new planets, and trade planets with other players.

This is extremely interesting for the crypto-asset space because it means that most of the gameplay actions in 0xUniverse are recorded to the Ethereum blockchain.

It also means that every transaction that occurs in 0xUniverse can cost approximately .0001 to .0004 ETH each time a rocket is launched or a planet is traded. That comes out to around 1 to 7 cents a transaction (this can go higher for a faster transaction and depends on Ethereum gas prices at the time).

The game works with three different wallet systems: MetaMask, Arkane, and 0xWallet. The 0xWallet is a beta Ethereum token wallet developed specifically by 0xGames and being beta-tested for 0xUniverse right now.

Currently, 0xUniverse is in the prospector stage. There are plenty of players trying their luck, launching rockets, and looking for planets. There are even a few corporations currently selling shares and building up their empires in the game. As a result, it can be quite profitable to start with a nest egg of planet investments, launch rockets, and sell planets that are otherwise unneeded.

The developer, 0xGames, also plans to use 0xUniverse’s planets to become the basis of an upcoming 0xUniverse: Battleships game. This will take place in the same “universe” as 0xUniverse and use resources from the planets in the game. The modules to build battleships will also be blockchain tokens and building them will draw on resources from planets – this will make planets in 0xUniverse even more valuable.

Taking a look at the trajectory for blockchain collectable games, 0xUniverse has its own “collect interesting planets” and “sell or rent them” gameplay loop going on and although that may work out extremely well for CryptoKitties, it’s hard to know if it will continue to work. With the addition of 0xUniverse: Battleships driving value up for the blockchain assets, it will represent one of the first evolutions seen in the blockchain gaming ecosystem.

Include this upcoming development and the corporations in the game, and 0xUniverse has an interesting position between the collectors’ market, the players who want to play to invest, and the eventual competitive play that will arise out of 0xBattleships.