Original author: WASD

Original compilation: Deep Chao TechFlow

In the past, WASD has introduced on-chain gaming ecosystems on different L2s, such as Starknet and Arbitrum.

Today, we will introduce Base to its on-chain gaming ecosystem!

Base is an optimistic rollup developed by Coinbase and built using OP Stack.

While it may not yet have the same activity as older networks like Arbitrum or OP Mainnet by metrics like TVL, Base has been growing steadily since its launch in August 2023.

While L2 is best known for its social and creator economy use cases, it is quietly becoming a hub for gaming and other cool on-chain experiments.

Can Base become a leader in this space? Let’s find out together!

Why choose Base

Before we dive into the project, let’s take a look at why Base is perfect for hosting on-chain games.

Scalability: As an L2, Base can have higher TPS compared to Ethereum L1.

This is crucial for on-chain games as they require a large number of low-cost transactions to provide players with a smooth and accessible experience.

EVM Compatibility: Base is EVM compatible, allowing developers to leverage existing development tools or migrate their DApps from other networks.

Especially for on-chain games, this means teams can use EVM-compatible engines such as MUD or Paima.

Coinbase support: In the long term, teams building on-chain games on Base should be well-positioned to leverage Coinbases large existing user base.

Base is being deeply integrated into Coinbases products, whether its supporting bridging from CEX or using the Coinbase wallet to transfer USDC for free on L2.

In addition, the team provides extensive developer support, focusing on projects building on the network and distributing grants to developers.

Bases games

Now that we understand Bases value proposition as an on-chain gaming platform, lets take a look at some of the ready-to-play games on the Base network.

FrenPet

FrenPet is a Tamigotchi-style mobile game in which you take care of a pet on a chain.

In addition to taking care of your pet, you can also participate in different activities, such as fighting other players, purchasing cosmetics at the in-game boutique, and participating in mini-games such as Spin Wheel and Dice.

Each FrenPet is represented by an NFT that can be minted for 10 FP tokens ($7), and if you ignore it, it will be destroyed.

$FP is an ERC-20 token that carries a 5% transaction tax, but a portion of this fee is distributed to players as rewards in the form of ETH based on your score relative to all players in the game (i.e. you score The higher it is, the greater the reward share you get).

Overall, if you like simple casual mobile games, you should like FrenPet.

The player retention mechanic is very clever as it incentivizes players to participate and move up in the rankings to maximize their rewards.

However, given its casual nature, as a gamer who likes to get into the depth of the game, I was never fully invested in it.

Words 3 

Words 3 is a PVP word game developed by Small Brain Games.

Words 3 is similar to Scrabble or Words with Friends in that you compete with other players to form words and earn points.

However, unlike these off-chain games, you must pay ETH to use letters, and the price of these letters changes during the game based on the demand for using them.

The game of Words 3 is played in limited-time rounds.

At the end of a round, the ETH spent throughout the round will be redistributed to players based on their profitability or the points they earned relative to the ETH they spent.

I like Words 3 because it combines strategy, speed, and creativity in a game thats easy to pick up (but hard to master).

I compete weekly in the Words 3 Community Round hosted by WASD and [WE].

That being said, I think this game could benefit from a burn wallet for a smoother experience and a tutorial or guide with more information on strategy and how to play.

Drawtech

Drawtech is a PVP drawing game also developed by Small Brain Games.

As the first-ever mobile on-chain game, Drawtech is built as a PWA and uses Privy for bootstrapping and hosting of the embedded wallet.

In the game, you compete to color tiles on a shared grid.

Similar to Words 3, you need to pay ETH to do so, and each block has its own price, determined by player demand.

Assuming they dont cover your blocks, every time a player colors a block, youll earn a portion of the ETH they spent, proportional to the number of blocks you control.

While I like the underlying mechanics and the opportunity to earn some ETH, I do think the block prices get very expensive very quickly, thus turning off new players.

Still, as the first mobile game, this is a huge leap for on-chain gaming.

LandTorn

LandTorn aims to build an interconnected on-chain gaming ecosystem.

You can think of this project as similar to Treasure DAO on Arbitrum or Realms on Starknet, in that LandTorn acts as a game publisher and distributor and aims to unify its ecosystem around a shared token ($TORN).

Along these lines, games released within the LandTorn ecosystem will utilize $TORN while participating in the larger metagame and economy.

The first game of the project is Lorak, an idle game similar to Treasure DAOs Bridgeworld and Realms Eternum that acts as a metagame for the ecosystem.

In Lorak, youll mint a Settler NFT that you can use to complete dungeons and earn loot.

The loot is an NFT that can be sold in exchange for a second ERC-20 token, $SHARD.

$SHARD serves as the main token of Lorak itself, as it can be used to upgrade your settlers and gain access to certain dungeons.

Do this to achieve your ultimate goal, which is to discover items called Myths that can be used to mint Torn Lords, a rare collectible containing 500 NFTs.

Overall, the vision LandTorn is pursuing to create an interconnected gaming ecosystem is very interesting, despite the complexity of Lorak itself.

While the game isnt fast paced, I enjoy improving my rank on the leaderboards, especially now when there arent many players.

Cambria

Cambria is a studio that makes several games, including Duel Arena, Degen Wars, and Gold Rush.

Degen Wars is a 2D MMO inspired by games like Runescape and Ultima Online.

In it, players compete for territory and resources by participating in PVP battles as part of an on-chain tribe.

Their second game, Degen Arena, is now the teams main focus. In Arena, players can challenge each other to 1-on-1 duels.

The duel uses a staking mechanism. Users can use ETH, NFT, FriendTech points or other assets on Base as bets, and these prizes will go to the winner of the battle.

Duel participants will earn Essence Points, making you eligible for the upcoming Duel Arena token airdrop.

You can also participate in free duels where you can earn Arena Tokens, another currency used to purchase other items such as cosmetics.

I found Degen Arena to be very interesting, with lots of opportunities to chat, compete, showcase NFTs, and even win some ETH.

Im excited to continue playing and look forward to seeing future upgrades such as implementing guilds and more.

Other games on Base

There are also several interesting on-chain games, projects or experiments on Base worth checking out.

These include:

• Basepaint, a collaborative on-chain art project.

• Dot, a protocol that allows you to create collectible pixel art

• Land, Labor,Capital (LLC), a tycoon game deployed at Base.

Bullish Base

As you can see, Base’s on-chain gaming ecosystem is booming.

There are currently many games available to play built on L2, which bring unique gameplay mechanics, mechanics, and economic design.

Across these games, Bases scalability, EVM compatibility, and connection to Coinbase put it well-positioned to continue to be the leading on-chain gaming ecosystem.

If you pay attention to on-chain games, please don’t ignore Base.