With evolving gameplay and future Metaverse plans, WidiLand is a dynamic #free2play and #play2earn game to explore and build a new world. Players will play the role of the first inhabitants of the land of Widi, starting the journey to build a life on a new planet. Gamers receive a free NFT Character after joining and they can collect more NFTs by harvesting resources or trading in the Marketplace. This niche gaming genre has a well-established global following, with WidiLand releasing its beta version in December 2021.
The article is the opinion of the author Daniel F Almon - a member of the RADA community.
The refugees from the over-polluted Earth start life on TKE-1012.
1. Project Introduction
WidiLand is set in the year 2130 when Earth's resources have been exhausted and the planet is so polluted that humanity is in danger of extinction. At the same time, there is a planet nearly 24 light-years away - TKE-1012, which has Earth-like life. However, the ship that brought the first group of elites to TKE-1012 was damaged, including all telecommunications and high-tech equipment. Now, with all that advanced technology gone, the pioneers face a huge challenge: early life. And so, players must start building new lands from scratch with limited resources - and from there, the journey begins!
A unique feature of WidiLand is the way the plot develops in stages:
Chapter 1: Journey Begins! The crew begins to build a new life on TKE-1012.
Chapter 2: Devastation, the inhabitants of Widi must defend themselves from the threatening invaders.
Chapter 3: The New Era, with their efforts, the people of Widi have reconnected with the Space Station to continue the project and plan to bring humanity to a new home. This is also the beginning of the Metaverse.
WidiLand is a blockchain-based cross-device colony management game (CMG) opening its beta in December 2021. In this niche gaming genre of simulation games (players manage, build or grow simulated cities or projects with limited resources) players build a Colony in an isolated location starting out with limited resources. Success comes from collecting and combining resources from the local area to expand the colony. Additionally, there are elements of real-time strategy (RTS) gameplay, where actions and consequences progress in real time, not in a turn-based manner.
All of these genres have well-established traditional gaming success stories. A well-regarded example of this CMG sub-genre is RimWorld, which has been strongly reviewed and received by both critics and users alike. Simulation games include legendary traditional game examples being SimCity and Caesar, and RTS has Civilization. There are many crossover points between these gaming s, with RimWorld being comparable to Civilization in many respects; one key difference between the s is that CMGs tend to be endless or open world oriented, while RTS games are more likely to have a concrete end point.
A dynamic feature of WidiLand is how it evolves as players advance through the game. In Chapter 2: Devastation, the colonists must protect themselves from menacing invaders; while in Chapter 3: New Era, the colonists return to Earth to begin civilization again and the beginning of the Metaverse.
WidiLand lowers access barriers as seen in other cryptogames such as Axie Infinity - anyone can play the game at no cost: they get a free character and can play through the storyline while earning rewards; it’s #free2play. Moreover, it’s #play2earn: players can earn in-game currency which can be valued in the real world.
WidiLand uses two currencies: $WSO and $WIDI, both of which are BEP-20 BSC tokens - the token standard for Binance Smart Chain (BSC) and an extension of Ethereum's ERC-20. $WSO is unlimited and used for most in-game transactions (like leveling up characters or buying items), but $WIDI is limited to 400 million; this currency is used to purchase Lands and items at the NFT Marketplace or earn interest through Staking. There’s even decentralized lending and borrowing available.
2. Market Review
As noted in the Introduction, colony management games (CMG) are a subgenre of simulation games with a well-regarded example from traditional games being RimWorld as developed by Ludeon Studios. One of the most popular Steam indie games (short for “independent games” which are developed by individuals or smaller teams), as of February 2018 the game sold over a million copies, and by August 2020, revenue estimates put RimWorld at well over $100 million.
There are a myriad of resource to collect in WidiLand.
2.1 Global
While CMGs are a subsection of simulation games, RimWorld clearly shows us the market potential in a blockchain environment.
When taken from a global perspective, the simulation games segment of the gaming market was expected to hit $18.335 billion USD total revenue in 2021. This revenue is projected to have a compound annual growth rate (CAGR 2021-2025) of 9.25%; by 2025, the projected market volume will be $26.118 billion USD!
Moreover, simulation games are projected:
- to hit $9.454 billion USD in 2021 for in-app purchase (IAP) revenue;
- to reach $248 million USD in paid app revenue in 2021;
- to be downloaded 12.888 billion times in 2021.
Most of this revenue comes from the United States ($5.971 billion USD in 2021).
The Business Research Company has already identified features contributing to commercial success for games.
This growth was attributed to such factors as:
- in-game purchases: using your own money to purchase in-game currencies (like diamonds) or alter characters’ appearances with skins, as seen in Fortnite;
- freemiums: to access extra features, players need to pay but otherwise they can use the software for free.
All of which are integral elements of WidiLand:
- in-game purchases: players can use the business token $WIDI (limited to 400 million) to purchase lands and items at the NFT Marketplace or earn interest through staking;
- freemiums: while players can play WidiLand for free, they will not be able to own lands or stake interests without $WIDI.
3. Product Review
The whitepaper shares the release of WidiLand’s beta version in November 2021, although the Smart Contract Audit is in progress - this will challenge and test the code of the contract in a variety of ways. It can highlight any technical, operational, and cyber risks to which the contract might be exposed.
WidiLand lowers the entry barrier by being both #free2play and #play2earn. The team at Widi Global Pte. Ltd focuses on six key factors to achieve the best player experience:
- Motivation
- Meaningful Choices
- Balance
- Usability
- Aesthetics
- Fun
Thanks to blockchain technology, players can earn real money or other rewards simply by playing the game, combining entertainment value with financial value. Players earn NFTs as $WSO or unique items that can be transferred to $WSO by:
- Upgrading account levels
- Completing Daily quests, World quests, Battle pass quests
- Obtaining achievements
- Winning the Leaderboard
- Attending special in-game events
- Using in-game features: Summon, Treasure, Loot box
- Attending WidiLand GameFi activities
- In-game staking: Ore mining
Phase 1: Seed sale of WidiLand completed in July to August 2021 where 6% of their tokens (24,000,000) were raised at the price of $0.015 USD.
Phase 2: Private Sale is currently in progress (66.8% completed at time of writing) with 9.5% (34,000,000 tokens) available at the price of $0.025; they have successfully raised $635,000 USD with their goal being $950,000 USD should any reader want to get in on this.
Phase 3: Public sale - IDO, with the launchpads of BSC Station and Oxbull, is targeted for the 4th quarter of 2021 with an expected IDO date of 30/11/2021. An IDO is an initial DEX offering which is the launching of a cryptocurrency on a decentralized exchange (DEX). WidiLand will have 2.5% (10,000,000 tokens) available at a price of $0.035 USD for a total of $350,000 USD.
3.1 Game play
Players will start from Chapter 1: The Journey Begins! With the character and the land granted at the start of the game, players proceed to build structures and harvest limited resources from the various interactive Lands to upgrade their characters.
One of the amazing features of WidiLand is its evolving game play. In Chapter 2: Devastation, the players (and Widi inhabitants) are under attack from fearsome invaders so must defend themselves.
Finally, in Chapter 3: The New Era, with their efforts, the people of Widi have reconnected with the Space Station to continue the project and plan to bring humanity to a new home. This is also the beginning of the Metaverse.
3.2 Characters
In the first Chapter: The Journey Begins, players will have NFT characters of 3 different classes, each having unique abilities that interact with different Constructions:
- Farmer
- Miner
- Builder
Attractively drawn and animated, each class has different skills that players use to gather resources and build their colony.
The Farmer
-
- Abilities: Cultivating lands, farming, breeding pets, and decorating their virtual lands.
- Construction can interact with: The Farm, Livestock Barn, Fish Pond.
- Skills: restore farming stamina and increase productivity.
- Stats: High physical farming stats; High planting speed; High speed of breeding pets.
Miner
- Abilities: Mining items, resources needed for building, character, and item upgrades.
- Construction can interact with: Forests, Mineral Mines, Wind Stone Mines.
- Skills: mining endurance and movement speed.
- Stats: Good mining stamina; high speed mining ore, wood, wind stone, etc.; Chance of mining precious items.
Builder
- Abilities: Building, upgrading Farm, Windmill, House, Mines, etc.
- Constructions can interact with: All 7 different kinds (Basic Land, The Farm, Livestock Barn, Fish Pond, Mineral Mines, Forests, Wind Stone Mines).
- Skills: reduce construction time and increase enhancing item rate.
- Stats: High physical construction stats; High rate of enhancing items; High construction speed.
Within each class, the characters have different levels of rarity: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Legendary.
Characters can collaborate to summon a new soul; when two characters consent to match, they can make a new NFT that inherits the characteristics of the two original beings. To do this, players need $WSO to engage in this process. Once created, the new soul can then participate fully in all aspects of the game, just like any other character.
3.3 Lands (NFT Token)
While there's an enormous map with 6 unique Land types for players to enjoy, there’s still a limit on how much land is available. Types of Lands are:
- Crops Land
- High Desert
- Dry Land
- Forest Land
- Aquatic Land
- Volcanic Land
The Lands can be acquired by event participation or purchased in a secondary market. Additionally, the lands can be randomly set and affected by in-game activities, and define the Lands’ rarity.
3.4 Items
As can be expected from a blockchain CMG, there are a considerable number of NFTs that can be acquired through playing the game or trading for in the Marketplace.
3.4.1 Seeds
Needed in WidiLand for starting farms or livestock upgrading, Seeds have a critical role. Can be purchased in the Marketplace.
3.4.2 Harvested items
By harvesting farming products and mining, players can get items such as Crops, Eggs, “Cow milk” or Rocks, Gold, Silver. Use these items to trade in the Marketplace or to create Product items.
3.4.3 Product items
By combining different Harvested items, players can create numerous different Product items. For example, “Cow milk” and Eggs combine to make Cheese, a surprising mix!
3.4.4 Special items
Players can collect these at special event shops or by random chance.
3.5 Activities
There are a multitude of actions that the characters can do in WidiLand, including farming, breeding, crafting, mining ores, trading items, but especially interacting socially with other players. In addition to these actions, players can personalize their houses, farms, and mines with different decorations.
3.5.1 Cultivating and Feeding
When using the Farmer class, players can perform three operations, corresponding to job skills: Cultivation, Breeding and Cooking. You can choose the plant seed type or animal at the Marketplace in response to the harvesting time or in-game difficulties.
3.5.2 Mining
When using the Miner, players can perform two actions: Mining or Digging ore. The mined goods can also be traded in the Marketplace or used to create high-level items.
3.5.3 Collecting items
Players can explore the maps with the ability to collect random items. Unsurprisingly, these items can be traded in the Marketplace or used for actions such as Mining ore.
3.5.4 Crafting items
By going to the Windmill, Builders use wind energy to craft and upgrade items. Requiring Craft materials, these can be gathered by the previous activities (Cultivating and Feeding, Mining, or Collecting items) or trading in the Marketplace. If players can get the Wind Stone, they can produce an item of even greater power.
3.5.5 Item exchange
As previously mentioned, players can trade items (such as Soil and Seeds) in the Marketplace.
3.5.6 Interaction
It’s possible for you to interact with other players through:
- Making Friends
- Private Chat
- Group Chat
- Gift Giving
3.5.7 Order Fulfillment
Players complete order slips to earn $WSO. Difficulty can range from Easy to Super difficult. Each completed order will earn $WSO and EXP.
3.5.8 Daily Missions
They Daily quest system allows for up to 5 missions per day (depending on the player's VIP level) with quest requirements potentially varying based on the player's level. All completed and uncompleted quests will be replaced by new quests the next day.
3.5.9 Special events
Various seasonal events (such as Horse Racing Festival, Cooking Festival, and Pet Festival) are held for players to join in - and earn rewards.
3.6 Trading market
The NFT Marketplace is a decentralized exchange where players and investors can use $WIDI to buy digital assets as NFTs (such as Characters, Lands or Treasures) directly from the Publisher (the Primary Market; where the Publisher sells only a limited amount) or collect them from other participants (the Secondary Market) all in one platform.
WidiLand’s Marketplace features:
- Monetizing game assets
- Monetizing game assets
- Pricing, Buying, or Selling NFT Assets
- Renting or Leasing NFT Assets
- Bidding, Auctioning NFT Assets
- Searching and Filtering Items
- Limiting orders
3.7 Marketing and community
WidiLand already has 50,000 members in its Telegram Community and expects to have 70,000 members, 100 Key Opinion Leaders (also referred to as KOLs, these are spokespeople, brand ambassadors, or thought leaders with especial importance in mass media), 100 communities and in 10 markets. Currently, their marketing partners reach 65 communities, 75 KOLs and 2 markets. The next step is to expand the network and contact the global community with a focus on Spain, Brazil, Indonesia, Thailand, and India.
4. Unique Selling Points
4.1 Easy and incentivized customer journey
#Pay2play has barriers built-in for customer uptake, making it difficult to hit critical mass to get the number of online customers needed to play against others. This is why the #free2play model is booming because it doesn’t require any up-front investment to enjoy the game.
Because there’s no financial risk, #free2play makes for a smoother customer journey. There is clear appeal in checking out a game before choosing to invest in it. However, with limited $WIDI, waiting too long to get involved could mean completely missing out.
WidiLand gives everyone the opportunity at #free2play by giving all new players a Character to start the game with. The Character is immediately ready to play and earn in-game tokens ($WSO). Gathering enough of these $WSO can be traded to buy more Characters in the Marketplace.
4.2 #play2earn Tiers
The Widiland team covers their revenue-earning bases with two options for #play2earn:
- No initial investment:
As already mentioned, everyone receives a free Character at sign-up and can start earning $WSO immediately.
- Maximum efficiency and capacity:
Real Estate is often a sound investment in the real world, and players are also able to purchase Land or Stake in WidiLand. Invest in these with $WIDI - although there’s a limit of 400,000,000.
4.3 Evolving gameplay and Metaverse plans
WidiLand is a dynamic game and shifts its gameplay goals from Chapter to Chapter. Starting out focused on resource gathering and colony expansion, in Chapter 2, players must fight off fearsome attackers and protect their Colony. In Chapter 3, you return to refresh the Earth; compellingly, there are plans to incorporate Metaverse (the hypothesized next iteration of the internet, supporting decentralized, persistent online 3-D virtual environments) elements at that time.
4.4. Environmental message
Countries all around the planet are grappling with the consequences of climate change; There is repeated messaging from WidiLand about the importance of harvesting resources from the Lands in a sustainable manner, lending realism to this digital world.
4.5 Staking land with $WSO
Players have the option to purchase $WSO to open up the extra feature of owning Land or Staking in WidiLand. This investment can lead to ongoing returns as players continue to devote time to playing the game.
4.6 Decentralized borrowing and lending
It’s possible to participate in anonymous borrowing and lending in WidiLand. Players can use NFTs as collateral to obtain a loan from another player - potentially without knowing who the other is. If it is not paid back on time, that NFT is automatically transferred to the new owner.
4.7 Digital asset holder
The Characters, Lands and Items are NFTs which are all digital assets that earn rewards like Harvesting milk and help to advance the game.
There’s a social interaction element to WidiLand and players can enter into direct peer-to-peer private arrangements with others, trading Characters or equipment as you progress.
When you start the game, the player receives a default character from the system. Players then have full access to gameplay - except those actions requiring $WIDI like purchasing Land, of course.
5. Tokenomics
There are two non-fungible tokens used in WidiLand:
- the $WIDI Token: a BEP-20 BSC token which is the token standard for the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) and is an extension of Ethereum's ERC-20.
- the $WSO Token is also a BEP-20 BSC token.
$WIDI
There is a total supply limit of 400,000,000 $WIDI which can be used to purchase lands and items from the Marketplace, or Staking to earn interest.
Players can get $WIDI with $BNB Crates (Binance Coin) by using PancakeSwap which is the most secure decentralized finance protocol on the Binance Smart Chain.
A unique feature of WidiLand is decentralized lending and borrowing without either party needing to identify themselves. Borrowers can leverage WidiLand’s NFT assets as collateral; should they not repay the loan, the lender automatically receives the NFT.
$WSO
The $WSO is the unlimited WidiLand native currency and is used for game specific purposes like buying equipment. This token can be earned through:
- Daily Quests
- Battle Pass
- Monthly Pass
- Leaderboard
- Special Events
It can be used for:
- Summon Fees (to make a new NFT character).
- In-game and inflation token: such as mint-burn (which is the permanent removal of removing tokens from circulation, reducing the total supply); in-game activities.
- In-game activities: such as upgrading items or playing the lottery.
5.1 Token allocation
5.2 Release schedule
WidiLand is scheduled to release tokens for 9 different categories, each with differing increments over a 5-year period.
Participants can provide liquidity to $WIDI - $BNB Crates through PancakeSwap and get LP Token. Farmers are rewarded with more $WIDI or can directly stake $WIDI.
LP tokens are tokens issued to liquidity providers on a decentralized exchange (DEX) that run on an automated market maker (AMM) protocol. Uniswap, Sushi and PancakeSwap are some examples of popular DEXs that distribute LP tokens to their liquidity providers.
6. Roadmap
WidiLand has long-ranging plans stretching to 2024 for the development of the game and the DAO, which players can affect gameplay decisions.
7. Media
The following are WidiLand’s communication channels and communities. Subscribe now to follow the latest information.
8. Partners & Investors
With 17 backers to date, WidiLand has the support of multiple credible organizations including BSC Station and RADA.
Developed on Binance Smart Chain (and now extended to the Solana system as a separate launchpad) by Tech Enthusiasts is a launchpad platform. It raises the needed capital and supports in promoting new projects as one of the top-level incubators and institutional investors in the crypto realm.
BSC Station (BSCS) offers maximum value to their clients’ aims by building on the Binance Smart Chain a Full-Stack Decentralized Finance (DeFi) with NFT Auctions. Powered by Binance Smart Chain, their goal is to become an economic infrastructure for DeFi and NFT.
With global contributors, RADA is a famous Angellist that connects tech startups that need seed funding, angel investors, and job-seekers looking to work at startups. RADA is set to be a launchpad (named LaunchVerse) in mid-November. Already, RADA has successfully invested in the early stages of many blockchain projects in many countries around the world, such as Vietnam, India, Ukraine, Pakistan, etc.
WidiLand is made possible by a collaboration of several companies which have won multiple awards as blockchain game development and start-ups.
9. Team
WIDI GLOBAL PTE. LTD is made up of members who have years of experience from a variety of fields that join their strengths together to deliver WidiLand.
Their CEO, Nguyen Huu An, was the founder CleverTube - a platform to help people learn languages of all levels and strongly reviewed on the Google Play store; to be a speaker on entrepreneurship for the prestigious National University of Singapore students), and worked in the US for a project on telecommunications. His other projects include:
- Machine Learning
- Natural Language Processing Apps to build data
- Allowing users to learn vocabulary by pointing the camera at any English word such as on signs or real English text.
Winning the first prize of the Vietnam Startwheel 2018 contest organized by the Youth Startup Support Center (Vietnam Youth Union), Nguyen Huu An surpassed 1,500 other very strong startups. Quite generously, he has shared his start-up insights as a speaker on entrepreneurship for NUS students
With 10 years of experience in software development and outsourcing of large and long-standing technology corporations in the world, such as:
- Ricoh, a nearly 90-year-old technology corporation founded in 1936 specializing in the production of electronic products: printers, fax machines, and data management software;
Softbrain was established in 1992- specializes in providing HR solutions, sales, SFA/CRM applications.
ADVISORS:
10. Summary
With the niche market success of traditional games like RimWorld, WidiLand is positioned well to leverage blockchain technology in the CMG genre. Players own their Characters and equipment as NFTs, and have the potential to similarly own Lands by purchasing them with $WIDI. But there’s no need for an up-front investment, players can enjoy #free2play and the ability to #play2earn as everyone receives a free Character when they sign up.
These Characters can explore all the Lands and environments, gathering resources and growing the Colony. As you progress through the game, you can purchase another Character. Continue to grow your numbers as two Characters can summon a new one - another NFT that can immediately start interacting with the planet, TKE-1012. Or trade them in the Marketplace. With WidiLand, how you play is up to you.
The media available shows vibrant design and the satisfaction that comes from building something. Characters range in class and rarity, and have different abilities and skills. Seven different Lands can be purchased and Staked with $WIDI, and resources gathered from them. By combining resources Harvested or purchased in the Marketplace, players can craft one-of-a-kind NFTs.
WidiLand has some unique features that have potential for a gripping game:
- the game evolves from Chapter to Chapter, changing the gameplay goals and strategies. Players must level up their game to adapt to these new challenges;
- there are plans in place to bridge WidiLand into the Metaverse as players return to revitalize Earth in Chapter 3: New Era;
- the game story has a strong environmental message, resonating with a current global issue.
With opportunities for social interaction in the Marketplace and different chat options, there are elements in place to grow a community around WidiLand; but players can still remain anonymous if they want to with decentralized borrowing. Just make sure to pay it back on time or else you may lose the NFT you put up to get the loan.
WIDI GLOBAL PTE. LTD has put together a team who have years of experience developing and delivering games. With multiple investors and supporters, WidiLand has a strong foundation for success. With the beta released in November 2021, WidiLand is one to keep an eye on.
--
Disclaimer: Information is gathered through research from the project's official Whitepaper and other official sources. The content in this article is the author's personal views for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment or financial advice. RADA and the author are not financial advisors and will not bear any responsibility in connection to any potential investments.