CryptoKitties
CryptoKitties is a game developed by AxionZen based on the distributed registry of the Ethereum network. The owners of the virtual currency have already spent quite large sums on the game. In December 2017 the volume of financial transactions in the game was about 3 million dollars. The price of the very first cat sold in the game was 247 ETH, which is about 118 thousand USD. For comparison, the cost of the cheapest cat in this game is about 0.5 USD.
CryptoKitties is a relatively good way to get acquainted with the distributed registry of the Ethereum network. The game works with several smart contracts of Ethereum network, and customers can play it with their address in this network. Today, the game CryptoKitties is one of the most popular smart contracts on the network, while creating from 10 to 15 percent of all financial Ethereum transactions.
This volume of operations significantly reduces the speed of transactions in the game. In addition, the high popularity of CryptoKitties is a kind of challenge for the Ethereum network. In order to keep the traffic of the distributed network registry within the normal limits, AxionZen was forced to introduce a tax on the breeding of virtual kittens.
Contents
Registration
Before proceeding to the gameplay, the user will need to go through the registration process. To do this, users will first need to install the MetaMask wallet. This can be done by installing a specialized extension of the same name in the Internet browsers Firefox and Chrome, which allows interacting with the Ethereum network. After completing the account registration in the system, the user must fill in all the fields in his profile on the official website of CryptoKitties, namely his email address and nickname. Unfortunately, today this game is not available for mobile devices.
Choosing a kitten
Each user can purchase a kitten on the in-game exchange. The gameplay of CryptoKitties began with the release of the zero-generation founding kittens. From November 28 to December 1, 2017, kittens were generated by the system every 15 minutes. According to the company AxionZen, generation seal network will be carried out until November 2018. Once the generation of kittens by the system is completed, users will be able to receive kittens exclusively by trading. Adults have no sex, so you can cross any two cats you like. The value of each cat depends on its characteristics obtained from parents. For example, at the moment in the game users can find 160 cats with a color resembling a jaguar, and 93 cats with an external resemblance to a cat of Maine Coon breed. In addition, users can purchase more rare kittens with the appearance resembling a vampire or any other mystical character. Also in the game users can buy seals created by such famous personalities as Elon Musk and Katy Perry. In other cases, special attention when buying a cat should be paid to the generation number (Gen). The lower the value, the more valuable is considered a cat. It is equally important to pay attention to cooldown, on which depends how often the cat will come into contact.
The cost of pets
The cost of the first seals generated by the system was determined as follows: each next kitten was sold at an average cost of the last 5 kittens multiplied by 1.5. As of December 5, 2017, the cost of such seals ranged from 9 to 13 ETH. In addition, each owner of seals can put the resulting offspring for sale at a cost that he considers necessary. This specifies the start and final price. With the passage of time the cost of exposed seal declines. So, in the case of putting up for auction a kitten with an initial cost of 1 ETH and a final cost of 0 for 24 hours, after 12 hours the cost will be 0.5 ETH.
Breeding kittens
Each user is also given the opportunity to breed kittens, not just buy them. In the game world, this process is called Siring. The owner of an attractive cat can use not only his own cats for breeding, but also offer his services of an “inseminator” to another participant of the game for a fee in the form of Ethereum coins. Thus, one player can earn on providing their services, and the other – on data way kittens. Each cat has its own cooldown for reproduction, the duration of which can range from 1 hour to 7 days. The value of this indicator increases with time along with the increase in the number of bindings. Therefore, the smaller the cooldown is, the more expensive the cat is. Each kitten in the game CryptoKitties has a 256-bit genome, containing information such as the color of pet hair, the duration of cooldown, the mustache, and its color, the presence of bands or spots, and much more. Some of the embedded genes can be recessive. Thus, there is a possibility that a monophonic cat may have offspring with stripes or spots. Special attention should be paid to the fact that the game does not have a scale of the rarity of genes. The rarity of a particular gene is determined by the community using Ethereum. Thus, the Golden color of seals is more rare, as such representatives are much more expensive than others. Players can only change the name of their kittens.
Balance replenishment
To replenish the game balance in the game CryptoKitties, the MetaMask browser extension is used to transfer funds through one of the trading platforms.
Earnings
Funds received by users from the sale of kittens or mating are automatically transferred to MetaMsak. The funds received in this way can then be withdrawn using cryptocurrency trading platforms. Recently, there are more and more messages on social networks that players earn thousands of dollars in a relatively short period of time. The earnings of the company AxionZen is 3.75 percent of all financial transactions. When performing operations directly through a smart contract, no Commission is charged.
Development plans
Mac Flavel, who is the head of this cryptocurrency project, said that AxionZen company intends to develop the game CryptoKitties regardless of its level of popularity. All gameplay improvements are planned for the year ahead. The developers plan to improve the interface, as well as to simplify the process of familiarization with the game.