Issue 5 - Understanding Aurory

Aurory is an OG project in the space. The community’s relative quietness in the broader community makes it unlikely that one knows much about the project beyond pfp recognition, however, it has held a high, stable floor price for months, and it is clear that its holder base is strongly invested and confident in the success of the project. Aurory is first a gaming studio, and secondly crypto and Web3-focused. Its 6-month chart shows healthy growth along with the progress of the game. At the time of writing, the floor price is 40 SOL.

Solana’s fast and cheap transactions make it an ideal choice for developing a game. However, no project has successfully completed a game in the space, meaning Aurory has a chance to be the first to open the world’s eyes to this possibility. Aurory capitalized on the value that Web3, and specifically Solana, brings to gaming by providing a way to materialize the time and effort put into the game (proof of ownership of assets and tokens). Aurory’s mint was one of the most hyped mints at its time of release in late August 2021. Additionally, its IDO was the largest ever in Solana, showing that since the project’s inception, the community has understood its extremely large potential to be game-changing (no pun intended).

The game is open to both invested players and free-to-play (F2P) players, which can be a tough balance to strike: providing value to investors without sacrificing the accessibility of the game for F2P players. As is expected for a game, the lore of the project and world in-game are compelling and create the narrative and motivation for the game. The Aurory universe is split into two parallel worlds: Antik, where the wealth and power are concentrated, and Tokané, where wealth is distributed and power is dispersed. The game takes place on Tokané, where Nefties, creatures native to the world, have a large role in gameplay. There are two game modes: PvE and PvP.

The lore of the game is directly parallel to the narrative of decentralized finance in the real world. In the Aurory universe, financial collapse has occurred in the world of Antik, and a decentralized financial system was created from their hero, Satoshi. The Nefties of Tokané have their own unique abilities, but are typically easily overpowered by Fuds, who are the workers from Antik who have lost their free will and are at the mercy of their owners. Throughout the lore of the game, players learn about crypto, the blockchain, and NFTs, making it a gamified educational experience. The team’s commitment to keep a F2P option for players means that the Aurory game could act as a powerful crypto onboarding method for gamers.

In-game, players control the heroes of the story and recruit Nefties to fight for their cause. The hero Sam is born in Antik, and he is physically stronger than the other hero, Helios, the Tokané-native hero who has magical powers like Nefties and has more wit and agility than strength. The team noted that in F2P games, there is a need for continual content and development cycles. Therefore, the game is designed in seasons lasting 6 months each. Each season, there are new explorable regions, characters, developments of the story, and rules that encourage changing strategies. The beginning of a new season ties into the ending of the last, making it a continuous narrative that builds on itself.

Each season starts with a “base package,” where players are given new PvE missions and PvP locations. The end of every season will conclude with a world championship event, where players with a golden ticket are able to battle on a world stage for the ultimate championship. The developers of the game envision the championship event to be worldwide, including streamers and engaging methods for participation.

In PvP mode, players assemble teams of three Nefties each and place them on the battlefield. Nefties have different attribute points which affect their skills in combat. However, the game designers ensure that player skill and strategy ultimately decide who wins the battle, not attributes, though it may give a player a slight edge over another. In the battle, overtime, the field shrinks, forcing the teams to confront each other with more urgency and tension. Rewards for combat winners include $AURY, unique skins, and other cosmetic upgrades.

Though the F2P mode is a way to keep the game accessible to the masses, holding an Aurory NFT also grants exclusive benefits to invested players. Some benefits include a visual identity/avatar in the game, early access to game modes, in-game advantages, airdrops, land sale priority, and access to the DAO.

The tokenomics of the ecosystem are carefully designed to encourage sustainability and success. The main token supply of $AURY is fixed, and it is balanced by two in-game sub-currencies. This balance avoids devaluing game assets, power imbalances, which would both lead to decreased engagement from players. Additionally, by providing mechanisms for burning tokens and assets in-game, the game avoid supply overtaking demand.

Importantly, an increase of the price of $AURY does not decrease accessibility of the game – an increase in value is likely due to an increase of the number of players of the game, which increases the sustainability of the ecosystem. The two sub-coins are OKA (for financially invested players) and TOKE (for F2P players). These tokens are found in-game, and they can be exchanged for $AURY at the end of each week.

Currently, the Aurory team has over 45 people. In terms of progress, the first PvP patch was released in early June, and battle mode is now accessible to holders. In the same announcement, the team teased that full gameplay is drawing nearer. In summary, Aurory is a developing game in the Solana ecosystem that takes advantage of the unique benefits of Web3 and Solana while prioritizing accessibility. This project has the potential to reshape gaming and bring many more eyes to the Solana ecosystem. Not unlike the blockchain itself, the possibilities for the game are endless, and the announcement of the release of the Solana phone brings an exciting new potential for mobile play in the future.