I don’t know about you, but I like the sound of this already. Agile, dangerous bugs and multiple gaming scenarios suggest this might be a very interesting game. They certainly have managed to generate some early excitement and the buy in of a number of stake pools. Before we dig into the project please note this is very early days and there is no guarantee that the final project will look like this or that there will even be a final project. That said, their early work looks very nice.
ZiberBugs is a PvP NFT game that intends to build on the success, and avoid some of the pitfalls, of the first wave of NFT games. PvP stands for player vs player -human players battling against each other as opposed to human vs computer. The idea is to combine the most appealing elements of earlier games with elements of board game play and play to earn. All of this is packaged in a unique way with beautiful neon creatures roaming a dark and eerie dungeon like place.
The Bugs
The bug genetics are such that there is one Queen and a variety of males that fertilize the eggs. Each bug inherits an X chromosome from the Queen and a Y chromosome from dad. There are three types of bugs in the game: Beetles, Arachnids and Flyers. Beetles are strongest on the ground and resilient because of their hard shells. Flyers are agile and have the advantage of the air. They are light and quick but perhaps not as tough as the beetles. The arachnids can attack on ground or in the air with special powers that make them particularly dangerous. Bug genetic combinations create a total of nine types of fighters, each of which has basic statistics but can also gain special attributes as part of the breeding process.
The PvP Battle
As a player you head into battle with six bugs that you purchase in the marketplace. There are multiple rounds of battle. Between each round the players take action to shore up their fighters and position them correctly. Think of it as digital bug chess. Once players reach a certain level they will be ranked. From that point the game will match them to players of similar skill. Once players are ranked they are eligible to earn PHERO token (short for pheromone) when games are won. PHERO will also be available on DEXs where it can be purchased. There will be tournaments in which the best players will compete.
PvE
There will also be an option for setting up raids. In this type of game play, there will be no time limit and the entire enemy team will be visible on the field from the start. There will be three different types of raids. Each of these requires a different lineup with a specialized team. The final, and most difficult battle is against the queen. Progress is compensated with Larva, which can be used in the breeding process, and NFTs. Victory over the queen will win you her heart.
In addition to battling, you have the ability to create a specialized team by breeding bugs with targeted attributes. There are many things to consider. There are dominant and recessive genes. The traits of a bug can also be manipulated when the queen lays the egg, depending on which types of larva she is fed. You can also increase abilities by injecting a queen’s heart into the egg – if you have been skillful enough to win one in battle. There are multiple ways to increase the prowess of your bugs.
ZiberBugs has a progressive system that exists both to make the game enjoyable and make it harder to cheat. A player has to reach a specific level, which takes about two weeks, before the ability to earn is unlocked. Additionally, while you may own bugs of any level, you cannot compete with bugs of a higher level than your account. While you may compete with multiple accounts, you may only win seasonal and tournament rewards from a single account. There will be a review process for top players to make sure this is the case.
There is also the possibility to cooperate with other players and form guilds (hives) which allows energy conservation while maximizing profit potential. Resources can be swapped or rented from other players. It is also possible to team up and raid AI controlled hives. The difficulty is greater but so are the rewards.
Finance
In regard to financial stability, the ZiberBugs Team has put a lot of thought behind creating an ecosystem that has room for growth, while also building in structural components that encourage long term viability. Again, they have had the opportunity to review the success and failures of the first generation NFT games prior to building their own ecosystem. Their intent is to incorporate balancing strategies using smaller internal liquidity pools for arbitrage trading of the existing public pools. Additionally, the number of active accounts limits growth to prevent superfluous breeding and NFT inflation. There are no automatic multipliers that will create thousands of bugs.
Tokenomics
The governance token is $ZIBER, with a total supply of 120 million. Its primary purposes are: PvP rewards, breeding fees, staking and governance. 30% is set aside for PvP rewards. 18% goes directly to the team, although documentation states that this is locked and distributed over time. 15% goes to the Ziberverse Fund, which is for future system enhancements. There are a number of smaller disbursements for partnerships, investors and marketing. A detailed explanation is available on their dark paper here.
Platform Components
The ZiberBugs team is breaking the project into four technology stacks managed by four separate development teams. The game platform will be developed using Unity, a proven solution that will allow rapid creation of browser, mobile and desktop versions of the game. The blockchain integration will be performed by their partner Blockery.. Here is an interesting introductory video about Blockery:
Lightweight utility servers will be used to house ecosystem components that are impractical to store on the blockchain. Chat logs, ranking and progressions, for example, will be on these off chain Java based servers. The webpage and marketplace will be where the user logs into their account. This will also be managed by a separate team.
As I mentioned in the beginning, this project is in an early exploration phase. According to their roadmap they are still in the planning stage. This means that they are still looking for investors, advisors and business partners. Once the initial investors are lined up, they will begin development. The proposed phases are also described in detail in their dark paper. Although early, ZiberBugs is an interesting project that has made a point of engaging with the community and supporting stake pools. It is definitely one to watch in the coming months!
The Team
Tom Metzger, CEO (6) Tom Metzger | LinkedIn
Simon Isbäck , Game Designer (6) Simon Isbäck | LinkedIn
Fabio Persegani, Graphic Designer / Art Director (6) Fabio Persegani | LinkedIn
