**Taking Web3 development to its next step, Game of Silks (also known as Silks) is testing the limits of how far we can take blockchain technology by incorporating the real world in its design and implementation. Set to release Q3 of 2022, can Silks achieve its goal of merging two worlds into a unique ownership experience?
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Game of Silks in its simplicity is a horseracing-based game built on the Ethereum blockchain. It aims to be the first derivative game that intends to leverage blockchain technology to create a metaverse parallel to the real-world industry of thoroughbred horse racing.
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I think the project is very ambitious in attempting this model since a lot of companies (even mainstream ones like Facebook) are beginning to build their own metaverses that aim to merge the virtual and real world. Successful operations of this can create a very immersive experience and I think Silks is on the right path to accomplish that.
The developer of the game, Tropical Racing, is a public company that runs 200 acres of land for breeding, syndicating, and racing horses in the physical world. Even the whitepaper of the game upon visiting its page is filled with information about horse racing and thoroughbred horse breeding which shows that they have experience in the field and I think it also indicates that they want more people to get into the scene with the help of their game.
Silks’ as a play-to-earn game, will rely on its NFTs, and its ecosystem which works hand in hand to make the game work. These NFTs include:
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Racing Silks Avatar
These colorful avatars that look like they came out straight out of Fortnite will represent the player in the game. Other than its aesthetic value, players will not be able to buy a horse in Silks without a Silks Avatar. These will be the jocks that race your NFT horse in the metaverse and I think we can agree that no horse can compete in a race without a jockey on its back. Their Genesis Avatar mint already happened in March and ownership of these Genesis Avatars will also give users a Genesis holder status marking them as early supporters of the project.
Silks Horse
This is what the game of silks is all about. The Silks horse will be a derivative of a real-world-one-year-old thoroughbred racehorse called a yearling. When a new yearling is born and recorded on the official records, a new horse will also be spawned in the Silks Metaverse. This means that the minting of the Racehorses is very much controlled (unlike the similar project Pegaxy).
Racing the real-world counterpart of these horses will notify its owner on the metaverse so they can watch it compete with other horses. However, racing is not the only way to earn in Silks. Since old horses get retired from racing too, the NFT horses will continue to provide more value as they become broodmares or stallions upon retirement and can now breed other NFT horses.
The minting of these horses will start in Quarter 3 of 2022 when 20,000 yearlings born in 2021 will be available to those who want to enter the Silks metaverse.
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Silks Stables
Horses need a place to call their home and it's the same in the Silks metaverse. These stable NFTs are where players feed, care and house their Silk horses. They’re also important for the optional Horse staking mechanic in the game. Staking on a stable will give a player a percentage of a horse’s overall rewards. Stable owners will also receive a percentage of these horse earnings from all the staking. These stables will occupy 10 acres of contiguous land in the metaverse and can house up to 10 Silks horses. There’s a maximum of 100 acres of land for people who want to go that route.
The Silks metaverse will be built on land spanning 202,500 acres. These lands will be necessary when building stables. Each land will be a 450x450 acre grid with a set of coordinates to mark its unique location.
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Silks Tokens
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Silks will use two tokens for the game like most other games in the crypto space. $SLK will be the governing token used in DAOs and will be used for various activities in the game such as breeding and staking. $STT on the other hand will be the utility token that will be used for most transactions in the game.
Since players will have to wait for their horses to race to be able to receive tokens, the developers also put a mining mechanic in the game where you can earn $SLK by verifying the events happening in the metaverse since they are bound to the real world adding another layer of earning in the game.
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The game is still a ways away from its release date set for the 3rd Quarter of the year but I think it’s already becoming one of the biggest and most interesting projects in the blockchain currently. Binding it to the real world is a fascinating take and a risky one as well since there are factors that can affect the real world like accidents that could be avoided if they went fully digital. However, the effort and idea are commendable since it's one of the closest things to the future we have right now of merging the digital and the real world. I hope the team managing the game behind the scenes does their diligent work to prevent it from becoming another Pegaxy. Overall, I think the game is covering new grounds on the blockchain and it will be interesting how this will all unfold, but I’ll still remind players to still do their research before hopping on this interesting horse racing game.