Decentraland: Metaverse NFT Game Review

Non-Fungible Tokes or simply NFTs were a massive topic of interest in 2021 and a lot of projects are continuously being launched even today with many upcoming NFT games in 2022. At DCVX we have already showcased what is an NFT in one of our previous articles and where NFTs can be bought, sold, or traded at either OpenSea or Solanart. In addition to that, our elite team of developers can help you launch an NFT Marketplace or your own NFT project. Feel free to contact us about blockchain consulting and we will be more than happy to assist.

In this set of words, in this article, we will be looking at one of the most influential DeFi metaverse games - Decentraland. Decentraland was originally developed back in 2015 by a group of friends who had similar interests and wanted to put a stance against the existing centralized VR games. Initially, in its alpha stages, the team behind the game called it "The Stone Age". However, the name eventually dropped and Decentraland came to be the better choice. At first, the game was simply modeled in the form of a two-dimensional pixelated grid, where pixels were allocated to users through a PoW (Proof-of-Work) consensus algorithm.

Later on, in 2016, Decentraland was transformed into a 3D virtual world where land is divided into different sections. Each slot of land is associated with a hash reference to a particular file containing the assets meant to be displayed on that slot. Users who are playing the game can travel across the metaverse using a Distributed Hash Table and download the file and assets for a specific location. Then, in 2017, Decentraland had launched its beta edition where land slots were being distributed for a price as little as 20 USD. Nowadays, such metaverse parcels or in-game digital assets are sold for much higher prices. To be precise, virtual estates and lands can be found selling for more than $14.000 on secondary markets such as OpenSea.

What is Decentraland?

As the name suggests, Decentraland is actually an abbreviation of the words "decentralized land", which is a fully immersive digital world completely controlled by its community with identical mechanics of a DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization). The metaverse virtual world of Decentraland consists of many digital plots of land, which are in fact non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the blockchain. Users who are owners of certain land plots have the rights to display their creations or NFTs for everyone who visits to see. Some crypto companies, such as Rarible, MakerDAO, SuperRare, and many others, have even created virtual offices and digital art galleries in Decentraland. Decentraland has also hosted a variety of virtual conferences.

In addition to that, parcels of land can be purchased either from Decentraland's own NFT Marketplace or from secondary marketplaces such as OpenSea using a variety of tokens. However, parcel size and pricing may vary pending on proximity to specific public areas. Lastly, estates are represented as another ERC-721 non-fungible token that contains the underlying land parcels.

What is MANA?

Decentraland’s economy largely evolves around its native token, $MANA. Mana has many implications one of which is that it can be used to purchase land plots, in-game wearables, and other services within the Decentraland digital ecosystem. Not only that, but token holders have the right to participate in the governance of the game by creating or voting on community proposals. Users who would like to buy $MANA tokens can be happy to hear that they can be obtained from most centralized (CEXs) and decentralized exchanges (DEXs) such as Binance or Uniswap. With the success of Decentraland and asset values are skyrocketing, the price of MANA tokens has also climbed more than 5x in the past year.

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What is LAND?

LAND is an ERC-721 non-fungible digital asset that is stored in an Ethereum Smart Contract and can be transferred. Decentraland consists of 90,601 parcels of LAND, which are 16x16 meters in size. Each parcel is an NFT and is identified by its unique coordinates on the metaverse world. It also contains information about its owner and transaction history. In addition, two or more adjacent parcels of LAND can make an Estate if they are merged together.

Each parcel varies in color. For example, the light grey lines are roads and cannot be bought. Similar to the roads, the nine green areas are plazas owned by the Decentraland community, whereas the grey lands are those that are owned but are not available for sale. In contrast, the light blue colored lands are available for sale and can be bought by anyone who can afford the hefty prices. Lands closer to the Genesis Plaza (the plaza at the very center) or other popular districts are more expensive driven by higher demand.

Decentraland DAO

In contrast to other virtual worlds, Decentraland is not controlled by a centralized entity. Instead, Decentraland is governed by native MANA tokens, LAND, and Estate holders through the Decentraland DAO, which was created using technology from Aragon. If you are not familiar with DAOs yet, then definitely check out our article on what is a DAO.

In order for users to vote or participate in proposed changes associated with the Decentraland protocol, they must hold wrapped MANA (wMANA), LAND, and Estate tokens. Each wMANA provides users with a single unit of voting power, while each parcel of LAND and every Estate provides 2000 units of voting power each. Wrapping MANA actually refers to locking up the number of funds in the DAO. Whenever MANA is wrapped, it cannot be used for spending or transfers. For example, if users wish to have access to their funds again, they have to unwrap them. Also, for LAND and Estate tokens to be used for voting, they must first be registered to the DAO. However, this action will not lock them up. Instead, they can still be used normally after being registered.

So where can users obtain MANA tokens? Well, we have answered that question in one of the aforementioned paragraphs. Although, the case is not the same with Estate tokens. Estate tokens can only be created after parcels and LAND have been merged together.

Additionally, unlike other NFT-based games and DAOs, Decentraland has an extra layer of security. This is backed up by their SAB (Security Advisory Board) that is responsible for overseeing the security of the platform's smart contracts. It also reviews governance proposals and responds to any bug reports. The SAB is devised of up to five participants who are voted by the Decentraland DAO community. Moreover, the board has the ability to delay based on importance or to cancel incoming proposals which might have negative impacts on Decentraland.

Lastly, the decentralized DAO has proven to be a one-of-a-kind decentralized NFT gaming platform that offers value to all of its stakeholders alike. This is also one of the first metaverse gaming pioneers that creates in-game value in the metaverse which in turn can be transferred directly to to the tangible world. Regardless of what user interests are, Decentraland and its DAO offer a piece of anything and everything to NFT collectors, gamers, and lovers of the digital world. Especially, users who are looking to earn rewards by buying or selling LAND or its future P2E (Play-To-Earn) economy. As Decentraland's website states:

"Decentraland, with its fully-fledged SDK, a vibrant community, and paired with a smooth Layer 2 integration (Polygon) is the perfect setting for the development of a P2E ecosystem."

Earning Money with Decentraland

As soon as users sign up for Decentraland and start playing, there are multiple ways to earn money. Similar to the real world, real estate has been gaining momentum in the virtual world as well. Since LAND is a limited asset, it is highly likely that its value will increase over time. Hence, there is a big rush for all LAND slots to be bought as soon as possible.

As soon as a user acquires LAND by buying it from an NFT Marketplace, then the possibilities are limitless such as hosting games, metaverse gambling, or advertising. All of these options can be easily monetized with the appropriate mindset and tools. For any application built, users can charge entry fees. Otherwise, LAND can be rented or sold to developers or crypto entrepreneurs alike. Lastly, owning LAND gives the opportunity to shill digital assets such as NFTs in a metaverse gallery.

The last method of earning money is by playing a range of casino games or play-to-earn games. For instance, in Decentral Games’ virtual casino users can earn $DG tokens in a number of ways such as affiliate bonuses or governance rewards. Ultimately, this has created some of the first metaverse jobs for real-life employees. The Tominoya Casino has already hired multiple greeters and a manager to cater to user satisfaction.

How to start playing Decentraland?

Step 1 — Open your web browser and go to Decentraland's website:

https://play.decentraland.org/

Step 2 — Choose your DeFi wallet to connect to

After clicking on the option you are given a choice of 3 options to connect your DeFi wallet to the game: MetaMask, Fortmatic and WalletConnect are provided. Since MetaMask is most common, we will be using it to connect with Decentraland. To find out how to create a MetaMask wallet check out one of our previous articles from our Blog.

Step 3 — After the wallet is connected, you customize your character style and name it.

The third step is the last one but it can take a while. Then, you are all set to explore the Metaverse!

The Future of Metaverse NFTs

Given pandemic conditions in recent years, millions of people are staying indoors in their homes. Decentraland has managed to create means for people to meet friends, visit galleries, buy art, enjoy digital parties, and much more at palm's reach. The metaverse’s future also relies on more and more people visiting and interacting with the platform.

Since its launch, Decentraland has grown quite a lot, with new features being added regularly and VR in the upcoming future. As users shift towards more digital interactions, Decentraland's concept of a fully-fleshed out metaverse is gradually turning into reality. Having a virtual open world such as it, where the players are fully in control and have ownership via the DAO, this truly opens up the potential for metaverses to become more than just an NFT game. Similar to traditional video games are becoming even more realistic, the limits to what users can achieve in the metaverse are constantly being pushed towards new highs. Perhaps in the future players may even have the possibility to visit virtual shopping malls to purchase real-world items. Time will only show if this will be possible or not.

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