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Crypto Unicorns: Building a Fully On-Chain Gaming Ecosystem
A deep dive into how we built one of the most successful blockchain games, combining NFTs, tokenomics, and engaging gameplay mechanics to create a thriving virtual economy.
Project Overview
Crypto Unicorns is a blockchain-based game where players collect, breed, and battle mythical unicorns. The game features multiple gameplay modes including farming, crafting, and PvP battles, all powered by blockchain technology.
Key Achievements
- 1.Crypto Unicorns sold $25M in digital assets
- 2.Successfully raised $26M through strategic token sale events.
- 3.Achieved 50K daily active players at peak activity.
- 4.Hit $100M TVL in The Dark Forest: Act One
- 4.Launched a token at a $2.5B FDV
Technical Implementation
As the Lead Solidity Engineer on Crypto Unicorns, I designed and implemented a highly modular smart contract system that scaled across millions of transactions, multiple game loops, and a wide NFT ecosystem. The core of the architecture was built using the Diamond Standard (ERC-2535) to enable upgradable, gas-efficient, and extensible smart contracts.
Economic Design
Crypto Unicorns employed a multi-loop economic system blending core DeFi logic with casual and midcore gameplay.
š§© Composable Asset Designā¼
Crypto Unicorns was built on a fully modular, composable asset system powered by the Diamond Standard (ERC-2535). All gameplay modulesāfarm loops, battle systems, or second-party gamesāinterfaced with a shared set of core NFT assets managed through Diamond proxy hubs.
- ERC-721
- Unicorns: The primary in-game characters used for farming, breeding, and PvP battles. Over 10,000 unique holders and 8M+ NFTs minted.
- Shadowcorns: Faction-based dark counterparts to Unicorns, integral to Shadowforge combat and seasonal PvP loops.
- Land: Yield-generating virtual real estate used for farming and Unicorn management, contributing to over 2,000 ETH in sales.
- ERC-1155: Items, consumables, crafting materials
- ERC-20
- $RBW and $UNIM: Core in-game currencies used for asset upgrades, marketplace trades, and gameplay rewards.
- Dark Marks: PvP-exclusive currency tied to Shadowcorn combat and battle rewards.
The entire asset layer was designed to be interoperable across midcore, casual, and 2nd-party gamesāmaintaining a consistent economic backbone while allowing independent modules to plug into it seamlessly.
š¦ Cross-Chain & Infrastructure Migrationā¼
- Migrated 200+ smart contracts from Polygon to Xai (L3 Arbitrum)
- Maintained 90%+ user retention and facilitated over 900K+ transactions
- Used LayerZero for secure, trust-minimized bridging of $RBW and $UNIM
š§± Core Modules Developedā¼
- Game Bank: Onchain vault managing in-game currencies (RBW, UNIM) and item balances
- Shadowforge: Fully onchain PvP battle game with queue-based reward logic
- Satellite Bank: Cross-game asset manager for 2nd party games
- Onchain Marketplace: Peer-to-peer trading system for NFTs and items
- Presale Engine: Merkle Treeābased whitelisting + minting for new assets
- Land & Farming: NFT-based yield mechanics integrated with farming and asset generation
Economic Design
Crypto Unicorns employed a multi-loop economic system blending core DeFi logic with casual and midcore gameplay.
š¾ Core Loop (Farm Economy)ā¼
- Land NFTs are central to the ecosystem ā players use them to breed, farm, and generate resources
- Yield-generating gameplay contributes to the in-game resource economy managed by Game Bank
- Backed by $RBW and $UNIM utility tokens
š¹ Midcore Skill-Based Gamesā¼
- Modules like Jousting, Racing, Tribes, and Team RPG added competitive, skill-driven loops
- These games deepened player progression and created demand for upgraded NFTs and game items
- Shadowforge PvP and Dark Forest (ERC-2535) expanded faction and PvE/PvP ecosystems
š® Casual & 2nd Party Gamesā¼
- Games like Unigatchi, Unicorn Party, Unicorn Trivia, Unicorn Bingo, Bumpercorns, Mob Run and Rainbow Rumble attracted casual players
- Supported by Satellite Bank for isolated token balances and permissions
- Connected back to the core economy through reward tokens and asset usage
