Hello frens!
With Spring peeking around the corner, our aavesome team is excited to bring the Gotchiverse a bouquet of fresh updates and blossoming features. So let’s jump in and see what this Dev Update brings:
- Spirit Force Arena introduces its new Auto-Updating Launcher
- A new Gotchi Guardians tower with suspicious mechanics
- A new Parcel-based cooperative PvE game
- Mecha Gotchis entering Alpha stage
- Strategotchi's very first tournament with a 1K GHST prize pool
- …and loads moar!
Sit back, enjoy the sun, and read on!
🎮 GAMING 🎮
Spirit Force Arena
It’s been a busy quarter for the Spirit Force Arena team with the introduction of game improvements and new mechanics in their latest build:
- Auto-Updating Launcher that automatically downloads the latest build.
- The Floor is FOMO (Beta), a new mechanic that will force players to the top of the Arena as the match progresses.
- Players can now earn Badges (Beta) from combat-related tasks during matches.
- 10 New Champions* like the Hawaii Fox and Hazmat Worker.
- 60 Wearables for Gotchi owners, including the Sus Butterfly and Nimbus Cloud.
- A new Potion Shop where players can purchase items with Alchemica and Scrap/Spirit to gain in-match advantages.
All of the above updates are now live in the latest build of Spirit Force Arena, in addition to UI, gameplay, and map improvements.
*Champions are Aavegotchi avatars for non-NFT holding players to unlock. As players progress through Spirit Force, they can unlock more Champions to play with. Aavegotchi NFT holders can always play with their owned Gotchis and unlocked Champions.
Gotchiverse 3D
Last week, we announced the Gotchiverse 2024 Roadmap which includes:
- Parcel Farming and Alchemica harvesting in 3D accessible directly from the Gotchiverse landing screen.
- The Great Battle Simulator, a new Parcel-based Co-op PvE game that will take place directly in the Gotchiverse.
- Loot Chests containing both in-game and onchain rewards such as Godlike Wearables.
The team is also considering various social and user-generated content (UGC) initiatives for 2024, such as AI-powered NPCs for questing, Lodges, and tools for land owners to create parcel-based minigames. With an ambitious roadmap, and while remaining excited to explore all opportunities, the team will remain focused on developing the Citaadel in 2024.
3D Gotchis and their Fancy New Dressing Room
3D Gotchis are almost ready to launch fully, having passed the halfway mark on rendering all wearables. The team is making the final push by focusing on pet animations.
In the meantime, we're turning heads in the Gotchiverse by introducing the 3D Dressing Room dapp.
Gotchis are coming to life with all currently supported animations and a preview of their different customizations:
- Collateral Type: Choose the essence that forms the core of each Gotchi, defining its unique attributes.
- Eye Color & Shape: Pick the shape and color that reflect the personality of each Gotchi.
- Wearables: With 50% of our current collection available and more on the way, Gotchis will be trendsetters in the Gotchiverse.
By simply clicking and dragging the mouse to rotate the Gotchi, players can see how they look from every angle!
The team will continue to add aavesome new features as they snazz up the Dressing Room:
- Wearables will be added as they become ready
- Constant improvements to animations and bug fixes
- The ability to change the background to a static color (Green Screen) to help record your Gotchi
- The Ability to zoom in and out
The Dressing Room is now ready for players to jump into and available for developers to download and use in their games. Check it out today!
Gotchi Guardians
The Gotchi Guardians team is on a roll bringing many updates, including:
- Star Progression system to showcase players’ mastery of each map.
- A Suspicious New Tower that will gather Sus Butterflies over time to attack nearby enemies, giving players late-game investment options.
- New menus and the revamp of the reconnect feature.
The Gotchi Guardians team is working on much more, including some features that will keep players coming back for more every day and encourage different play styles.
New build coming later this month!
Licky’s Escape
Licky and the team closed February on a high note with the official launch of Licky’s Escape on iOS. Licky even made new friends with Patchara and Elisa, who joined in to help him escape!
The team digitally partied together during the launch of Licky’s Escape to announce Licky’s super exclusive BLOOPRINT collection. With only 5460 limited edition BLOOPRINTS available, players have until April 30th to successfully help Licky escape to obtain a pack of five random BLOOPRINTS.
In continuous celebration of Licky’s launch, the team is running a social media art contest to showcase players’ love for Licky - #LoveLicky. Winners will be voted by the community and have their artwork minted on Fake Gotchis by us.
DAO-led Games:
Mecha Gotchis
The Mecha team has been working diligently since December 2023 to develop an epic 10-player battle royale and proudly announced their Alpha launch on March 8, 2024.
In a psychedelic Gotchiverse-themed battle arena, the team will test their build by hosting games and giving out prizes, culminating in a tournament where players can win XP, NFTs, and GHST rewards.
The team is now entering the next phase, aiming to secure further funding for high gear development, including co-op mode, ultimate weapons, mech upgrades, player profiles, additional game modes, and the integration of Aavegotchis, their wearables, and Alchemica.
To join in and get a chance to play Alpha, make sure to join the Mecha Gotchis Discord.
Strategotchi
Strategotchi announced its very first tournament! With a prize pool of 1K GHST + Gotchi XP, the tournament will run for a week starting on Mar 13, 2024 at 14:00 UTC.
Leaderboard rankings will determine tournament winners, with their overall score being the aggregate of all individual realm scores. Players can raise their ranking by unlocking additional realms to achieve higher scores.
Players can also revisit and master realms they've already conquered, boosting their realm scores and contributing to a higher overall position!
Dropt: the Fallen Gotchi
The original goal to implement all hand items and abilities by the end of February has been adjusted to prioritize early multiplayer code integration, initially scheduled for June, to avoid extensive code rewrites later in the year.
This shift means special abilities and non-weapon hand item development will extend into March. Still, it also promises to introduce multiplayer games ahead of schedule, potentially by the end of April.
Current progress includes the implementation of all basic weapon attack mechanics, with minor visual adjustments pending, and the anticipation of completing weapon and non-weapon hand item specials by the end of March!
The team has also successfully developed the Infinite Incursion Island, featuring infinitely spawning bug enemies, and has made significant strides in weapon attack testing, particularly enjoying the fun feel of pistols.
Aavegotchi Unity SDK
The Aavegotchi Unity SDK is finally here with Aavegotchi pixelart NFTs (including Gotchis and wearables) available as 3D assets to build unique Gotchi experiences on Unity.
We will continuously add more animations, characters, and world-building infrastructure. The pixelart versions of each Aavegotchi are also just a smart-contract call away, thanks to all Gotchi traits and artwork being 100% stored on-chain.
Feel inspired? NOW is the time to begin developing games for our upcoming Aavegotchi Gaming Console!
😎 EVENT HIGHLIGHTS 😎
Helika Club (Feb. 22)
Pixelcraft Studios’ COO Jesse Johnson (gldnXross) attended the Helika Club Game Night, bringing Aavegotchi games along for over 40 industry leaders to playtest.
ETH Denver (Feb. 23 - Mar.3)
Gotchigang took over ETH Denver, bringing all original Aavegotchi games to the floor, and had over 500 demo sessions played!
Over 25 Aavegotchi DAO members attended the event, helped gift 50 holiday sweaters to our fans, and distributed 1000 raffle tickets.
NFT Paris (Feb. 22 - 24)
The Aavegotchi team made an appearance in Paris, giving players a chance to get their hands on Spirit Force Arena, Gotchi Guardians, and a pre-launch taste of Licky’s Escape.
That's it...for now!
We're only in Q1 and this year is already off to an exciting start! With the introduction of the 3D Dressing Room, a barrage of updates in Spirit Force Arena, the launch of Licky’s Escape on iOS, Great Battle Simulator and Gotchiverse updates, a sus new Gotchi Guardians tower, and multiple community-made tournaments and games launching, it really feels like we're approaching the Gotchi Gaming Singularity!
All we need now is our own chain to play on... Gotchichain announcements coming soon! 👀
All teams are hard at work building out our Gotchi dream world, but we love taking some time out to share these updates. If you enjoy reading them, give us a shoutout in the official Aavegotchi Discord server or on X. ✨👻✨
´Till the next one… Stay aavesome frens!
The Aavegotchi Team
