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4. Solutions

In order to tackle the challenges mentioned previously, Fragnova believes in the existence of one metaverse. A metaverse that is open, truly decentralized, with an ecosystem that is built by and for the community. This ecosystem will provide the solutions needed so that a creator centric community can thrive, empowering the rapidly growing UGC (user generated content) market.
One of the key pieces to build the metaverse are game engines. Game engines utilize many different components to run a game. However, currently only one of these can be on-chain and owned by players via common NFTs.
With Fragnova's native assets basically all the components can be UGC and monetized on-chain. Users can truly own their creations and either sell or license them. This is something that cannot be achieved with current engines and/or plugins developed for them.
Here are other essential factors to make the open metaverse a reality and provide long term solutions to creators, developers and gamers alike:

Immutable and unbreakable on-chain storage

It is important that all data is stored on-chain, preserving assets and player information forever. This ensures that the work of creators, and player rewards, are not only safely stored but also remain in the hands of the users instead of being controlled by the platform.
Another benefit is that users can reliably see the changelog (history) of every asset and game. This even allows users to play older versions of games if they wish so, something proven to be in demand by the release of retro games and “classic” or “old school” versions of MMOs [1][2].

No/low code, collaborative metaverse creation system

Creating content for the metaverse should be easy, intuitive and visual; it should be universal. To achieve this, a new engine and creation system should take center stage, outshining any existing software hindered by legacy tech.
This new creation system should be directly compatible and integrated with the blockchain and a decentralized marketplace, making it easy for anyone to co-create, publish their work, play and earn.
Ideally this metaverse creation system should be multiplatform and fully immersive, allowing users to create from their smartphones and especially VR.

Decentralized marketplace with direct-to-creators royalties

A key component for the open metaverse and the freedom of content creators is a decentralized marketplace that is regulated and curated by the community. This marketplace should be a living organism, growing and evolving according to the needs of creators, instead of being dictated by a single company.
Integral to this marketplace is the built-in distribution of royalties, allowing creators to be fairly and quickly compensated for their work. Even Microsoft Xbox is using blockchain technology to distribute royalties to its partners, cutting the wait time from 45 days to 4 minutes [3]. This can be further improved if games are built using assets directly available in the decentralized marketplace, allowing deep direct-to-creators, perpetual royalties distribution.
With better incentives and monetization options to asset creators, more and better assets will be available to developers, while lowering the initial costs to publish an app or game.
These assets are safely stored on-chain and can easily be used to create more complex assets, all while preserving the royalties distribution information so that each creator involved receives their fair share, which promotes co-creation and a rich variety of UGC.

No/low monetary and tech barriers for developers

Because of the solutions presented above, an important trait becomes available, the lowering of entry barriers for emerging developers. This incentivizes more people to create, especially those who are new to the field and those without the deep pockets to buy high quality assets, since they can use these assets by providing royalties instead of paying a large upfront cost.
With lower monetary and tech barriers the open metaverse will cultivate a healthy UGC community and mentality that promotes creativity.

Total interoperability of game assets

Game assets, the building blocks developers utilize to create games, should be truly interoperable. Meaning they can be added to any game, capable of being quickly plugged in and ready to go. This makes implementation as simple as dragging and dropping an asset into a project. Said assets will have logic and functionality working from the get-go.
Interoperability can be achieved by creating assets using open standards and a custom programming language designed to be the glue between them. Thanks to interoperable assets, game worlds can be borderless, allowing players to seamlessly transition between experiences.

Peer-to-peer server-less living worlds

Game worlds should also be decentralized instead of having siloed servers. Thanks to blockchain technology, the community can own and run game worlds which will help solve the recurring issue of games closing down their servers and leaving users helpless.
Players can keep their characters, items and achievements forever, while allowing other games and applications to access that data in order to unlock special benefits and rewards.
These components require a complex and overarching platform, and Fragnova is developing the technology to support that. Other components important for the open metaverse include these 3 factors: fast and low cost transactions, in-depth permissions for digital assets and the right benefits for creators.
Our goal isn’t to give users the open metaverse, but instead give them the tools to build and forever contribute to the open metaverse.
Citations
  1. 1.
    Heather Newman, Polygon (2019, September 5). World of Warcraft Classic review: The players grew up.
  2. 2.
    Mikhail Gomes, Lifestyle Asia (2022, March 18). Xbox re-adds 76 vintage games to to celebrate its 20th birthday.