Blockchain gaming is a growing ecosystem with the play-to-earn (P2E) sector being the most popular and dominant part of the ecosystem at this current time. Whilst P2E gaming is popular, there is a lack of AAA gaming titles, with simple 2D games taking the center stage. There are also barriers to entry which include having to purchase expensive NFT characters before you can play the game.

Myria is a gaming ecosystem that focuses on gameplay with free-to-play games and an Ethereum Layer 2 scaling solution to make it easier to scale crypto games. Let’s take a deeper look at the platform below.

What is Myria?

Myria is a blockchain-based gaming platform that comprises multiple different protocols. These protocols include an Ethereum Layer 2 network that is being built specifically to scale the crypto gaming space and in-game blockchain assets. Additional protocols include a proprietary wallet, a marketplace for NFTs, and a decentralized exchange.

Players will have access to a wide variety of games that are powered by blockchain technology inside the Myriaverse, where they will also be able to construct their own virtual homes, engage in social activities, go on quests, and do much more.

Myria aims to build AAA blockchain games focused on putting gameplay first, instead of making the acquisition of tokens the main goal. This gameplay-first approach can be seen in how NFT items are implemented in their games, instead of buying these NFTs they need to be unlocked, the same way cosmetics are unlocked in traditional gaming. Players can also earn MYRIA tokens by moving up the leaderboards. Games in the Myria ecosystem are also free-to-play, again going to show the platform's gameplay-first approach.

There are currently four games that are being developed by the platform:

Metarush

Metarush is a multiplayer obstacle course game where players race towards the finish line without being knocked out of the course by the various traps and obstacles. Every competition begins with a large group of players, all of whom must overcome a number of challenges in order to advance to the championship round.

The remaining players continue the fight in rounds that progressively get more challenging until there is only one player left standing. The game has a candy-themed aesthetic and different game modes as well as NFT cosmetic skins, items, and outfits.

Block Royale

Block Royale is a battle royale game, similar to Fortnite, that can be played in a solo mode or in teams of three. Players battle it out on a gradually shrinking map and only have one life. Players can collect weapons and equipment and can also use power-ups to help them against other players.

When it comes to skins and outfits, these in-games are unlocked by accomplishing tasks and ranking up like in most battle royale games. However, skins in this game are NFTs that can be swapped, sold, traded, or carried over into compatible games.

Metakart

Metakart is a go-karting game, similar to Mario Kart. Players race against each other across different levels, using weapons and traps to sabotage their opponents and win the race in 1st place. Go-karts are customizable and upgradable and players get to use power-ups during races to try and beat out their opponents.

Starstrike Legends

Starstrike Legends is an FPS (First-Person Shooter) game with team-based game modes. Weapons are upgradeable and gameplay focuses around trying to defend or attack key locations on a battle map. Attacking teams try to activate a bomb whilst the defending tries to stop this activation.

Players can use NFT cosmetic skins and outfits that they have won from other Myria game titles and heroes have unique abilities to help them take out opponents. Every hero has three abilities and one ultimate ability, each one needing to be recharged through in-game kills, collectible items, or completing goals.

How it works

Myria has built an Ethereum Layer 2 platform (Myria Chain) that is focused on blockchain gaming. The aim of this Layer 2 platform is for players to own, trade, and swap in-game items with minimal fees. Scalability has been one of the major issues when it comes to blockchain gaming.

CryptoKitties is one famous example, the NFT collection caused the Ethereum blockchain to slow down due to a high number of CryptoKittie transactions that ended up congesting the network.

Axie Infinity is another Ethereum-based blockchain game that ended up building its own scaling solution, Ronin Network, to improve scalability for its players. Layer 2 platforms reduce the strain on the Ethereum network by running transactions off of the main blockchain (in this case, running the transactions through Myria Chain), allowing the main network to handle fewer transactions which in turn keeps fees low and transactions fast.

Myria's Layer 2 platform also uses ZK-Rollups to scale transactions on the network. ZK-Rollups work by rolling up or bundling thousands of transactions and running them off the main blockchain, a SNARK is then sent back to the main blockchain as proof. This technology further helps to scale crypto gaming, whilst maintaining the security of Layer 1 platforms like Ethereum.

Conclusion

Myria is a crypto gaming platform and ecosystem that aims to scale blockchain gaming on a technical level by using Layer 2 scaling solutions and on a user level by focusing on gameplay with free-to-play games and NFTs that can only be unlocked by completing tasks.