Property Mechanics in NewPangea
The development team here at Good Ribbit Productions has been hackin’ and kraken away with the Notorious Frogs of NewPangea for the past few weeks to solidify more details on property and land mechanics. We’re happy to report we bribed the right officials and have some awesome details to share with you. But first, we have to get the unpleasant part out of the way so the Frogland legal toads don’t force us all into the Prison Gang for ribbiting without a license.
This article describes a journey and proposes a novel land mechanic for Frogland as the founding district of NewPangea. This is a first draft and as such everything in this document is subject to change. Similarly, the system described here is an idealistic state of where the project could go and it is not intended to convey everything that will be available at launch. Some features will be available during the beta phase, while others may not be available until after general availability.
Ribbit. Glad we got that out of the way. Now onto the good parts. We considered a number of different property system designs when designing Frogland. Some components are inspired by established metaverse models, as well as feedback from the community to help develop our own land mechanic. This approach is informed by the community, considers established models, but is also unique in its design.
At the inception of Notorious Frogs of Frogland, we looked at “land” just like every other metaverse: a single plot with single-source ownership. This model is advantageous because it mimics real-world real estate in straightforward, intuitive ways that enable landowners to understand fundamental property rights and expand on the real-world example in ways that are compelling and, in some cases, with fewer restrictions. For example, if I own a property, I want to decide how to use it. Property ownership is attractive to users for various reasons, but not every user shares the same goals and objectives, and we want the land ownership in Frogland to be created with our community’s goals and plans at the forefront of our minds. Some users may intend to develop the land, while others may simply collect for the long term. Others may want to use it in unexpected ways.
Land in Frogland is different from land in other metaverses in several fundamental ways.
First, we aim to maximize social interaction.
Second, we aim to maximize utility for token holders.
Third and most importantly, we aim to maximize FUN!
Land Types & Ecological Zones
To encourage economic activity and diverse land usage, land in Frogland is categorized by Land Usage zones that are subdivided into Ecological Zones. The primary land uses fall into two categories: residential and non-residential. This article will focus on residential land.
- Residential Land
Residential land is zoned according to different ecology criteria. - Non-Residential Land
Non-Residential plots consist of multiple subtypes reserved for different uses in the world. This includes wilderness, commercial spaces, event venues, art exhibitions, quest locations, manufacturing sources based on specialized syndicates, and so on.
Residential land is zoned according to different criteria, the most important of which are its ecological domain: the aggregate of its terrain, plant life, animal habitat, and any inorganic items available in that zone type. Each plot of land exists in an ecology that is important for the three pillars of the NewPangea experience: ‘Adventure in a Quirky World’, ‘Community and Socially Driven’, and ‘Tokenomics and Trading’ — keep your eyes peeled for Medium articles on each coming soon! Ensuring the balance of questing, resource acquisition, resource farming, and social interaction is cohesively and deeply interlinked is paramount for the success of the metaverse.
Each ecology has unique combinations of both organic and in-organic resources, like minerals. Each ecology is statistically balanced alongside the others, such that the distinct advantages of each Ecological Zone will impact and will be impacted by the surrounding zones. Further, the ecological and economic dynamics inherent in the zones are designed specifically to amplify the economic, social, and adventure design that encourages and gamifies the participation by those in Frogland, or in any district of NewPangea.
The primary ecological zones are comprised of the following:
- Coastal
The Coastal zones are defined by proximity to the ocean and include diverse ecosystems such as mangroves, tidal flats, coral reefs, and other aquatic oddities. - Desert
The Desert zones are dry and barren but with plenty of treasures to discover for those willing to brave dry harsh climates to uncover their secrets. - Forest
The Forest zones are full of magic and mystery — and maybe even a little bit of danger. And mushrooms. Lots of mushrooms. - Tropical
The Tropical grasslands sport sprawling meadows as far as the eye can see. Who knows what predators lurk in the switchgrass… - Mountain
The Mountains are home to multitudes of magnificent minerals to discover. - Wetlands
The Wetlands are the natural habitat for Notorious Frogs, consisting of a murky yet teeming underbelly of unique life not found anywhere else. - Urban
The Urban concrete jungle appears devoid of a natural ecosystem at first, but if you look closely there are unique opportunities for enterprising creatures, no matter how many legs or eyes they may have.
Seasonal Shifts in Resource Allocation
Each plot of land is unique, but there are common characteristics among parcels in any given zone. For example, plots in the tropical grasslands are bigger in acreage than in the urban zones, but those more rural areas also lack the convenience of being close to trade and commerce.
Some items in Frogland are only available as a resource harvested from occupied private property. Resource allocations are finite for a specific piece of land and can be depleted over time, making planning and strategic decision making important so as to not exhaust your resources.
Further, each season leads to changes in resource availability in each zone. There is a time to reap, a time to sow, a time of replenishment, and periods of depletion. These variances are driven by cyclical weather and climate change in addition to rarer cosmic events across the eons. Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water (and dare we say, the Ethereal plane) will play important roles — although this metaverse is yet unexplored, so these events aren’t necessarily familiar, and could have very unusual impacts. The strangeness of the atmosphere and ecosystem combined with extraterrestrial, surreal events are what makes NewPangea an extraordinary world.
Land zones are distributed throughout Frogland according to the climate, and because of that association, the sizes and shapes of zones may change over time. The ecology of the landscape changes based on cycles that may not be familiar and as predictable as seasons based on our understanding of “annual” travel around a central source of light and energy. As in real life, such events may seem random when they are actually based on dynamics that exist in the surrounding cosmos. There is a sky above Frogland, and above all of NewPangea. There are stars and comets in different shapes than what we see on Earth, giving the inhabitants of NewPangea every reason to believe that there are forces such as magic, astrology, supreme beings, or straight up mystery — should they choose. Social forces can alter economies as much as the climate in some cases, adding yet another turn to this rabbit hole.
Initially, each land zone will have more land area dedicated to it than all land devices issued to that zone. This feature not only simplifies the initial play mechanics, but allows for enough room to enable landowners the opportunity to move around once they are ensconced in the world. This design also enables migratory movements as people move from zone to zone within the NewPangea supercontinent, or enter it for the first time.
The property dynamics of NewPangea are designed specifically to enable social bonds to form and evolve, or even fracture when conflicts arise. Over time, every manner of the social construct should be allowed to exist and maybe, just maybe, the right bribe to the right Frog whose in-laws are on the right Planning Commission may allow a land devices to change its type.
Land Devices
The primary unit of land ownership in Frogland is the land device itself. Land devices do not have a fixed map coordinate associated with them. Each device can be used to claim an unowned land plot and each device can be moved to a different plot through the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission is an in-game construct that is responsible for managing different factors of property dynamics in the game world. Each ecological zone has its own Planning Commission.
The land device can be transferred to another land plot by submitting a request to the appropriate Planning Commission for that zone. When a land device is used to claim a plot of land within the zone where it was issued, that device receives a bonus modifier that affects gameplay in various ways. For example, a land device issued by the Forest Commission that is used by the device owner to claim a land plot in a forest zone could result in ownership of a plot that has enhanced resource gathering related to that location — wood, for instance. Other benefits may also accompany that forest device when used to obtain a plot in the forest zone. More details will be shared about the structure and operation of these Planning Commissions in the future.
All land devices share the same traits, but not all land device are equal. Each land device includes characteristics that make it suitable to associate with certain parcels of land. It is up to the player to weigh different strategies to determine if a device should be associated with a particular parcel. Each land device has an affinity for a specific zone, determined by the planning commission that issues the device. Each land device includes a trait that indicates its physical size, which can mean different things in different zones. For instance, land in the tropical grassland is objectively larger than in the urban district, but size isn’t everything.
Land devices also indicate efficiency, which impacts the time it takes to create improvements. Some folks are just lucky, so each device also includes a luck trait that can affect the probability of certain outcomes, such as the likelihood of discovering artifacts or legendary items on that property (or possibly across that specific zone). Each land device also comes with prestige, a value describing its lineage, provenance, or history. The prestige value can influence a planning commission’s actions.
TL;DR
- Land Devices are NFTs.
- Specific land devices have an affinity for a specific Planning Commission’s zone.
- A device doesn’t restrict the zone it can be applied to — any device can be used as a claim against land in other zones.
- The traits of the device impact the properties and performance of the land plot.
- Application of a device to a zone different from its origin is a choice players make when weighing advantages and disadvantages of that choice.
- When using a device to transfer to a different plot, the Planning Commission plays a role. The Planning Commissions are all different and each one may have different processes that can impact transfer approval.
Why Land Devices
There are many reasons to use the land device model in Frogland and NewPangea. By making land ownership an engaging part of the game, players find exciting ways to enjoy their private space. When designing this system, we maximize the long-term enjoyment of land and give narrative meaning to owning land, without forcing long-term players to continually trade in order to build on what they have.
One of the most compelling reasons we are pursuing this model is the allowance for us to decouple the transactional nature of blockchain away from the gameplay mechanics of a metaverse, so that the two mechanisms can operate independently. It provides flexibility in iterating the gameplay while allowing the trade mechanism to flourish naturally.
Allowing land to be moved also enables better social cohesion among and across groups. An example is, if you join a new syndicate or make a new gang of friends in the world, this mechanism allows social groups to homestead as neighbors and thus to work collaboratively to maximize the enjoyment and productivity of the land with a common intention. Community building is an essential pillar upon which Frogland and NewPangea are built. Mechanisms such as this prevent users from being forced to trade on the open market as the primary means of exchange, which unnecessarily increases gas fees paid over time. More fun and tokens and friends can be had using the model we are developing.
Wen Land Devices
Soon(™). The specific drop mechanics are still being worked out by the team. There are various ways to launch land devices, and we are assessing different options to ensure fairness, efficiency, and fun. The snapshot mechanism with a claim process is our leading design, and once finalized, we’ll give ample notice before the land distribution and sales implementation.
ETA: Land claim for Froghodlrs and the first wave of Allow Listed land sales will take place on June 18th, 2022.
There are so many more details that we cannot wait to share with you. We are still at the very, very beginning. Thank you so much for your incredible support of our project. Ribbit ribbit.
