Illuvium

Illuvium is a fantasy battle game set in an open world and built on the Ethereum blockchain. Claimed to be the first AAA game on Ethereum, Illuvium aims to entertain both casual players and dedicated DeFi enthusiasts with its various features for collecting and trading.

For an in-depth look at this project, check out our detailed exploration of Illuvium.

The game's universe is populated by creatures called Illuvials. Players can capture these after defeating them in combat and then nurse them back to health. Once healed, Illuvials join the player's collection and can be deployed in battles against other players, thanks to the game's auto-battler mechanics.

Illuvium combines elements of open-world exploration with PVP battles. Players venture through vast landscapes or strategically build teams of strong creatures.

Development on Illuvium began in 2020, and it's crafted by a diverse team of over 40 people led by co-founders Kieran Warwick, a seasoned entrepreneur and early adopter of cryptocurrency, and Aaron Warwick, an experienced game designer. Both are also brothers to Kain Warwick, a co-founder of the DeFi platform Synthetix.

Within the Illuvium ecosystem, the ILV token plays several key roles. It rewards players for achievements in the game, allows them a stake in the Illuvium Vault, and is used in the governance of the game through the Illuvium decentralized autonomous organization (DAO).

Although Illuvium has components based on blockchain, it resembles a complete video game more than anything else. It's accessible through a downloadable desktop app and is supported by various DeFi applications, including a yield farm and decentralized exchange.

Players explore the Illuvium world, battling Illuvials and other participants, taking on quests and daily challenges, and engaging in a shared storyline. Throughout their adventures, they gather Illuvials, each featuring distinct characteristics that affect their rarity, usefulness, and appeal. These are categorized as:

* Classes: Empath, Fighter, Guardian, Rogue, and Psion.
* Affinities: Air, Earth, Fire, Nature, and Water.

Though class and affinity are vital traits, each Illuvial boasts numerous other attributes influencing its battle strength, such as attack damage, speed, and ferocity. Illuvials grow stronger with victories, can be enhanced using in-game items, and may evolve into an "ascended" form, which combines two affinities for greater power.

Each Illuvial is represented by a unique non-fungible token (NFT) and can be traded freely on external exchange platforms and the gas-free IlluviDEX (details to follow). Illuvials can also be combined into more potent forms and are available in normal, holographic, and dark holographic variants — the latter being significantly rarer.

The game offers multiple revenue streams, primarily from in-game purchases of items, crafting materials, cosmetics, and shard curing. All game revenue is allocated as rewards to ILV token stakers through an ILV buyback system.

Illuvium distinguishes itself from other blockchain games with its fully 3D environment and over 100 distinctive Illuvials spread across different regions. Each creature is crafted by top-tier artists, appealing to players used to high-budget retail games.

It stands out with several features that differentiate it from both blockchain-based titles and AAA games, such as:

* Layer-2 Integration: Illuvium operates on Ethereum but is built on Immutable X (IMX), a layer-2 solution designed for scaling applications with NFT capabilities. Leveraging Immutable X's functionality allows players to mint and trade NFTs without gas fees and with near-instant transaction finality, all while retaining asset ownership.
* The IlluviDEX: Illuvium includes a built-in decentralized exchange (DEX) known as the IlluviDEX, which facilitates trustless trading of Illuvium assets, including Illuvial NFTs. A 5% fee from each sale contributes to the reward pool for ILV stakers.
* Yield Farming: Three million ILV tokens, equating to 30% of the maximum supply (10 million), are allocated to Illuvium's yield farming program, distributed over three years to users providing liquidity and through partner reward schemes.

Illuvium offers a distinct yield farming reward system where all ILV rewards from the yield farm are locked for one year before withdrawal is possible.

Nevertheless, stakers can bypass this waiting period by converting their ILV rewards into a secondary in-game asset called sILV. By opting for sILV, users receive its USD equivalent and can instantly spend their rewards on in-game purchases.

SILV is not a blockchain-based asset and cannot be withdrawn from the game.

While Illuvium and Axie Infinity both involve collectible characters for battling, trading, and upgrading, the scope of their game worlds varies.

Illuvium offers a 3D role-playing experience with a gradually unfolding storyline and vast, explorable terrains, whereas Axie Infinity features a popular, quirky 2D setting with charming creatures called Axies, which are somewhat like Pokemon. These Axies can be bred, battled, and traded, although there is no story mode currently available.

Both games incorporate strong gamified DeFi elements, enabling players to earn real Ether (ETH), as certain Illuvials and Axies can command high prices in the market.

Unlike Axie Infinity, which uses a mix of random assets for each Axie, Illuvium's Illuvials are entirely unique, with custom artwork and design that reflects their characteristics and regions.

In essence, while the games share similarities, Illuvium primarily targets traditional gamers who might be new to cryptocurrencies and NFTs, while Axie Infinity largely appeals to those already familiar with crypto.