Not everything in this ecosystem is about understanding complex protocols, maximizing profits and discussing network security. There is also room for fun and recreation, Micropets, in this case, is one such option.
While the “gamer” side of the crypto ecosystem is pursuing the big goal of role-playing games, Unity-powered graphics and ambitious metaverses, this is not a unique offering available.
MicroPets is a game that captures certain trends in the crypto world, “the memes”, and represents them in a “cute” or “cuddly” way. But, enough of the introduction. Let’s get to know a little more about this game.
What is MicroPets?
MicroPets is a decentralized application mounted on the Binance Smart Chain blockchain, which offers to buy and sell NFTs, which can be used on the platform, under the “Play to Earn” modality. On more than one occasion it was named as “the modern tamagotchi”.
Clarification for those who do not have enough springs, tamagotchi was “a virtual pet of the ’90s. A small device with which we played to take care of virtual pets.
Therefore, MicroPets replicates characteristics of that first virtual pet, to which it adds features of the blockchain. This gives the possibility of staking, empowering pets by locking them in a smart contract for a few days or purchasing food for them to achieve that goal.
Undoubtedly, blockchain and gaming are two universes destined to enhance each other.
Characters in MicroPets
As I explained in the introduction, MicroPets makes use of trendy characters in the crypto-current to create NFTs with utility within the platform itself.
Which characters am I referring to? Memes that we daily observe in crypto-twitter, or the social network we use, such as the following:
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- Bunny, a rabbit representing the Pancakebunny application mounted on the BSC network (it is a performance aggregator and optimizer).
- Wolf, a cute little white fox in clear allusion to cryptowolf, a platform also mounted on BSC.
- Cate, adorable kitten in allusion to the memecoin catecoin
- Tiger, who comes to “personify” tigerfinance
- Whale, the avatar that brings to life in the game the big players of the crypto ecosystem
- Pepe, the famous meme used, almost, by all crypto-users
- MetaFox, an elegant representation of the little fox that identifies Metamask
- Feg, the ferocious gorilla that represents those who often fall victim to the fatal and inevitable FOMO
- Unicorn, perhaps a reference to the most important DEX in the ecosystem, Uniswap
After this presentation, it is time to know how we can get them and what we can do with these adorable NFTs.
What MicroPets offers us
Now it is time to delve into the options offered by this “play to earn” platform. Before starting, it is important to remember that this concept already indicates the purpose of the game. Beyond fun and entertainment, the game is played to earn money.
So, let’s move on to analyze the platform and along the way learn why MicroPets is compared to Tamagotchi…..
Shop
In this section we will find two options, which guide us to the steps to follow to start playing. The first option takes us to the famous DEX PancakeSwap where $PETS, the native currency of this Play to Earn, can be acquired.
Once we have acquired the necessary amount, we can proceed to acquire these NFTs by minting (minting) them, using the PETS token mentioned above.
The Pets ” minting ” process
Here the game gets interesting and mystery enters the scene. Although we have 9 characters, each of the NFT minting in this game has unique and unrepeatable characteristics. Therefore, at the moment of minecraft we will find a box and inside this box, we will find the character that we have been given with its unique characteristics.
Inventory
Here we will be able to observe the pets we “adopt” and really start playing. The game consists of depositing or “locking” our NFTs in a smart contract to receive rewards for this action.
There are three options that can be differentiated by their returns and other particular conditions:
- First, a standard pool with no lockout period,
- Then, a pool with a 15-day lockout period.
- As a last option, a pool with a 30-day lockout.
Undoubtedly, for those who have been in this ecosystem for some months, will notice that this is DeFi and we are facing pools in which we can staking our assets, in this case of NFTs representing pets. Of course, the longer the lock-in period, the higher the returns. It is important to emphasize that early withdrawal receives an extremely high penalty of 75% of the rewards so far.
Level Up & Rank Up
Possibly players or pet owners are not entirely happy with what they randomly got after mining. For this problem, there is a solution.
The possibility of acquiring pets that have a higher rarity or increasing the ranking of the ones we already have, are options available. Through a mechanism of burning the “less rare” NFTs, players can improve the level of the rest they own.
It is estimated that the platform will grant different benefits and privileged access to those who own rare pets.
Marketplace
Finally we come to the section where players are able to trade their own NFTs. For those who do not wish to wait for their pets to grow, they will have the possibility to buy pets with a trajectory within the platform that will allow them, for example, to multiply staking rewards faster.
The options are really varied and, when looking at the offer, we can notice the large number of NFTs that have been minted on this platform.
2D NFTs
These cute NFT are the first version of the platform. Unlike the characters we have talked about so far, these NFT only have two dimensions, which makes them a non-moving image.
Given these characteristics, their price is lower and their usefulness does not go beyond being a collectible. The team behind MicroPets will invest the profits related to these NFTs in expanding the horizons of the platform.
The future of MicroPets
The current state of the platform, coupled with the success in terms of the number of mintings, has led the creators of MicroPets to sign an agreement with the Cubix team.
The objective of this alliance is to take these friendly mascots one step further and implant them directly into scenarios that allow them to perform an interactive game.
Undoubtedly, enhancing the usefulness of these friendly NFTs would give a new perspective to the platform for the future.
A small reflection
We find ourselves with a fun platform that appeals to the nostalgic side by recalling the first virtual pets in history and gives us some very nice NFT.
Analyzing highly ambitious “Play to Earn” projects that seek to corner the market and revolutionize the industry can lead us to underestimate projects with more earthly ambitions.
Undoubtedly, MicroPets is not here to change the world, but it is here to give a relaxed and enjoyable experience that could make an interesting leap from carrying out the expansion to an interactive scenario.
