This prompted me to reflect. I realized that the ambiguity and miscommunication stem largely from the abstract nature of the word reality. My reasoning is based on the opposition between of reality and virtual. While the world we inhabit may be real, human beings are inherently unreliable observers. Our memories blur over time, and different people interpret past events differently depending on their perspectives and values. Communication between humans is notoriously inefficient, and societal norms subtly shape our perceptions. In this sense, we are like brains in a vat. Our experiences, memories, and language are far less reliable than we tend to assume.

If reality is understood as human perception of the world, then blockchain, being a distributed system that crystallizes consensus, naturally has the potential to record objective reality. From this perspective, blockchain is truly a remarkable invention.

I argue that onchain reality does not mean putting our existing reality on the blockchain. Instead, it is about constructing unique interaction protocols within blockchain-based spaces, which spontaneously evolve into crypto-native new definitions of reality. In my earlier article, Warp Drive to Hyperreality, I briefly discussed the first, second, and third realities. I believe we should pursue the first reality rather than the others.

Ethereum has been around for over a decade, and we can now observe a wide range of applications built on smart contracts. This naturally raises a question: how does onchain reality differ from the low-risk DeFi, prediction markets, memecoin launchpads, or SocialFi applications we commonly see today? My answer is that onchain reality is currently a frontier narrative for large-scale decentralized applications. No single app can yet be called a true representation of onchain reality, making it difficult to offer a concrete, intuitive explanation. However, I can describe some of its key characteristics.

First, the ultimate goal of onchain reality is to become Ding an sich built on blockchain, minimizing reliance on any non-decentralized systems.

Second, onchain reality seeks to shape the core logic of the world, rather than focusing on flashy external appearances. Note that rich client experiences can still be built on top of onchain reality protocols.

Third, onchain reality treats all entities interacting through the blockchain’s underlying account model equally. These entities include humans, aliens, artificial intelligence, and complex plugins or scripts.

Fourth, onchain reality requires the construction of additional dimensions to enrich its foundational primitives, enabling the generation of more world content and consistently attracting more participants.

Fifth, different economic systems can be embedded on top of the onchain reality protocol. However, the protocol itself should de-emphasize economics and exist as a public good.

After explaining all this to my friend, he was visibly excited and asked, "So you are basically trying to develop a blockchain-based drug, right?"

I said, "Maybe we are."

From a technical design perspective, the introduction of the oblivion engine aims to mitigate the impact of state explosion. This issue is particularly severe for worlds based on the onchain reality thesis. The narrative of onchain reality depends on blockchain decentralization as the fundamental source of the world’s value. Only if people believe that the blockchain will persist indefinitely and last beyond a human lifetime into the distant future can it provide a strong and confident foundation of meaning to inspire and attract more participants. However, block space is extremely limited. Given the trade-offs between decentralization, security, and scalability, the gas limit for onchain operations per unit time is unlikely to increase significantly in the foreseeable future. Therefore, it is especially important to maximize the use of limited onchain storage to generate richer interactive content.

Taking Dark Forest as an example, the specific parameters of planets in the universe are generated by combining onchain keys with perlin noise curves, while ZK circuits is used to conceal the coordinates of the planets. Each player needs to perform local hash computations to obtain a map containing planetary information — the map is identical for all participants. Initially, the state of each planet is not stored onchain; only when a player attacks a planet does it trigger lazy-update function that updates the planet’s state, which is then stored via smart contracts. As more participants interact with the universe contract, the number of onchain planets increases. When exploring larger maps in browser clients, the need to handle the storage and updating of more planetary states leads to earlier crashes. In this situation, an alternative solution is to develop independent clients. However, such independent clients require higher development costs and often face resistance from users due to security concerns. Therefore, once again, we hope to alleviate this problem by modifying the world’s design. To reduce the total number of planets stored onchain, the number of times humans interact with each planet must increase. This means the mechanics need to encourage warfare to improve the efficiency of repeated utilization of individual planets. Of course, this represents a rather indirect oblivion mechanism: the enemy’s energy transported to your planet offsets your energy on that planet, indirectly erasing your previous operational footprints. A more direct and harsh approach is to embed a oblivion engine within the world. Over time, this mechanism gradually causes participants to lose control over planets, eventually reverting the planets back to their original pristine state.

The introduction of such a direct and harsh forgetting mechanism has been met with widespread opposition, as it appears to be a negative feedback system rather than a positive one that brings joy to participants, seemingly contradicting the original purpose of creating a game. This also reflects the differing philosophies among members of our team. For me, I do not wish to build a game that simply delivers sweet, high-pleasure experiences. Instead, I aim to create a serious onchain reality interaction system that can have profound impacts on its participants. To break free from past influences, I believe starting an independent project from scratch might better showcase my vision. The oblivion engine is designed to embody the concept of endings within the digital world, evoking more complex emotional experiences from its participants through this notion of finality. From the perspective of time, oblivion engine also offers greater possibilities for different people who wish to engage with the system. This represents a viable path to constructing an infinitely self-sustaining system.

Another argument against the introduction of the forgetting mechanism is that it undermines the immutability of the blockchain. People find it difficult to accept that the planets they have painstakingly acquired might no longer belong to them in the future. However, I think the oblivion engine does not conflict with immutability. The past remains immutable, but the future of the digital world can evolve over time, and this is where the oblivion engine plays a role. Furthermore, I do hope that the boundaries between different participants will blur and dissolve within this world. This means that everyone’s actions are connected to everyone else, and the objects abstracted by the interaction protocols can actively influence the participants themselves.

Oblivion may seem like a tragedy, but fortunately, we can design ways to resist it, though this may require great effort from the participants. As long as you are willing to put in the effort, everything can still be saved. Would you like to live in such a world?

Every person has an intrinsic drive to escape the “Second Reality”, to leap toward a distant place with a stomp of the foot, fleeing the mundane and noisy present. This desire reflects a structural critique of modern civilization. The social machine has alienated individuals, reducing them into quantifiable production units. While bearing the weight of immense anxiety and repressing inner desires, they also face the suppression of their voices within grand narratives. Humans are meaning-making creatures, seeking anchors in life. The inertia of the times, whether it is the collective unconscious or capitalism, has shaped a powerful societal discourse system. Individuals move forward within a pre-defined coordinate system, simultaneously experiencing pain. Paradoxically, the pursuit of positive freedom often leads to enslavement. This is the awkward predicament we find ourselves in within the “Second Reality.”

People begin to hide in the embrace of the subreality. Video games, short videos, streaming series, theme parks, and competitive activities all belong to this domain. These spaces offer a set of uncomplicated elements that allow us to immerse ourselves, temporarily escaping the pressure of the Second Reality. Within subreality, we adopt different roles, experience a range of emotions, and rely on instant gratification mechanisms to provide comfort and relief. The allure of subreality lies in its ability to make people believe they still have the power of choice. However, as time passes, these constructed identities and achievements fade, and the Second Reality inevitably awaits our return. This is why we refer to subreality as the “Third Reality.” It is a compensation for our loss of meaning, a fleeting fantasy that will inevitably fade. The Third Reality is just a temporary remedy for civilization’s internal exhaustion. We both despise the discipline imposed by the system and rely on the sugar-coated pills distributed by the system, ultimately helplessly returning to the preordained coordinates of work and intimate relationships.

I would like to explore a romantic possibility, whether we can construct a hyperreal space dedicated to preserving meaning. I believe that the realms created by onchain reality interaction protocols serve as ideal vessels for this purpose, forming what we might call the “First Reality”. The First Reality possesses an inherent transcendence, as the future-oriented nature of blockchain systems drives perpetual progress. In the Second Reality, the relentless passage of time erases all traces of the individual. Wave after wave, the sea washes away humanity’s footprints: dreams and aspirations, youthful passions, fierce struggles, tense moments, hopes for glory, and lofty status, all eventually smoothed into oblivion. Yet, the marks left within onchain reality endure. Death will no longer signify the end of meaning. When time runs out and life reaches its conclusion, our interactions with onchain reality will persist, impervious to decay. In this way, onchain reality harnesses technology to defy oblivion.

In order to warp drive to hyperreality, I believe we must first free ourselves from the mental imprints imposed by the Second Reality. We need to overcome our traumatic attachment to the present. When an individual remains passive for too long, they may come to believe that change is impossible. We must recognize that this mental inertia will only keep us trapped in place. Feelings of unworthiness, fear of failure, and resistance to novelty—these are the chains that reality has placed upon us. Only by breaking free can we move toward a future of fulfillment and happiness. I believe that if more people embrace our vision, the future will ultimately converge into the shape we anticipate. The onchain reality is an infinitely extending story of self-narration, a warm pink blanket that envelops us with comfort. The onchain reality is not an illusory bubble, but a genuine invitation: if you are weary of crawling within the confines of societal discipline, leap into this boundless, adventurous deep sea and join the new generation of the pioneering fish school in the new era.

In the construction of the digital worlds, our attention often gravitates toward discussions concerning the essence of the worlds, while the consideration of humanity tends to be overlooked. A world that captures people’s care is not a solitary one; this compels us to deeply reflect on the relationships among individuals, as well as the connections between individuals and the broader world, particularly regarding the question of identity for the inhabitants of the onchain worlds.

After the gentle waves of the internet have quietly surged into our lives, the fading of the nearby spaces has settled into a new norm. On subways or around dinner tables, people instinctively grasp their phones to forge connections with cyberspace. The physical spaces we inhabit seem to fade away, supplanted by the flickering notifications of social apps, the relentless streams of information flowing from short video platforms, and the vibrant NPCs and quest rewards found in games. The nearby has become monotonous, while the internet remains ever warm, continually offering an endless array of content for people to enjoy.

Nevertheless, we have never truly identified with our identities in the Web2 space; in fact, the Web2 space has become a reflection of the real world. Our social media accounts in Web2 are closely tied to our identities in the real world, and the content we share is largely based on the value assessment systems of that reality. This situation is partly due to the decline of the Web2 internet, where the noble ideals once upheld by early internet enthusiasts have not materialized. Instead, the internet has come under the control of centralized interest groups, which have established a self-serving set of value standards that govern people’s behavior. On the other hand, the weight of the real world is substantial; individuals’ sense of identity is largely derived from their social relationships and economic standing. While the nearby has vanished, we find ourselves surrounded by its reflection.

The emergence of blockchain presents a possibility to change all of this. Our motivation for constructing onchain worlds is rooted in our pursuit of privacy, freedom, and decentralization. However, as we embark on the journey to create onchain worlds, we face the significant challenge that individuals have yet to cultivate a genuine sense of identity within these onchain worlds. People often simplistically perceive the Web3 as merely an accelerated version of the real world, establishing a super free market on permissionless trust platforms. They take risks within this super free market, with the endpoint of this adventure being to leave that space, return to the real world, and convert their gains into fiat currency to buy houses and cars or deposit them in banks. But do you remember? “The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.”

I believe the most crucial question we should contemplate in the construction of the onchain worlds is how to foster a genuine sense of identity for individuals. In truth, blockchain inherently possesses qualities that can facilitate this endeavor. With its boundless potential for the future, blockchain stands in contrast to the finite nature of human life. It is entirely possible that life itself may lack inherent meaning, reducing humanity to mere creatures that seek to invest in symbols. If this is the case, I believe we can place our symbols on the blockchain and respond to people’s infinite expectations by constructing larger-scale decentralized applications, which would offer us peace and comfort.

However, the boundary between reality and virtual is often blurred. We frequently use an empiricist perspective to evaluate our surroundings: things that feel familiar and comforting are deemed real, while things that feel unfamiliar and distant are perceived as false. This kind of judgment often varies from person to person. From a logical standpoint, how can we be certain that the world we inhabit isn’t just an elaborate dream? How do we verify that the things we believe to be real aren’t merely hallucinations induced by electrical signals stimulating a brain in a vat? We become so immersed in the familiar that we often forget to question more deeply.

The reality that holds one’s attention is the reality that is meaningful to them, and this meaningful reality causes a shift in their sense of self. When you sit in front of an electronic device, engaging with it, and open a game you love, guiding your character through its dazzling world of adventures, you become so focused that you lose track of time. In that state of flow, the character in the game is the meaningful version of you, and the game world becomes the reality that holds significance for you. Your body becomes a mere vessel, detached from that reality—simply a necessary condition to sustain your mental activities, needing only to continue existing.

The phenomenon of subjective displacement makes it possible for us to construct new realities. We advocate for “Onchain Reality Maximalism” because we believe that the inherent decentralization and immutability of blockchain technology provide a strong foundation for building these new realities. The large-scale decentralized applications we are constructing serve as expansive containers with the capacity to support a growing number of participants. The worlds defined by smart contracts are not just aesthetically curated theme parks for temporary amusement; they can transcend mere entertainment by creating environments where individuals must take responsibility for their actions and bear the consequences of those actions. From this perspective, I believe many people do not take the large decentralized applications we are building as seriously as they should. Many view onchain worlds as a mere supplement to the existing world, something that is optional or secondary. This casual attitude weakens the internal credibility of these applications, making it difficult to convince future residents of the onchain world to engage in constructive activities that yield long-term, stable value.

Developing large-scale applications is a crucial step in our journey toward “Onchain Reality.” Games represent a significant subset of large-scale applications, and there are many voices around us that resist the idea of gaming. This resistance reflects an underlying anxiety, which is not entirely unfounded. The sub-reality shaped by the familiar Web2 games has demonstrated significant allure. However, at the same time, this sub-reality is strongly controlled by centralized entities, and the foundations upon which it is built are unreliable, making it susceptible to collapse at any time. However, with fully onchain games, there is no preordained doom written into their fate. Based on this, we can attempt to construct a reality even more authentic and imaginative than the physical world we inhabit—one that is wilder, more romantic, and more beautiful.

Our bodies exist on Earth, requiring daily sustenance, health maintenance, social interaction to stave off loneliness, and the sale of labor to earn money. These necessities consume a vast amount of our time and energy. We may try to assign positive meaning to these tasks in order to deceive ourselves, but this is often nothing more than a reluctant compromise. We are born into this chaotic stage of life, seemingly making choices, though in reality, we are merely selecting between a series of unsatisfactory options, guided by luck and intuition, unaware of the consequences. As science and technology advance, as material resources become more abundant, human lifespans increase, and AI takes over more foundational tasks, “Onchain Reality Maximalism” offers a path to resolve the spiritual crises faced by humanity.

We believe that “Onchain Reality Maximalism” is not merely a new trend in crypto culture but an evolution of civilization itself. In this new reality, everyone can become their own master, breaking free from imposed, meaningless choices to build a future that belongs to themselves and to all of humanity. Here, there is no centralized control, no irreversible collapse, only a world that continuously evolves through consensus and action. In the world of onchain reality, we are no longer passive recipients of external orders, but active creators of a freer, more romantic, and more hopeful future. This future may turn out to be more real than what we once believed to be “reality.”

The core spirit of this cyberspace inherently contains an impulse to blend everything together. This is part of the crypto-native ethos. On one hand, we want applications to run smoothly according to pre-defined rules. On the other hand, we hope to break through the boundaries between applications, allowing them to connect in unexpected ways and create something wonderful. Developers often refer to this as permissionless interoperability and composability.

The onchain game developer community has been exploring the frontier of this field. Our team has always aspired to build more ambitious large-scale decentralized applications, and we have always believed in the immense potential of autonomous worlds. However, in this article, I will not delve deeply into autonomous worlds. Instead, I will discuss their initial form: composable game. I would like to use Dark Forest as an example to explore the potential of Composable Game as a Service, an intriguing concept proposed by our team.

WTF Composable-Game-as-a-Service (CGaaS)

As many are aware, with the improvement of blockchain infrastructure, Rollup-as-a-Service (RaaS) has emerged. This reflects a modular approach, where Rollup can be divided into relatively independent layers such as the Data Availability layer, the Settlement layer, the Sequencer layer and so on. Each layer can provide different modules. When there is a need for an appchain, these modules can be combined according to specific requirements to achieve customized deployment of the appchain. We see similar possibilities in Dark Forest.

It is necessary to briefly review the development history of Dark Forest here. Dark Forest is a fully onchain MMORTS game created using zkSNARKs. The game takes place in a procedurally generated infinite universe where players, bots, AIs, and even smart contracts compete fiercely for galactic supremacy. It is a hardcore space-themed strategy game. Throughout its development, the Dark Forest community has cultivated a unique culture that encourages community-driven development. In addition to utilizing the game client's interface to develop various plugins with different functionalities, players can also fork the game's code to add and update various game modules and features they desire.

In Dark Forest v0.6 Round 5, the official development team introduced the lobbies system. Lobbies are a fully on-chain configuration and deployment system for your own Dark Forest universe(s). With the lobbies system, players can adjust game parameters and quickly deploy new game universes. This parameter-based adjustment model requires players to have a thorough understanding of each fundamental game parameter, which objectively limits the game's potential to spread to a broader audience.

An improvement method involves modularizing this large-scale application, providing different design alternatives within each module to support diverse customization needs and introduce a variety of applications. We refer to this concept as Composable-Game-as-a-Service (CGaaS). This service targets blockchain platforms, allowing them to customize games according to their specific requirements to attract different types of users or players. The development team can also use it to rapidly iterate, develop, and compose various different game applications.

We believe the openness and composability inherent in fully onchain games can effectively support such a paradigm. In the long term, CGaaS aims to maximize code reuse, thereby reducing development costs.

Transforming Dark Forest into CGaaS

Throughout the 5-year development journey of the Dark Forest community, numerous game design ideas and projects have accumulated. For our team, we started playing Dark Forest in 2021 and developed many plugins and ecosystem projects, including automation bots and killer bounty platform. At the beginning of 2023, we decided to maintain our own fork version of Dark Forest, which we named Dark Forest Ares. We have already released three distinct game versions and plan to launch more game design versions later this year. I strongly believe that we should break down the boundaries between these game design ideas and versions, ultimately blending them together.

For the game Dark Forest, it can be briefly categorized into the following layers:

Natural Rules Layer: Includes types and positions of planets, rules for energy growth on planets, rules for inter-planetary attacks, and the mechanics of the fog of war.

Artifact Layer: Involves various artifact items, each with different functionalities.

Player Layer: Attributes possessed by players, and the player guild system.

Economic Model Layer: Includes trading of silver, exchange of player scores, artifact transactions, and the bounty hunter platform.

Scoring Rules Layer: Includes rankings based on distance from the center of the universe, rankings based on the amount of silver owned and so on.

These layers all affect how players will generally act within the game. In the scoring rules layer, for example, when ranking by distance from the center of the universe, players engage in territorial competition near the center, creating a zero-sum game scenario where intense battles occur among players. Ranking by the amount of silver owned motivates players to occupy more planets to gather additional silver. When distributing game bonuses based on specific combinations of collected artifacts, the game becomes a collection-based game. Under these three scoring rules, players' gaming experiences vary significantly. Furthermore, different layers can be combined with various modules, allowing for the selection of different scoring rules and economic models to shape diverse game objectives. Players can thus experience a variety of gameplay by making different trade-offs and choices. Blockchain platforms or players can also use economic incentives to encourage development teams to create desired modules and features.

Advantages of CGaaS

For players, it reduces the learning curve of operating applications and allows them to experience different game pleasures through various module combinations.

For blockchain platforms, it addresses the issue of lacking blockchain applications. Composable games can provide customized application solutions based on the needs of blockchain platforms.

For composable game development teams, it allows for flexible development plans based on foundational project frameworks and existing modules.

This design philosophy encourages developers to innovate and explore new application modules and technological solutions, driving ecosystem development.

Prerequisites for CGaaS

Several conditions must be met for composable applications to succeed. Firstly, development requires an active community of developers who embrace Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) and decentralized values. A core team must establish a highly scalable development architecture and protocol while coordinating progress among different development groups. Secondly, as a service, composable applications need diverse design solutions across various module layers to leverage scalability advantages. Early-stage development costs are high, necessitating perseverance from the core development team with limited societal resources initially. Thirdly, there must be a cohesive narrative supporting the application worldview, with modules developed to align closely with this unified perspective.

That concludes this article. In the future, we may publish more articles to explore the feasibility of transforming Dark Forest into a Composable-Game-as-a-Service and discuss the advantages of MUD engines in constructing Composable-Game-as-a-Service, or other topics related to fully onchain games. If you are interested in our future development plans, feel free to contact us.

I extend my sincere gratitude to all the friends who helped review.

We will host the game beta testing event for Dark Forest Ares v0.1 Round 4 in August, and we welcome everyone to participate.