The Coffin's Oath: A Decentralized Card Game on Hive Blockchain

Introduction

Hey everyone! We’re Team MentalBlocks and we’re madly in love with blockchain technology, hence the team name.

The Team members are: Swastik Tripathy, Kamakshi, and Khushi Kathuria.

Since we’re students at NIIT University, we were encouraged to participate in the Hive Hackathon by the siNUsoid team and we’re so glad we did.

Problem

The question of whether players should truly “own” their in-game characters is a debated issue in the gaming world. Predominantly, game developers have full control over all in-game characters and assets. However, with the rise of new blockchain technologies, it is time to rethink such a model.

Without ownership, players often feel less invested in their characters and game progress, knowing that their hard work is limited by game restrictions. For instance, in games like Fortnite, albeit the players invest significant time and money in characters and different skins, they don’t truly own these assets. Neither can they trade them nor do these assets hold any value outside the game. This can make their in-game efforts feel less meaningful.

When players do have ownership over their characters, they feel a greater sense of control and connection with the game. This investment in their character encourages them to play more and truly care about the game’s story, world, and community. With marketplaces to trade or sell their characters, it would allow for an even greater stake in the game.

This is what we aim to accomplish with our decentralized card game, “The Coffin’s Oath”, which is based on vampires, werewolves, and witches.

In this game, you own vampire NFT’s (non-fungible tokens) with which the game is played. Your vampire cards represent a unique character with its own abilities, strengths, and weaknesses.

How to Get Started

Login using Hive Keychain: You will first have to create an account on the Hive Keychain and then login to the game
Get Hive Coins: Hive Coins are needed to play. Once you have them, you can use them to buy our in-game currency called Drachmas. With drachmas, you will be able to boost your strength during the game matches.

Gameplay

To start a game, you will need to stake one of your vampire NFT cards as well as some drachmas. Staking means you’re putting your card and drachmas on the line for a chance to win, which adds to the game thrill.

By staking your assets, you're not only playing for victory, but you’re also investing in the future value of your vampire card. Each time you win or lose a game, the value of your vampire NFT card is affected. With every victory, the card’s value increases, and with each defeat, it decreases.

But here’s the real beauty of using NFTs: the value of your card in the marketplace is influenced by its win/loss record and its demand among other players. Each NFT card has metadata stored on the Hive blockchain that includes its win and loss history. So, if your vampire NFT card has accumulated many wins, its demand and market value will rise. Essentially, the more successful your card is, the more valuable it becomes, creating a real-world incentive to keep winning.

As you build up your card's history of victories and improve its standing, you’re not just playing a game — you’re building an asset. The more skilled you are, the higher the demand for your NFT, and the more opportunities you have to earn from it, either by trading it or using it in future games.

You can also collect more NFT cards each having its unique strengths and rarities.

When we talk about rarities, we mean that each type of card has a limited supply that will ever be minted. The first batch of NFT cards you acquire, referred to as the base cards, are more abundant and easier to obtain. These cards are the foundation of your collection and are typically more affordable. However, as you progress in the game, you’ll have the chance to unlock special chests or rewards that grant you access to rarer NFT cards.

In each game, you will face a deck of 10 opponent cards. The deck includes:

4 Werewolves: These will attack you and lower your health.
3 Witches: They are unpredictable; they might harm or heal you.
3 Humans: Your prey– you win the game when you kill 3 humans.

Your objective is to kill 3 humans without letting your health drop to 0.

How the Game Works

Each turn, you will have to flip one card from the deck. When you flip a card in The Coffin's Oath, here’s what happens with each type:

If you reveal a Werewolf or an Evil Witch card, it will attack, giving damage to your health. Your vampire NFT will automatically fight back, and the damage it deals depends on your vampire's strength.
If you reveal a Healing Witch, then it will restore some of your health.
If you flip a Human, you successfully kill it, bringing you one step closer to victory.

Key Detail: Werewolves and Evil Witches stay in the deck, while human cards and Healing Witches are replaced. The new card could be a human, werewolf, or a witch.

Each time you make a move, the deck is shuffled, and the cards are flipped face down so you won't know which card you’ll encounter next. You must carefully plan your moves, knowing that the deck is constantly changing with every flip.

Winning and Losing

If you manage to defeat three humans without letting your health reach zero, you win! After each game, a transaction of the game result is made on the Hive blockchain recording the vampire NFT card you played with, along with its new wins and losses. This allows other players to see which cards have earned the most victories, adding a layer of prestige and value to your collection.

Our Experience

Learning about the hive blockchain has been an incredible experience. Not only did we get to develop a fully functional game based on blockchain technology, but we also gained a deep understanding of the concepts behind it. It’s been a learning journey, and we're thrilled with how far we've come.

Important Links

Website Link - https://vampire-hive-game.vercel.app
Github Repository - https://github.com/Morningstar-08/vampire-hive-game

Video Tutorial