Soul Magic: A Bewitching P2E RPG in Decentraland
By Decentraland DAO, , in Community Highlights
Soul Magic, a DAO grantee and one of the foremost P2E Decentraland projects, is a magic-themed roleplaying game where players can earn in-game resources, items, and Wearables. After being selected to join the first play-to-earn incubation program of Decentraland in early 2022, Soul Magic launched a public alpha version in October 2022 at (-95,-89).
Three months in, after bringing in more than 3,000 players, the team behind Soul Magic filed a grant proposal to help them finance the project into “more than a game.” With considerable community approval and a quick proposal enactment, the DAO funded the grant to help Soul Magic add features—such as a PvP arena—and develop partnerships with fellow Decentraland creators.
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Soul Magic’s second grant period, which also received widespread community approval, is currently underway. With a new card game mode around the corner, the project’s developers have outlined how the DAO’s grant has helped them shape an auspicious magic-themed game into a popular Decentraland scene.
How Decentraland initiatives helped Soul Magic come to be
Co-founded by Mazzak, a game designer, and DDD, a 3D artist, Soul Magic is a role-playing game set in a school called Elswyth, offering users a way to engage with Decentraland through a wizardly space where they can cast spells, embark on quests, and interact with other players.
Soul Magic’s development is entrenched with Decentraland’s encouragement toward new projects. The game, after all, got its start in the platform’s first play-to-earn incubator in early 2022. Their quickly-released alpha version was short-lived, but for favorable reasons: With traffic flowing in, the game’s developers decided it was time to undergo a server upgrade and functionality expansion. These plans were aided by their 60,000 USD grant which also went to helping them expand the game’s overall scene.
Even though the time elapsed between Soul Magic’s Alpha release and their DAO grant seems short, figures support the community’s decision to finance the game’s step-up. By the time the team applied for a DAO grant, their play-to-earn game had already distributed rewards valued at almost 18,000 USDT and was logging 1,000 weekly sessions.
Soul Magic is one of the outstanding cases in which the grant request came after the content was released to the Decentraland community. Like their fellow grantees of the Decentraland Explorer Mobile App project, the team had already launched their project by the time they posted a grant proposal and only sought financing when they had to figure out ways to respond to their product’s quick adoption.
Soul Magic: A multi-faceted Decentraland RPG
Like most role-playing games, Soul Magic allows players to explore a world as customized characters. With four core gameplay elements—Meditation, Alchemy, Crafting, and Trading—and a new mode resembling battle royale mechanics, players can gather ores and magic stones by engaging in mining, farming plants, and digging. Additionally, they can exchange resources for Gold Midas, the currency in the game’s world.
Players can expect a story-driven adventure game that often calls to mind the classic MMORPG RuneScape. With the addition of the Black Forest PvP arena, participants can also expect to show off their moves in Fortnite style and build some clout in the Decentraland gaming community. A Soul Magic card game is also underway thanks to a second grant iteration.
The game Soul Magic has a distinct edge over the titles mentioned above. While also being a free game, in Soul Magic players can earn by completing quests, winning battles, or selling in-game items and Wearables.
Ongoing developments and improvements
The numbers easily demonstrate how Soul Magic took off after receiving its first grant in late 2022. From a user base of approximately 3,000 in mid-December 2022, the game experienced a substantial player count increase, having welcomed over 10,000 users by July 2023 and almost 14,000 by August.
Over the past six months, the team has expanded its gaming offerings, introduced two novel locations, curated 30 distinct Wearable collections (which collectively garnered a trading volume of approximately 10k MANA), and held the Admission Carnival event in June 2023, featuring sponsors and creators dedicated to enhancing user engagement and leading the game toward their then-record figure of 400 DAUs.
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Soul Magic leveraged their grant to expand to two new locations: Angkor Temple and the Treehouse Exchange Center. Moreover, Soul Magic has broadened its accessibility by introducing a language switching feature, empowering users with the choice to navigate the game in ten languages.
Since receiving their second grant, this time of 50,000 USD, the Soul Magic team has been organizing game-centric events, such as the popular fishing event, which attracted over 1,000 participants for both occasions. The Soul Magic team, guided by their pledge to allow “people to interact, not just play,” is also taking advantage of the grant to add new features, such as a guild system, a player-versus-player arena, and a battle pass. Currently, the team is developing their upcoming card game, slated for release in September 2023, while founder Mazzak continuously hosts events and walkthroughs.
What’s next?
Soul Magic is still a work in progress, built upon the groundwork laid out by the DAO's grants. The founding team has shared what the next steps are: In September, Soul Magic plans to introduce its card game, along with an Wearable drop. Following that, in October, they’ll release the “Space” feature, providing players with a personal space in Decentraland for a house and garden. By November, players can expect a potion-crafting mini-game, where they can use harvested ingredients to brew magic tonics. A significant magic event is also scheduled by the end of the year.
Recognizing the limitations of relying solely on the Decentraland grant, the Soul Magic team is exploring multiple avenues for revenue. Potential strategies include selling game items, implementing a subscription model, fundraising through tokens, and considering advertising and event hosting. The immediate goal is to “establish a bigger community” and enhance user engagement.
How to get involved
To stay up-to-date with the latest developments and immerse yourself in the wizardly Soul Magic, be sure to check their socials. You can also join the conversation on their Discord channel. But, most importantly, play. Head to coordinates -95,-89, put on the clothes of a hexing student, and try out skipping class to mine ore or go fishing instead. If, by magical circumstances, you land on the correct date, you might even earn a special rod courtesy of founder Mazzak.
The metaverse is full of yet unrecognized potential and opportunities. Do you have an idea that could benefit the Decentraland community? Learn more about the DAO’s grants here.
Do you know of a cool Decentraland community project that you think should be next in the Community Highlights series? Contact the Decentraland Foundation team @decentraland on Twitter.
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