Impostors is a free-to-play social gaming metaverse with play to earn elements. It wants to fuse the web2 and web3 gaming worlds by acting as the middle ground. The Impostors game encourages in-game asset ownership and allows holders to earn passive $BLOOD tokens. You can play the game even if you are not a holder of their Genesis Alien NFT collection, but cannot really enjoy the staking aspect of it.

Created in Unreal Engine, Impostors is a social gaming metaverse that has been under construction since 2020. Claiming to have a team of over 30 world-class engineers and builders, it comprises talents from renowned studios like Epic Games, Roblox, Pixar, and others.

Even though other Layer 1 blockchain protocols and Layer 2 solutions are becoming popular for gaming, Ethereum is still the main platform for valuable NFT collections, like Impostors. But there’s a problem – the high security, access to more liquidity, and value of the biggest ecosystem come with expensive gas fees. This can discourage regular Web3 gamers from joining the Impostors NFT ecosystem. Impostors is working on solutions to make their NFT driven game more gas efficient.

Gameplay & Game Modes

The game’s genre is social deduction with a murder-mystery theme. Just like the famous game Amongus, this game also includes one or more “impostors” that need to kill all of the “innocents” to win, while the innocents can only win by kicking out the “impostors” by voting. 

The social deduction genre being trendy (Among us to name one) and also having the high social factor, it was the right fit for web3 gaming to initiate its legacy. This genre also does not have many competitors on the market. All of these factors contributed to the creations of Impostors.

The Future Ahead

Impostors Metaverse is set to be an evolving gaming ecosystem, currently with social deduction gameplay. Further along the line various new updates and game modes will be added. It will provide the community with essential tools like the “Map Maker” with which you can change the maps and rules, and the “Game Mode Maker” for building unique experiences for users with different scripting logics. 

The platform aims to become a thriving UGC (user-game-content) Sandbox. Players can even monetize their creations as NFTs, fostering decentralization and diverse content within the metaverse. Impostors strives to be a dynamic hub of limitless player-driven content and opportunities for all!

Impostors Tokenomics

SUPER Token

The Impostors Metaverse economy is governed by SUPER, an ERC-20 token native to the SuperFarm protocol. Decisions are made through SUPER token voting on Snapshot.org, enabling holders all around to be in control of the gaming ecosystem to come. The DAO proposes a 5% ecosystem tax on NFT trades, directing funds to a DAO treasury controlled by SUPER holders. They decide on fund allocation, following the SuperFarm Foundation Governance Guidelines. Some events may require using their SUPER, like the Genesis Season Pass NFT Drop.

BLOOD Token

The token earned by spending time grinding and playing the game is BLOOD. It belongs on the ETH blockchain and can be used for upgrades and utility. A time-lock staking system will be introduced where Genesis Season minters earn daily rewards. The longer the stakes the bigger the rewards.

The BLOOD token will not be accessible through the market. Rather it can only be acquired by spending more time in-game. This leans more towards rewarding participation and maintaining a fair launch for all.

BLOOD Emissions 

Blood is primarily awarded to players based on their time spent in Impostors’ core gameplay mode.. The amount of BLOOD is directly reliant on the ecosystem’s player count, fostering growth and engagement. BLOOD emissions occur through TWO ways: Genesis Alien Staking, and Play-and-Earn Rewards during Open Beta. Creating BLOOD emissions will take time and energy. This strategy attracts and retains players, leading to a self-reinforcing cycle.

BLOOD Usage

BLOOD will prove to be a very important token as it will come in handy during:

• NFT Character minting
• In-game Cosmetics minting
• UFO crafting and more
• Pet breeding 
• LAND minting

The BLOOD token is not limited to these activities but much more can be done with it.

Genesis Alien NFTs

Genesis Aliens provide essential access to the core elements of the Impostors Metaverse. A special advantage is granted in Genesis Season events to those who have Genesis Aliens. With a limited supply of 10,420, each Alien has unique traits and rarity. When combined with UFOs and Pets from their respective galaxies, Genesis Aliens gain crucial stat boosts. The dynamics between Aliens, UFOs, and Pets will continue to evolve as the ecosystem progresses.

Genesis Seasons & Staking

Genesis Season is referred to as the events that take place after the Genesis Mint. A very difficult task is the collecting of BLOOD tokens and you can do so by staking your Genesis Alien.

It is a special way to earn $BLOOD rewards by holding onto your NFT while still seeing it in your wallet. There are four staking pools, each offering different $BLOOD rates and time locks. The longer you stake, the more $BLOOD you earn. If your time lock expires, you move to the Flex Pool and earn 100 $BLOOD daily until you restake or until the Genesis Season ends. You need 10,600 $BLOOD to mint all Genesis items, and stakers in the Flex Pool will take 106 days to get enough $BLOOD, while others staking earlier can reach it sooner. You have 7 days to join the 90-day lock pool for maximum benefits from your Genesis Alien.

Cosmetic NFTs

By customizing avatars one can show their personality. Cosmetic items like hats, backpacks, and more will be available for those who have a knack for customizable characters. It is worth noting that these upgrades are for non-generative characters, not Genesis Aliens. Cosmetics enhance the visuals but don’t affect gameplay, removing the pay-to-win aspect. They have a 0.1% chance to get a special trait, giving unique visual effects and BLOOD rewards when equipped. 

UFO Ecosystem — Gameplay

UFOs play a crucial role in the Impostors racing game mode, serving as a supplementary asset class. Comprising five primary components – blueprint, wingset, thrusters, engine, and paint job – some of these are tradable sub-NFTs and can be equipped. Owners can race their UFOs or lend them to others, and when paired with Aliens, they gain stat boosts through synergies. Victorious UFO racers earn Materials and BLOOD tokens, allowing them to upgrade their ships or use the rewards in other ways within the ecosystem.

In its game mode, UFOs race on a track to reach the finish line. The UFOs move by themselves, and how well they perform depends on their ship stats and where they are racing. Asteroids and space debris are obstacles that you need to keep an eye out for, they can slow down or damage your UFOs. If your UFO is the first to cross the finish line without getting destroyed then you win!

Pets Ecosystem — Gameplay

A Pet is a cute companion that stays with each Impostor during a match and is also crucial in a PvP Battle mode. Pets are adorable collectibles, liked by many players in regular games. In Impostors, they are essential for the dedicated battle mode and add fun interactions to the game.

PvP Pet Battles

Pets have a fun PvP battle mode where they can win BLOOD and MATERIALS by defeating other players in the arena. Each pet has core stats related to their galaxy and rarity. These stats can be improved in battles using special NFTs:

Weapon: Pets can carry one weapon to make their attacks stronger, and it may work well with their DNA and attack style from their galaxy.

Shield: Different shields can give defense boosts.

Aura: Possesses the power to boost specific stats.

Ability: Pets can have offensive or defensive abilities.

Land & Materials

LAND is the most valuable asset in Impostors Metaverse. Owners of LAND have the superpower to produce MATERIALS. These are vital for your Pets, your UFOs, and earning buffs. To level up LAND, lots of BLOOD and MATERIALS are required. Players and LAND owners have a unique relationship. Players need the MATERIALS produced by LAND owners for their gameplay, while LAND owners need BLOOD from players. 

This balance helps the metaverse economy and core game modes. MATERIALS are important for PvP modes like UFO racing and Pet battles. Genesis LAND is determined by specific items bundled together during minting, and different combinations create different types of Genesis LAND.

The rarity and the location of the land is key as the more rare the land, the lesser the materials required to perform some key functions of the game. Such as, upgrading LAND, UFOs and Pets.

NFT Mints — Gas Efficiency

Impostors developers have built upon Ethereum’s innovations and leading NFT projects to create efficient gas optimizations for NFT mints. They implemented several steps to make mints more cost-effective:

• Owner balances are updated all at once in a batch to save on gas
• They use a sparse mapping of token owner balances, reducing costs and making mints more affordable.
• Removal of unnecessary contract information and on-chain enumeration, resulting in reduced deployment costs.
• By reducing the bytecode of deployment.
• Just renaming the mint function to mint_Qgo saves gas.

Although other Layer 1 protocols and Layer 2 solutions gain popularity, Ethereum remains the primary platform for valuable NFT collections, including Impostors. However, the high security and value come at a cost: Gas fees can be expensive and deter regular users from entering the NFT space. Impostors has addressed this issue by introducing cutting-edge solutions to enhance the gas efficiency of its NFTs while maintaining the trust and reliability of the Ethereum network, making NFT opportunities more accessible to everyone globally.

This article has been written by The Web3 Game writer Khawaja Affan, and edited by Jeffrey.