What Is Decentraland?
Decentraland is a 3D virtual environment where players can create an avatar for themselves and explore a vast virtual world. They can interact with other fellow players and trade with them or buy and sell LAND, create an interactable virtual space, or play games to earn rewards. It is based on the Ethereum blockchain and uses smart contracts to verify transactions on the platform. Its creation began in 2015 by Ari Mellich and Esteban Ordano. The project was launched in 2017, and during their ICO (Initial Coin Offering), they managed to raise around 26 million dollars. In January 2020, the platform officially launched and has since become a popular virtual hub for individuals and corporations to advertise their products. The unique part about Decentraland is that it is not a centralized world like other games have been before it. It is blockchain-based and decentralized, and the community plays an active role in decision-making. A Decentralized Autonomous Organization or DAO governs the whole platform. This is one of the major factors which separates Decentraland from others, and we will touch on it later in the article. But first, let us take a look at how it all started.
Tokenomics of Decentraland
Tokens are what power these virtual worlds and their economy. Decentraland also utilizes different tokens for a variety of purposes, and we will take a look at them individually:
MANA: MANA is the main utility token of Decentraland. It is an ERC-20 token, which is fungible and interchangeable with other MANA tokens. It can be used to buy plots of LAND, collectible and wearable items for your avatar from the Decentraland marketplace and NFT art collections. It is one of the biggest Metaverse tokens in terms of market capitalization. Users can buy MANA from crypto exchanges or earn it within the virtual world by doing tasks or playing games. Users who hold MANA can also use it to cast a vote in the decision-making process.wMANA: When a user locks up their MANA token in the DAO, it is converted into wMANA, also called wrapped MANA. This is used to cast votes in the governance process of Decentraland. Users can vote for adding a new feature, changes in blockchain or economy, or fund allocation from the Decentraland treasury. wMANA token equals a single vote. People can cast multiple votes based on the number of MANA they have locked. But locked MANA cannot be used for trading or purchasing.LAND: The entire virtual space of Decentraland is divided into smaller plots called LAND. These are ERC-721 tokens that are non-fungible, which essentially means that they are one-of-a-kind NFTs. You can buy LAND from the Decentraland marketplace through MANA, although they tend to be quite expensive. These are 16x16m plots of virtual land where you can build, create, and design whatever you want using the Decentraland Builder or SDK. LAND can also be locked up in the DAO and used in the voting process. One parcel of LAND can be used to cast 2000 votes.Estate: Multiple parcels of LAND directly next to each can be merged to create an Estate. These are also ERC-721 tokens and can be bought directly from the Decentraland Marketplace. Estates are defined by EstateRegistry smart contract. Having an Estate can be beneficial if you want to create a big interactive game within Decentraland or a plaza-like structure. Just like LAND, these can also be locked in DAO for voting.
Features of Decentraland
No Metaverse is complete without a collection of features allowing players to customize, create and participate. Decentraland is no different and comes with three crucial aspects which separate it from any other 3D video game from a Metaverse game. Allow me to discuss them one by one briefly.
Marketplace
When you start in Decentraland, you can customize your avatar however you want. But if you want to make your avatar stand out from the crowd, you can visit the Decentraland Marketplace. Here you will be able to find tons of unique wearables, accessories, and names for your avatar. MANA is the only token accepted here. Items are differentiated based on their rarity. Common rarity items are generally affordable, while legendary and mythic items can be quite expensive. This is also where you can buy LAND and Estate if you want to build something of your own in Decentraland. Just like real-world, the price of LAND will vary depending on its location. LAND next to landmarks and crowded areas will cost more compared to isolated plots.
Builder
Builder is where you can bring out your creativity. It is a unity-based builder that comes preloaded with various assets to create a custom scene in your LAND. You can take elements from existing objects and structures and create something completely out of your imagination. You can choose the size of your LAND, add any number of objects as you like, place them in any direction, and then observe how they will look from different angles. And when you are ready, you can publish your scene and check it out in the Decentraland.
Decentraland DAO
As we discussed earlier, Decentraland is not controlled by a single company or authority. It is a DAO that stands for Decentralized Autonomous Organization. It is governed by its community and people who hold MANA, LAND, and Estate tokens and lock them in DAO. These people can actively participate and vote on new proposals for the platform. The DAO operates on Argon software solution, which helps interact with the Ethereum smart contracts. The community can also vote to elect five members for the Security Advisory Board, which looks after the security of Decentraland, responds to bug reports, and reviews governance proposals. They have the final verdict on proposals and can deny or delay them based on how they affect Decentraland.
Utility of Decentraland
Decentraland is already a massive hit in the Metaverse crowd, and people are jumping on board to make the most out of it. This is nothing out of the ordinary as people and even well-known brands have started to see the potential that Decentraland has and what it can be in the future. So you might be eager to learn the utilities that Decentraland can offer now. Let us discuss some of them:
Interactive Socializing
Decentraland is different from other social media platforms. As you can not only find other like-minded people and join communities but also interact with their space, visit different places and landmarks with them in the virtual world, or play games.
Advertising and Hosting Events
The player number has been steadily increasing in Decentraland, and brands do not want to miss out on the opportunity to advertise their products. They can buy LANDS and set up virtual stores or places where people can interact with their products. It also presents a great opportunity to host events where tickets can be purchased in exchange for MANA.
Blockchain Economics
Any game or platform that uses a blockchain system will have an economic factor related to it. If one is not interested in Metaverse or Decentraland, they can still benefit from it by holding or trading MANA and LAND. These tokens have a value that will attract crypto enthusiasts who want to dip into the metaverse hype.
Digital Collectibles and NFTs
Users can install Decentraland SDK (Software Development Kit) and create their custom scene and sell it on the Marketplace as NFTs. The same can be done with wearable clothes and other items on the platform. Users can create their collections and trade them with others as NFTs.
How to Setup and Play on Decentraland?
All this talk about Decentraland might have excited you to try it out. You do not need any fancy gaming setup or Virtual Reality gear- you can try it out right on your web browser. All you need is a Firefox or Chrome browser, and you are good to go. To enter, head over to Decentraland.org and click on Get Started. You can play as a guest or link your crypto wallet if you have one already. Now wait for the game to load; it can take up a while based on your internet connection. Once it is loaded, you will be taken to the character customization screen, where you can create your avatar. You can make it look just like you or completely different, and it’s all up to you. Once satisfied with your character’s appearance, press Done to enter Decentraland. You will be dropped off in the Genisis hub, where you can learn and explore Decentraland. This is where you will find the most traffic, so your game might feel slow. You can move around with W, A, S, and D keys and pull up a map of the world with M. In the mao, you can select any location and jump directly there. It is as simple as that.
Q. What is a District on Decentraland?
Districts are areas or Estates that share a similar theme. Most districts will be a joint effort by communities or developed by brands. Models and assets within a district will refer to similar pictures, artworks, and design elements.
Q. Does Decentraland run on Polygon?
Decentraland runs on the Ethereum blockchain, which serves as its main chain. But since the transaction speed is slower and gas prices are high, Decentraland has partnered with Polygon and uses it as a sidechain to process transactions faster and require less gas fee. Polygon is less secure as a sidechain, but it uploads all the data in bulk on Ethereum main chain, which has all the security benefits.
Q.What equipment or software do I need to play in Decentraland?
You will need a PC or a laptop running either Windows or macOS. You can play Decentraland on Firefox, Chrome, and Brave browser, but we had some difficulty playing it on Brave, so we recommend Firefox and Chrome for now. The game is currently not supported on mobile devices, but there are plans to add mobile support soon. Windows users can also download the Decentraland application on their devices.
Q. How can I store MANA and LAND?
MANA is an ERC-20 token, and LAND is an ERC-721 token, so you would need a crypto wallet that supports both of them. The Decentraland team recommends Metamask Wallet as it supports both tokens and is fully compatible with the Decentraland platform.
Wrapping Up
Decentraland presents us with a glance into what the future of the Metaverse can be. As a free-to-play game, there is no doubt that it is something to be experienced at least once. But we have been seeing rising competition in the Metaverse space, and even the co-creator of Decentraland is moving on from the project to create its own blockchain-based game. This is why investing in the economics of the platforms is something that you should consider yourself after doing your due diligence and research on the topic.
