STEPN is a Solana-based ‘Move-To-Earn’ web3 lifestyle game that encourages users to walk, jog and run by using NFT Sneakers that will enable them to earn crypto.
Move-to-earn blockchain games, where players are required to do physical activities to earn cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), are one of the rising trends in the blockchain arena today. With available technology to accurately track movements and earning opportunities provided by blockchain tech, this type of game would certainly create a strong following in the years to come.
Table of Contents
Background
STEPN is a move-to-earn blockchain game headed by Jerry Huang (co-founder), Yawn Rong (co-founder), Jessica Duan (CSO), and Ryan Turner (Lead Designer)
The team created this game to encourage the fast-growing P2E gamers to engage in physical activities by rewarding them with NFT assets, tokens, and governance opportunities on the platform.
What is STEPN?
STEPN is a Solana-based ‘Move-To-Earn’ web3 lifestyle game that encourages users to walk, jog and run by using NFT Sneakers that will enable them to earn and cash out their earnings.
The fitness-based game is currently in its Public Beta Phase as of this writing. In other words, some information mentioned in this article may change in the near future, depending on the beta results.
GST (Green Satoshi Token)
GST Token is STEPN’s native utility token and was designed to have an unlimited supply, and the team initially created 60 million tokens to provide liquidity to the ecosystem.
Players can earn the tokens through the game’s Solo and Background Modes, which will be discussed in detail later.
GMT (Green Metaverse Token)
Green Metaverse Token (GMT) serves as the project’s governance token. The team has allocated 30% of GMT’s current total supply to fund users’ move-to-earn and governance participation.
Players are also reminded that their NFT Sneakers must first reach Level 30 before they can earn GMT tokens.
Halving Mechanism
To bring long-term sustainability to the STEPN project, GMT tokens were also designed to halve every three years.
Every day, the system sets a limit of GMT tokens that players can earn, and these token unloadings follow an exponential decay pattern.
On the first day of the 3rd year after GMT’s first minting, the quantities of daily releases will be slashed by 50%, a mechanism designed to increase the tokens’ value.
Game Modes
Solo Modes
In Solo Mode, players are given NFT Sneakers so they can start earning GST tokens through physical activities.
Another thing they need to earn is “Energy,” and every 1 Energy is equivalent to 5 minutes of move-to-earn movements.
Marathon Mode (Under Development)
Marathon Mode holds ‘Weekly Marathons’ and ‘Monthly Marathons,’ but before players can participate in these events, they must first be registered on the ‘Marathon Tab’ for at least 24 hours.
Weekly Marathon
In this Marathon, players can participate in the 2.5km, 5km, or 7.5km challenges, and gamers are reminded that they can only participate in one Marathon at a time.
Monthly Marathon
In this Marathon, the challenges are more intense, where players can choose from 5km, 10km, or 15km marathons, and again, they cannot participate in two marathons at the same time.
Background Mode (Under Development)
Background Mode was created to monitor and count users’ steps even if they’re not actively using the STEPN app.
This mode counts users’ steps through their devices’ Health Data app and counts a daily limit of 3,000 steps, and any steps beyond this limit will not be counted by the system.
Sneaker Attributes
‘Efficiency’ Levels
Sneakers with higher ‘Efficiency’ levels will enable players to earn more GST tokens compared to the shoes with lower Efficiency.
This type of ability is crucial in the ‘Marathon Mode’ because higher Efficiency levels mean players can fast track their point accumulation on the Leaderboard.
‘Resilience’ Level
Resilience level determines the durability or the decay rate of Sneakers; in other words, the higher the Resilience, the longer it will take for the shoes to reach the ‘decay’ state.
Every time gamers use their Sneakers, their shoes’ durability lowers along the way, and once players hit a specific decaying point, they will be slapped with a “worn out” penalty.
Sneakers with a high resilience level are very important on Marathons because these types of shoes will keep players from reaching a critical decaying level, even with the events’ intense activities.
GameFi Elements
Gems
Gems are NFT assets that can enhance Sneakers’ abilities and their powers can be unlocked by inserting them into the shoes’ sockets.
Inserting Gems should be organized because each socket is created for only one type of gem, making it impossible to insert any other gems.
For example, Efficiency Sockets would only allow Efficiency Gems, and if gems and sockets are not compatible, they are practically useless.
Gems’ abilities also depend on their colors and shouldn’t be used mindlessly as every capability is efficient in a specific situation.
Purple means ‘resilience’, Red means ‘comfort,’ Blue means luck,’ and Yellow symbolizes ‘efficiency.’
Players can also upgrade their gems by burning GST tokens and combining 3 gems of the same level and type to acquire a higher level of gem.
Sockets
Each Sneaker has four Sockets intended for different gems, and sockets with higher quality will increase an inserted gem’s powers.
But at the initial part of the game, all these sockets will be completely locked for a while, and each socket can only be unlocked once users attain levels’ 5′, ’10’, ’15’, and ’20’,
Shoe-Minting
Shoe-Minting Event (SME) is a special event where users can choose 2 Sneakers from their assets to breed a new “Shoebox,” or basically, a new pair of shoes.
Players are reminded that when breeding 2 Sneakers, they are not allowed to pick the ones under a lease, and each shoe should have a full Durability level.
They are allowed to put each Sneaker on SME up to 7 times, and the more a shoe has been SME-fied, the higher it will cost.
Marketplace
Marketplace is a virtual place where users can sell/buy or rent/lease their Sneakers and other items to gain more tokens and achieve a higher ranking in the game.
Systems in the Marketplace
Trade System
Trade System is the most basic system of the ecosystem, as it allows users to buy and sell NFT items such as Sneakers, Gems, and Shoebox inside the marketplace.
Rental System (Coming Soon)
Rental System was created to eliminate the complex onboarding system found on most blockchain games.
It allows players to explore the STEPN game without undergoing various processes, including creating an Exchange Account, converting fiat money to crypto, and creating a decentralized wallet, which can be intimidating for some gamers.
In this system, anyone can immediately try STEPN just by downloading the app and renting a Sneaker from any players willing to rent their shoes.
Every rental contract lasts for 24 hours, but it can be stretched up to a whole week, depending on the renter’s credit rating.
Renters should be careful in renting their Sneakers because failure to accomplish the contract’s agreement would be a blow for them, as they will be deducted by 1 star on their ratings.
Governance
To create a sustainable operation, the team has reserved 2% of the Marketplace Trading Fee to fund critical aspects of STEPN.
Taxes collected from the ecosystem will be put inside the Treasury, and GMT stakers will decide where to allocate this fund.
Also, the longer GMT holders stake their tokens, the higher voting power they can have, and 3 years is the longest period users can choose in staking their tokens.
Conclusion
STEPN is loaded with interesting game mechanisms that are all designed to keep gamers’ interest high throughout the game.
We personally love STEPN’s ‘Sneakers’ concept, Weekly and Monthly Marathons, Background Mode, and its rental system, which makes it at par with other move-to-earn blockchain games.
