Proposal: Yoki Arena – Bringing Utility to Yokies NFTs through Competitive Gaming on Astar

[robert12342]

Proposal: Yoki Arena – Bringing Utility to Yokies NFTs through Competitive Gaming on Astar

Problem

The Yokies NFT campaign was a great engagement initiative. Many users collected Yokies and completed books.

However, today:

• Yokies have no real utility

• No incentive to hold

• No integration with Astar tokenomics

• Value is purely speculative

Without utility, NFTs lose engagement and ecosystem relevance.

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Proposed Solution: Yoki Arena

A mobile-first competitive game built on Astar Network where Yokies NFTs become playable characters.

The goal:

• Give real utility to Yokies

• Increase ASTR token demand

• Boost on-chain activity

• Strengthen community engagement

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Game Concept

Style

• Mobile-first (Android / iOS)

• Web version optional

• Fast PvP matches (2–5 minutes)

• Simple mechanics, skill-based

Gameplay Modes

PvP Duel Mode (Stake Mode)

Players:

• Connect wallet (Astar Native or EVM)

• Select their Yokie NFT

• Stake ASTR tokens

• Enter 1v1 match

Winner takes:

• 90–95% of total pot

• 5–10% goes to:

  • Ecosystem treasury

  • Buyback & burn ASTR

  • Reward pool

Smart contracts handle escrow to ensure fairness.

This creates:

• Direct demand for ASTR

• Real use case

• Competitive ecosystem

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Ranked Mode (No stake)

• No staking required

• Players earn:

  • Points

  • XP

  • Seasonal leaderboard rewards in ASTR

Encourages:

• Casual players

• Mass adoption

• Long-term retention

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Yokies Utility Mechanics

Each Yokie NFT could have:

• Rarity tiers

• Unique attributes (speed, defense, skill cooldown)

• Special abilities

Rarer Yokies:

• Cosmetic advantage OR

• Slight stat advantage (balanced carefully)

Optional:

• Evolving Yokies (burn mechanic + ASTR fee)

This introduces:

• Burn mechanics

• Token sinks

• Scarcity increase

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Tokenomics Impact on ASTR

This system would create:

1. Constant ASTR circulation

Every match requires ASTR.

2. Token sink

• Entry fees

• Upgrade fees

• Evolution fees

3. Buyback mechanism

A % of platform revenue could:

• Buy ASTR from market

• Burn or redistribute

4. Increased wallet usage

Users must:

• Hold ASTR

• Interact with contracts

• Use Astar network

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Why Mobile First?

Today:

• Most crypto users are mobile

• Easier onboarding

• Faster adoption

• Higher engagement

A simple but addictive PvP format works better than complex PC-based games.

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Alternative Non-Gambling Version (Regulatory Safe)

Instead of stake-based PvP:

• Entry fee tournament pools

• Daily free entries

• Skill-based reward distribution

• Sponsored prize pools

This avoids gambling concerns while keeping competitiveness.

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Ecosystem Benefits

• Revives Yokies collection

• Attracts new users

• Increases daily active wallets

• Strengthens ASTR token demand

• Creates long-term ecosystem loop

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Expansion Possibilities

Future features:

• Guild battles

• Team tournaments

• Seasonal championships

• NFT marketplace integration

• Cross-chain tournaments

• Integration with Soneium / Astar L2

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Why This Matters Now

Currently:

• Yokies = idle assets

• ASTR lacks organic gaming utility

• Community engagement opportunity is underused

This could transform a static NFT campaign into a sustainable on-chain gaming economy.

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If the community sees value, next steps could be:

1. Community feedback

2. Technical feasibility analysis

3. Tokenomics simulation

4. Prototype development

5. Governance proposal

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[Marroz]

Hi,it’s pretty clear that yours is a great idea. Giving a real follow-up to the Yoki campaign with a dedicated game like Yoki Arena is definitely brilliant and exciting, especially at a time when so many projects are trying to bring true utility back to historical NFTs.The Yokies did their job really well back in the day (Yoki Origins remains one of the most iconic moments for Astar zkEVM), but today they risk being just nice memories. Turning them into playable characters with attributes, abilities, ranked PvP, and competitive mechanics could genuinely unlock real value, boost engagement, create token sinks and buybacks, and even attract new users and developers to the ecosystem.Honestly, I’m not a huge fan of fully on-chain / blockchain-based games: it’s a personal limitation of mine—I think in general the quality and user experience still aren’t on par with traditional titles (I’m a bit “old school” for some of these dynamics, I admit). That said, I’m convinced a well-executed project in this style could appeal to a significant portion of the community, especially if it’s mobile-first and focused on fun and competition rather than just financial mechanics.I really like the idea and I see it fitting perfectly with the new direction the ecosystem is taking (thinking of CometSwap as a solid DEX/DeFi pillar, and this as another strong gaming/utility layer).The only note (more a reflection than a criticism) is that right now there are a lot of things cooking and community/treasury funds aren’t unlimited. It would be helpful to get more clarity as the discussion progresses on:a realistic estimate of development costs (even just for an MVP/prototype)

any partners/teams already involved or to be brought on board

how it integrates with current ASTR tokenomics and potential positive impacts (demand, on-chain activity, etc.)

All that said, I support the idea and I’m looking forward to the developments, technical feedback, tokenomics simulations, and next steps you’ve mentioned.Thanks for bringing this to the forum!

[Gaius_sama]

Hi @robert12342,

I’m a big fan of the Yoki IP, so seeing a potential revival through a new product is interesting, especially if it aligns with our product direction. I’m supportive of the idea.

That said, the key question: Who builds this? Is this a proposal for Astar Foundation to develop, or do you have a team in mind or already in discussions?

One suggestion, since you’re mentioning a mobile app and Yoki is on Soneium, this could fit well within the Startale App Mini App Program currently launching. Yoki Arena as a mini app game on Startale App, leveraging Yoki Origins or Legacy on Soneium, might be worth exploring as a direction.

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Gaius_sama

Astar Foundation

[robert12342]

Thank you again for the thoughtful and detailed feedback — I truly appreciate it

I’d like to clarify one important point: my intention is not to create a separate team or compete for community resources. The idea is mine, but I believe the most appropriate entity to evaluate and potentially execute it would be the Astar core team (or an officially supported branch of it).

Yokies are part of Astar’s official history.
They were a milestone campaign and a memorable moment for the ecosystem.

Because of that, I see this as a natural expansion of Astar’s brand and legacy — not as an independent side project.

Regarding costs and execution, I completely agree:

• The treasury is not unlimited.

• There are many ongoing initiatives.

• Strategic priorities must be respected.

However, I see Yoki Arena as something that could:

• Reactivate a historic ecosystem asset

• Generate organic demand for ASTR

• Increase on-chain activity

• Add a strong entertainment layer alongside pillars like CometSwap

From a technical standpoint, I also agree that it does not need to be fully on-chain. The ideal structure would likely be:

• Off-chain gameplay for performance and user experience

• On-chain NFTs and staking logic

• Blockchain usage only where it adds real value

If the team sees potential in this direction, the natural next steps could be:

• Internal feasibility evaluation

• Realistic MVP cost estimation

• Tokenomics impact simulation

• Possible governance discussion

My goal here is to open a strategic conversation.
Execution, if it ever happens, should be led by the team that built and stewards the ecosystem.

[robert12342]

Hi @Gaius_sama,

Thank you for the support — it really means a lot, especially coming from the Foundation

To answer your key question directly:

At this stage, I do not have a team formally building this yet. The idea originated from me as a strategic proposal to revive and extend the Yoki IP in a meaningful way. My initial vision was that this could potentially be led or incubated by Astar / Startale, given that Yokies are part of the official ecosystem history.

That said, I’m absolutely open to different execution models:

• Astar Foundation-led initiative

• A Startale-supported mini app under the new program

• A community-led team supported via grants

• Or even a hybrid approach

Your suggestion about the Startale App Mini App Program is extremely interesting.

If Yoki is already positioned on Soneium, then:

• A mobile-first mini app format makes strong strategic sense

• Lower development scope compared to a standalone app

• Faster MVP validation

• Native integration with the existing ecosystem

Yoki Arena as a competitive mini game inside Startale App could be a very pragmatic starting point — especially if we leverage Yoki Origins or Legacy NFTs directly on Soneium.

From my perspective, the goal is simple: Give Yokies utility, increase ASTR activity, and align with the broader product direction rather than creating something isolated.

If helpful, I’m willing to:

• Refine the concept specifically for the Mini App framework

• Draft a lean MVP scope tailored to Startale

• Outline token flow between Soneium and ASTR

• Or collaborate with any interested builders

I see this less as “my project” and more as an opportunity for the ecosystem — I’m just trying to spark the right conversation at the right time.

[you425]

This is a truly excellent proposal.

I think it makes perfect sense to reuse the Yoki IP and its NFTs. It may also be a good idea to use not only ASTR but also ASTR LSTs or CometSwap’s cASTR.

Since concerns about resources have already been raised, I will set that aside and share my thoughts from another perspective.

What I am particularly concerned about is operational cost. Speaking from experience in another ecosystem, I have designed, developed, and operated a blockchain game that uses existing NFTs without issuing a native token. From that experience, I can say that it is extremely challenging to cover operational costs with this type of blockchain game. In this case especially, one of the goals is to enhance ASTR’s utility and increase the burn amount, which makes it even more difficult to generate revenue.

In addition, game operations inevitably involve considerable server costs. If we aim to reduce server costs, we could develop it as a fully on-chain game or rely heavily on IPFS to minimize infrastructure expenses. However, this would likely introduce limitations in terms of gameplay and UX. Therefore, depending on what we prioritize, the overall design — including the game content itself — would change significantly.

Given the nature of this proposal, I believe it could become a public good product for Astar, and therefore supporting the costs would make sense. However, if it ultimately results in a negative outcome, that would be problematic.

In summary, I believe it is worth pursuing, but the key question is how to overcome the major hurdles.

[robert12342]

Thannnk you for raising these very important points — especially regarding operational complexity and infrastructure trade-offs.

I completely agree that sustainability and long-term viability must be carefully considered from the beginning.

However, I would like to highlight one important aspect in this discussion:

Astar has already built and launched interactive NFT-based experiences in the past.

There was a previous game/interactive campaign that leveraged ecosystem NFTs. While it was simpler and not structured around competitive rewards, it demonstrated that:

The Foundation has experience building NFT-integrated applications

The internal coordination between product, infra, and ecosystem is possible

Lightweight game mechanics can be deployed successfully within the ecosystem

This proposal is not about inventing something entirely new from scratch.

It is about evolving that previous experience into a more engaging, competitive, and utility-driven format.

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The difference now would be:

Introducing competition

Adding skill-based mechanics

Providing meaningful incentives

Creating deeper integration with ASTR and potentially LSTs

Users today expect more than passive participation.
They want engagement, progression, and competition.

Since the Foundation has already demonstrated the capability to build NFT-driven interactive products, this could be seen as a natural next iteration of that effort — not a completely new operational frontier.

Of course, infrastructure design and UX priorities would need to be defined carefully (fully on-chain vs hybrid, etc.), but the precedent shows that execution at the ecosystem level is feasible.

For me, the key point is:

This is not an abstract concept.
There is historical proof within Astar that similar foundations have already been laid.

The opportunity now is to build on that experience and elevate it into something more competitive, sustainable, and aligned with the ecosystem’s current direction.

Thank you again for pushing the discussion deeper — this is exactly how strong proposals mature.

[GuiGou]

Thanks for this proposal @robert12342 , I really like it.

I raised this topic with other ambassadors and the core team last month, but they already have a very full roadmap and cannot afford to spread their resources too thin. If we want this project to move forward, it will need to be developed by the community.

I also know that @VisaKing had already been thinking about this a few months ago.

On my side, my idea was to leverage AI to generate the outcome of battles. However, while I believe I could handle the full backend development (smart contracts, indexers, AI agent, workers), I would not be able to build the UI.

If there is a strong UI team within the community, perhaps we could join forces and develop this project together.

In that case, we could:

• Submit a governance proposal to fund the development (with payment released only upon delivery).

• Register the dApp in dAppStaking to cover infrastructure costs and fund player rewards.

Let me know what you think!

[robert12342]

Thahhnk you for bringing this forward and for discussing it with the ambassadors and core team — I really appreciate the initiative.

I fully understand the roadmap constraints. It makes sense that the core team cannot stretch resources further at this stage.

To be transparent: I don’t currently have a development team or funding to independently lead the build myself. My contribution so far has been at the ideation, product design, and strategic level.

That said, I’m very open to collaboration if there is genuine community interest.

Your proposal is actually very interesting:

• Backend + smart contracts + AI handled on your side

• UI built by a community team

• Governance proposal with milestone-based payment

• dApp Staking registration for sustainability

That model makes much more sense than trying to push this entirely onto the Foundation.

From my side, I can contribute with:

• Game design and mechanics structuring

• Tokenomics modeling

• Product vision and documentation

• Ecosystem alignment strategy

• Governance proposal drafting

If there is a capable UI team willing to step in, I would absolutely support forming a community working group around this.

However, I also think we should validate interest first. Before submitting a governance proposal, it might be wise to:

1. Define a very small, realistic MVP scope

2. Confirm UI contributors

3. Outline clear milestones

4. Model infrastructure sustainability

If those elements align, then a milestone-based governance proposal would be appropriate.

I’m not looking to own this project — I’m looking to see if it can exist in a sustainable way for the ecosystem.

If there’s real momentum, I’m happy to help coordinate the next steps.

Let’s see if we can gather the right builders around this idea.