Utility 2.0

The discussion begins with what the next-level RX means in terms of utility. Enhancing utility could involve significantly increasing the amount of content by doubling or quadrupling project personnel, allowing major updates as frequently as every month (rather than every year). However, this approach is impractical and excessively costly. More importantly, merely creating a large volume of similar content does not necessarily improve RX for players. Therefore, MapleStory Universe has devised a key strategy for the journey to RX 2.0: diverse content expansion through collaborative efforts from the community.

For this content expansion, MapleStory Universe aims to leverage both internally developed content and content voluntarily created by the community. These days, the concept of "playing a game" has evolved beyond simply interacting with the core game client. It now encompasses diverse experiences, including community-driven activities such as cosplay, fan art creation, forum discussions, live streaming, and building and playing apps derived from the MapleStory IP. These activities significantly contribute to the sustainability and diversity of the MapleStory IP. The success of "MapleStory World," a user-generated content platform, demonstrates the innovative potential unleashed when creative tools are provided to the community.

However, these community activities are currently separated from the game itself, which revolves around the game developer. The reason for this separation is that the "fun" in obtaining and utilizing items, i.e., RX, has been limited to in-game experiences. MapleStory items have been available only within the game client, which limits a seamless connection to the ecosystem of derivative works.

But what if you could obtain an item within the game and use it outside the game itself? MapleStory Universe envisions items as a way to offer players diverse experiences that go beyond the boundaries of the game client. To this end, MapleStory Universe has designed a mechanism to tokenize all in-game items into NFTs, allowing them to be used across the broader blockchain ecosystem, rather than just within the game client. Tokenized items will be able to move across various applications within the Universe as NFTs, further expanding the scope of RX.

This NFT-based system will serve as a bridge connecting previously game-bound items to the blockchain ecosystem, forming the foundation for a virtuous cycle of community engagement. Converting game items into NFTs liberates them from previous limitations, propelling these items into a new utility dimension with unlimited potential.

Yet, simply enabling NFTs to move freely among applications is not sufficient to maximize their utility. Enhancing item utility and implementing the next-generation RX requires active collaboration with community members.

This is why "MapleStory Universe SDK" is being developed. MapleStory Universe SDK will empower professional developers to build standalone applications with advanced technical capabilities. It will feature open APIs for accessing extensive MapleStory Universe resource data, including characters, NFTs, marketplace, and network data, and allow developers to write application-specific metadata on NFTs. Developers will have considerable creative freedom, including the ability to uniquely repurpose NFTs. Moreover, as all applications will operate on shared underlying tokens, developers can collaboratively build upon each other's creations, similar to DeFi's "money lego" concept, where protocols compose together to create enhanced utility.

This flexibility will promote a vibrant ecosystem of spin-offs while ensuring all NFTs remain grounded in the official MapleStory IP. Players worldwide will be able to enjoy these diverse applications, and creators will be rewarded for their contributions to the ecosystem. This approach is intended to help MapleStory NFTs overcome previous limitations in item utilization by establishing an environment where creativity can flourish within a cohesive ecosystem of seamlessly interacting applications.

The diverse content expansion facilitated by the SDK will be a core foundation for implementing RX 2.0. This dynamic expansion, driven by consistent content updates and active community participation, will fundamentally redefine gameplay experiences, enriching interactions among players and broadening the definition of gaming itself. As more players engage with community-created applications, layers of player interaction will naturally deepen, creating a richer RX.