HackerExperience / GameDesign

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Still going with Bitcoin? #5

Open SimYouLater opened 7 years ago

SimYouLater commented 7 years ago

I was the one who suggested replacing Bitcoin with the fictional "HexCoin". The few design documents on the topic on github only refer to a fictionalized Bitcoin.

Is there no possibility of using HexCoin? If there is, was it simply a design decision? If HexCoin is legally impossible, may I suggest "HexBucks", "HexCash", "HexCheck", "HexChip", "HexCred", "HexFund", "HexGold", "HexMint", "HexPay", or to have a currency named "HEX" which stands for "Hub-based EXchange" or "Handshake EXchange"? The last two would be a stand-in for cryptocurrencies, a fully digital currency which works (in-universe) in a much different way than Bitcoin and Altcoins, but serves the needed purpose in HE2.

I can see why HEReborn would keep Bitcoin, seeing as the original game used it and HEReborn is a remake. However, I feel that HE2 is more like a "reboot" of the original than a remake, and a thematically appropriate currency with a name such as "HexCoin" or similar would make the game feel more... immersive? ...if the currency is not a fake and thus incompatible version of a real cryptocurrency.

renatomassaro commented 7 years ago

Hey @SimYouLater,

On all documents we refer as Bitcoin because of the concept; the presentation may be different (using HexCoin for instance). It's the same case for Clans: as a concept, we introduce them as Clans, but on HE2 they will probably be introduced as group-managed corporations.

Legally speaking, I've changed my opinion and I think there's no difference on using Bitcoin or Hexcoin. Bitcoin itself is (probably) trademarked, however its use is certainly fair (as fair as I know).

You are right that HEBorn is "semantically" different than HE2, but not because it's a remake of Legacy. In fact, I don't see it as a remake, since most Legacy mechanics will be completely changed, and it behaves much more as HE2. However, I see HEBorn presented in a different way than HE2. The new HE1 is about being as realistic as possible. That's why its UI resembles a real OS. Contrast it to HE2, whose visual feels like a game.

With that difference, we can play a bit on the storyline plot as well. On HE2 we are strongly based on Cyberpunk with elements of fiction, futurism, singularity and so on, while the HE1 storyline is much simpler, with freelancer hackers doing side-jobs for companies, a much more "real" scenario.

That's why I think that, as far as realism goes, naming it Bitcoin (BTC) is better for HE1, and naming it Hexcoin (HEX) is probably better for HE2.

Whenever you have the time, please send me a message on our chat instance. I'm planning an overhaul on the way we deal with community and external contributions, and your input is greatly appreciated.