Gm Rory, could you give a quick intro about yourself?

Gm, I'm Rory - a software engineer with over 15 years of experience, the last 4 of which I’ve spent deep building in Web3. It’s a great sector to be in as I enjoy solving problems that haven't been figured out yet, and I believe decentralization actually matters!

I’ve been hooked on gaming ever since I booted up a Commodore 64 as a kid and that spark never left, which is why I created Heavy Helms.

What’s Heavy Helms all about?

Heavy Helms is a fully onchain auto battler strategy game. First and foremost, it’s not just “onchain” in name - the entire project is fully onchain from the ground up! The game engine runs as a verified smart contract, so everything from matchmaking to combat logic is transparent for everyone to see.

Players recruit warriors with unique blends of VRF-determined attributes, then experiment with different weapon and armor skins to optimize their builds. Part of the skill expression here is choosing the right skin to suit a warrior’s strengths, as the random attributes means each warrior will only reach peak performance with a specific combination of weapons and armor.

For gameplay, Heavy Helms has a no-risk 'Practice' mode to test combos and, once you’re dialed in, you can jump into the competitive PvP modes: Duel, where players directly challenge each other, or Gauntlet, where warriors are queued for demand-driven, elimination-style tournaments.

All combat plays out onchain and is visualized via the game client, so when you win a battle you’re not just conquering your opponents, but collecting brag-worthy, fully verifiable moments. 💪

So I get bragging rights from winning duels - can I earn anything else?

Yep! If you’re confident in your strategy (or just a degen) you can place wagers on duels. This feature is optional and requires both players to opt-in, but thanks to onchain VRF, results are provably fair - so the better warrior really does win. And hey, farming wins now could pay off big time later… 👀

As an auto battler, how can I be sure the results are fair?

We don't want to make players trust any behind-the-scenes magic that only the developers know about, which is why we put the entire game engine onchain. Don’t just take my word for it - check the code!

Heavy Helms runs entirely onchain and all contracts are fully verified. Every warrior starts with the same total 72 attribute points - just distributed differently - and all skins are strategically balanced. Rare skins? 100% cosmetic. No secret bonuses, no pay-to-win. In fact, with its commitment to transparency, I’d argue Heavy Helms is the fairest auto battler ever created.

What inspired you to create Heavy Helms?

This is what I thought the end result of the Crypto Zombies tutorial would look like when I started learning solidity haha!

The gameplay was heavily inspired by my experience with tabletop games like Dungeons & Dragons, as well as the play-by-mail games that dominated my youth. I feel like blockchain tech is a perfect fit to replicate some of these async gaming experiences, and these shareable gaming moments have the power to truly bring people together. Even though Heavy Helms is a competitive game, I believe it’ll still create a strong sense of community.

Heavy Helms won a top prize in Shapecraft - why did you decide to enter the hackathon and build on Shape?

The timing was perfect and I was excited to build on an OP Superchain! The month-long nature of Shapecraft gave me enough time to not only build out the contracts, but also develop a game client so players could visualize the battles. Plus it was clear that the Shape team were looking for creative ideas rather than just sponsoring another generic hackathon.

I designed this game from the ground up to run on the EVM (against the advice of many!) because I believe it's important to meet players where they already are, and I look forward to the day we achieve full interoperability across the Superchain.

What kind of support did you receive from fellow shapers while building?

The Shapecraft hackathon had a distinctly cooperative vibe, with shapers openly sharing ideas and project suggestions. We all wanted to see each other succeed, and it was great to get contextual and constructive feedback in the Shape Discord.

What advice would you give to someone thinking of launching their own game on Shape?

All of the tools you need to succeed are on Shape, including Gelato VRF for trustless randomness, super low gas fees, and Gasback which offsets costs even further. Combine that with a welcoming community looking for creativity and you've found an ideal launchpad.

Is Heavy Helms open source?

Yes, it is! I think it’s very important that users can trust the code they execute onchain. All of our deployed contracts have been verified so they can be reviewed via a block explorer or over on our GitHub.

What tools or frameworks did you find most useful while building?

I used Cursor IDE and Foundry for all contracts and testing, plus Phaser 3.8+ for the game client. I used Pinata to store the NFTs on IPFS and Gelato VRF for onchain randomness.

Are there any big developments in the works for Heavy Helms?

Yes, lots! We’re currently testing a few new game modes that we’re really excited about.

The first are Daily Tournaments, which not only reward winners with game-changing items to customize their warriors, but also remove the training wheels and introduce the ultimate risk: death!

The second is Monster Battles, which pits your warrior against a savage beast in the arena. What could possibly go wrong? Warriors who manage to beat the odds will be generously rewarded…

How do you see Heavy Helms evolving over the next few years?

The modular contracts allow us to continue to release new game modes and evolve the experience over time. We also have a versioning system in the game engine that allows us to make necessary balance changes, as well as add new weapon and armor options.

One of the things we’d like to focus on is deepening community involvement, particularly around skins, which are all NFTs. The community can shape how the game looks and feels through skins and, while we allow players to freely select default skins without needing to own the NFT themselves, players that wish to stand out from the crowd can create or purchase rare skins from the marketplace. Skins add a whole new dimension to flex with, as you’re not just winning battles - you’re looking good while doing it!

Are you considering creating a native token for Heavy Helms?

I think the answer to this question ties into the previous one about how I see Heavy Helms evolving. Yes, I would consider creating a native Heavy Helms token - not only to serve as utility within the game, but also because a native token could power Heavy Helms as a fully community-owned and managed game. I believe the players know best about what makes the game fun and fair, so with Heavy Helms being both blockchain-native and decentralized, that dream might just be achievable.

Thanks Rory - looking forward to facing your warrior in the arena!