PenguinShooter
A Bitcoin Lightning Network powered Game

About PenguinShooter

PenguinShooter is a web based demo game that demonstrates how to trigger ingame events with Lightning Network Payments.
In contrast to other games with ingame payments, you don't have to buy 1000 diamonds first with your credit card.
Instead, Lightning Invoices are placed within the game that can be paid by any Lightning Wallet.
When the payment is settled, the specific event inside the game occurs.
This functionality also offers some other interesting uses cases like
intervening in your friends game.

Problems with traditional ingame payments

• Fiat payments need third party payment processors that takes a cut of the money. Apple even takes 30%. The developer needs to increase the prices to stay profitable.
• Entering your credit card info into a website is unsafe.
• Payments take long. You often get redirected to some kind of login page of your payment provider for authorization. It then takes some time until the payment is completed.
• You can't trigger any event by that payment. You can just buy an ingame currency.
• You often have to buy more ingame coins than you need. "Buy 1000 diamonds for 20$". But you only need 50 diamonds.

Advantages of Bitcoin Lightning Network

• No third party needed. Payment can go directly to the developer. So prices can be cheaper.
• Settlement is instant and final.
• Payments are easy, if you already use Lightning. If you have a browser extension like Alby installed, it is literally just a button click.
• Micropayments are possible. Just pay that one item for 20 sats (~0.005$).
• Bitcoin is programmable money. You can trigger anything with code like this
  

  
  if(payment_successful)
  {
      spawn_penguin();
  }
                  

But how easy is it really?

You are playing the game and stand in front of a shield that says "1 Sheep 5 Satoshi" and you want to spawn that sheep.

Here is what you need to do:

1. Click the "+1" button to create a 5 sat invoice.
2. Pay the invoice with any Lightning Wallet. Scan the QR code with your mobile wallet or click the QR code and press the "Pay" button in your browser.
3. The sheep spawns inside the game.

User intervention in livestreams - Support or annoy your friend with LN payments

Another interesting use case is to live stream PenguinShooter on twitch or YouTube.
Your audience can request invoices to alter your gameplay.
If the invoice is paid by the audience, the webserver notifies the game client of the streamer.
It is now possible to freeze the streamer, buy/steal him items, lock his camera settings etc.
Have you ever seen a paypal payment that triggers an ingame event?
It's not possible, but we can do it now with programmable money!!
Test this out and create invoices at the PenguinShooter Store to alter your gameplay while opening the game in a second window.

If you have a Lightning Wallet, try it out!

If not, it's time to get familiar with the Bitcoin Lightning Network!