As a journalist, I receive hundreds of requests for interviews and articles every week. When I came across information about Randcast, I was immediately intrigued. Most pitches for Web3 gaming stories typically relate to new NFT drops, game updates, or partnership announcements for games I've never encountered. However, the academic curiosity in me was sparked when I began learning about ARPA's innovative approach to randomness.
My initial reaction was to pray to 'RNGesus,' then I wondered whether random number generation (RNG) was even more critical in Web3 than in traditional gaming. This led me to reach out to ARPA, as I wanted to explore some challenging questions about this fundamental technology.
Randcast is an on-chain verifiable random number generator that offers a suite of APIs designed for various applications, including NFT asset generation, game world creation, and even determining the outcomes of battle scenarios. Randcast creator ARPA believes its approach positions Randcast as a potential game-changer in fostering a fairer, more creative metaverse.
Randcast's framework adopts a decentralized approach to randomness; it collects entropy from a network of nodes distributed across numerous regions. This process ensures what ARPA describes as "unparalleled unpredictability and fairness." Additionally, the random numbers generated are designed to be tamper-proof, reducing the possibility of manipulation or interference.
Uniqueness and verifiability are also integral to Randcast's system. A robust cryptographic primitive underpins the generation of random numbers, ensuring they are both unique and verifiable. The numbers are produced specifically for a given block height and user input, providing an additional layer of assurance.
Finally, Randcast offers an essential practicality: gas estimation. It provides accurate approximations of the minimum amount needed to cover transaction fees, helping users maintain sufficient funds in their accounts and avoiding failed requests due to insufficient tokens.
CryptoSlate spoke with founder Felix Xu to discuss why randomness is so crucial to gaming and how Randcast operates.
Felix Xu, Crypto enthusiast, early adopter, and NFT collector. Felix founded two crypto projects ARPA and Bella Protocol, among the global top 500 by market cap. Felix previously worked at Fosun Group, the Sackler family office, and Bloomberg Research in New York and Beijing.
How does ARPA's Randcast achieve its broad reach while maintaining the security of generated random numbers intact?
ARPA's Randcast achieves broad and secure random number generation by leveraging a decentralized approach to gather entropy from a group of nodes distributed across various regions. These nodes implement the BLS threshold signature process, ensuring that the generated random numbers are both tamper-proof and resistant to manipulation.
As no single node can influence the final random outcome, this method ensures the unpredictability, fairness, and cryptographic security of the numbers generated, upholding the principles of broad reach and security simultaneously.
Can you share more about the BLS threshold signature tasks that ARPA Network nodes perform? What makes them uniquely suited for verifiable random number generation?
The BLS threshold signature tasks that ARPA Network nodes perform involve a cryptographic process where multiple nodes work together to produce a single signature on a message without revealing their individual private keys. This mechanism guarantees that the resulting signature remains intact and secure as long as a specified number (or threshold) of these nodes operate honestly.
The inherent randomness of BLS threshold signatures offers a robust entropy source. When this underlying randomness is combined with the verifiable nature of BLS signatures, it creates a system optimally designed for generating random numbers on-chain that are both verifiable and resistant to manipulation by any single participant in the network.
Read this article to see what efforts we made to adapt the SYNDROME-BLS for blockchains.
What are some of the practical applications of your technology in the gaming industry? Can you share some use-cases or examples?
Randcast offers a verifiable on-chain random number generation framework perfect for the gaming industry. Its suite of APIs enables developers to enhance gaming experiences with dynamic random elements, such as assigning random attributes to characters and items, determining matchmaking, generating random in-game maps or dungeons, and deciding the probability outcomes of various in-game events.
For instance, a Web3 game might use Randcast to create a random dungeon layout for players to explore, or to assign rarity tiers to in-game loot, ensuring each player's experience is unique, fair, and verifiable.
How does the subscription framework work for Randcast? And how does the integration with ETH come into play?
The subscription framework for Randcast allows users to manage payments for the random number generation's fulfillment contract. Users create a subscription by interacting with specific functions in the Randcast Director contract, which provides them with a unique subscription ID. This ID helps track the status and manage various user contracts associated with their DApp or Web3 game.
To facilitate transactions within this system, users fund their subscriptions using ETH. In the current version, Randcast v0.1.0, the framework itself is free, but users are required to cover Gas fees, which are transaction costs on the Ethereum network, using their funded ETH.
Could you elaborate on the automatic gas estimation feature? How does it help users in managing their costs?
Certainly. The automatic gas estimation feature in Randcast is designed to predict the gas costs required for transactions, particularly during the random number generation process. This feature calculates and sets the necessary gas parameters, ensuring that the random number generation process completes without interruption due to gas limitations.
By offering this estimation mechanism, Randcast eliminates guesswork for users, allowing them to fund their subscriptions adequately and avoid unexpected expenses or failed transactions due to insufficient gas. This not only streamlines the user experience but also provides a more predictable cost strategy.
How does Randcast ensure that the random number generation can't be biased or manipulated, even by those who operate the framework?
Randcast employs a decentralized approach to random number generation, sourcing entropy from a distributed network of nodes spanning various regions, making it resistant to direct manipulation. Moreover, the protocol leverages the ARPA Network, wherein multiple nodes collaboratively perform BLS threshold signature tasks to generate randomness.
As BLS threshold signatures are inherently verifiable and random, no single node or entity has the capability to influence the final random outcome. This distributed and cryptographic method ensures that the generated numbers are tamper-proof, unbiased, and verifiable, safeguarding against any potential bias or manipulation, even by those operating the framework.
Felix Xu, Crypto enthusiast, early adopter, and NFT collector.
