Implementing a Decentralized Fediverse MMO with Crypto in Godot

Godot is a versatile and open-source game engine that has steadily matured into a capable platform for both 2D and 3D development. Its flexibility, extensibility, and scripting languages (GDScript, C#, and others via GDNative) make it a strong candidate for building a decentralized online game that ties together Fediverse identity, non-custodial crypto wallets, and Arweave world persistence. While other frameworks such as MonoGame or custom engines could also handle the workload, Godot’s active community and open ethos align well with the vision of creating a spiritual successor to Ultima Online.

This article outlines how such a system could be approached step by step in Godot, drawing on the ideas from the broader design: Fediverse logins, Monero and Bitcoin Cash wallets, opt-in mining events, and Arweave-based world history.

Why Godot is a fitting choice

Godot offers several built-in advantages for this type of project. First, its node-based architecture is flexible enough to model both simple and complex systems, from grid-based RPG maps to 3D voxel terrain. Second, it provides multiple scripting options, allowing developers to write logic in GDScript for rapid iteration or in C# for performance-critical components. Third, Godot’s open licensing (MIT) avoids restrictive terms, making it a natural fit for open-source projects.

Compared to MonoGame, Godot is more of a complete engine out of the box, with integrated UI, networking, and scene management. MonoGame is a strong framework but requires more custom tooling to achieve the same level of structure. For a project as ambitious as a decentralized MMO, Godot provides a balance of extensibility and ready-to-use features, reducing overhead while preserving flexibility.

Implementing Fediverse integration

Fediverse support would revolve around ActivityPub, the protocol used by Mastodon and other federated platforms. Godot itself does not ship with an ActivityPub library, but the engine’s HTTPRequest node and JSON utilities make it possible to implement one.

A likely approach would be:

1. Login flow: Use OAuth-like delegation where players log in via their Fediverse account. The game client handles HTTP requests to the chosen instance, receives a token, and stores it locally.
2. Identity binding: Store the player’s Fediverse handle and public keys within the game’s save data, associating it with their character profile.
3. Social integration: Post updates such as guild notices, trade offers, or snapshot announcements directly to ActivityPub endpoints. This can be done via asynchronous HTTP requests from either GDScript or C#.

While implementing ActivityPub directly in Godot may be ambitious, modular design would make it easier to extend over time. At minimum, binding Fediverse identities for authentication is straightforward and provides the foundation for later features.

Non-custodial wallet support

Godot does not natively handle cryptocurrency, but it can interact with external libraries or APIs. Wallet integration could be implemented in several ways:

• Light client libraries: For Monero and Bitcoin Cash, light clients already exist that can be compiled into dynamic libraries. Godot can call these through GDNative or C#.
• Message signing: Players can sign messages or transactions externally, with the game verifying signatures. This keeps keys completely outside the engine while still enabling integration.
• REST APIs: Lightweight wallet services (run locally by the player) could expose a REST API, which Godot can access through HTTPRequest nodes.

The critical point is that private keys are never stored or transmitted by the game itself. Whether using GDScript or C#, the implementation should only handle public addresses, signed transactions, and blockchain queries. This ensures the system remains non-custodial, sidestepping AML/KYC and licensing concerns.

Mining integration through GDScript or C#

Mining presents both technical and ethical considerations. RandomX, the algorithm used by Monero, is CPU-heavy and requires optimized native code. While it is possible to attempt a pure GDScript implementation, performance would be inadequate. Instead, the best route is binding a C or Rust RandomX implementation via GDNative or C#.

In practice, this would work as follows:

1. The client receives a “mining challenge” from the server tied to an in-game event.
2. The game calls into a native RandomX binding to compute hashes.
3. Shares are submitted directly to P2Pool using network requests.
4. Rewards flow straight to the player’s wallet, bypassing the game server entirely.

Godot’s modularity allows this subsystem to remain optional. Players who choose not to mine can still participate fully in the game, ensuring accessibility while preserving fairness.

Saving world-state to Arweave

Godot already has strong serialization support for saving game data. Extending this to Arweave involves creating export pipelines that bundle snapshots into JSON or binary diffs, then sending them to Arweave through HTTP transactions.

The workflow might look like this:

1. State serialization: Every N minutes, the server serializes the current game world into a compact format. Godot’s ResourceSaver and custom JSON export tools can handle this efficiently.
2. Arweave upload: A companion service (outside the engine) or an HTTP module within Godot posts this snapshot to the Arweave gateway.
3. Manifest updates: The server maintains a pointer file (manifest) that references the most recent snapshot. This is also uploaded to Arweave.
4. Verification: Other servers or shard operators can fetch snapshots from Arweave, verify integrity, and continue the simulation.

This system creates transparency, preserves history, and empowers modders. Since Arweave is designed for permanent data, it provides the durability that traditional databases cannot guarantee on their own.

Multiplayer architecture in Godot

Godot’s high-level multiplayer API supports peer-to-peer and client-server models. For an MMO, a dedicated server architecture is more reliable. In practice, one could:

• Use Godot’s SceneTree network replication for basic synchronization of entities.
• Develop custom RPC (remote procedure call) layers to handle complex MMO features like inventories, trades, and combat logs.
• Store hot state in memory and cold state in a local database, with Arweave serving as the audit log.

Because the game would be open-source, server binaries could be distributed widely, allowing communities to host their own shards. This mirrors the spirit of open UO shards but with modern decentralized integration.

UI and player experience

One of Godot’s strengths is its UI toolkit. This is critical for a project that requires wallet management, Fediverse posting, and trading interfaces. A player could, for example, manage their Monero or Bitcoin Cash wallet through a simple in-game panel, or post a guild announcement that cross-publishes to Mastodon.

Dark mode, clean layouts, and modular menus can all be implemented quickly in Godot’s scene system. For complex workflows like signing a transaction, the UI can provide clear steps that integrate with external wallet software, maintaining transparency and user trust.

Security and safeguards

Non-custodial design means security depends heavily on clear boundaries. Godot can support this by:

• Keeping private keys entirely out of the engine.
• Using sandboxed calls to external wallet libraries.
• Verifying signatures for all trades and events.
• Providing client-side options to disable mining, ensuring user consent.

Because Godot is open-source, the community can audit the implementation, adding another layer of accountability.

Path forward with Godot

A staged implementation roadmap in Godot might look like:

1. Prototype: Simple tile-based world, Fediverse login mockup, testnet BCH integration.
2. Alpha: Wallet attachment, optional Monero mining demo using GDNative bindings, Arweave snapshot pipeline.
3. Beta: Full multiplayer server, item trading, Fediverse social posting, shard federation.
4. Release: Polished world design, modding support, multi-shard governance, public snapshot history.

Each phase would be achievable within Godot using its existing capabilities and extensibility. Native bindings for mining and wallets may require C#, Rust, or C, but Godot is well suited to integrate those components without breaking the non-custodial boundary.

Final thoughts

Godot provides the right mix of openness, flexibility, and community alignment to serve as the foundation for this decentralized MMO vision. By combining Fediverse identity, non-custodial crypto integration, opt-in mining, and Arweave persistence, the project could create something unprecedented: a player-owned digital society built with open tools.

This would not be a clone of Ultima Online, but a spiritual successor that carries forward its ethos of freedom and emergent community. With Godot at the core, the dream of an open, federated, and durable virtual world feels not only possible but achievable.