The problem Aligned Fighters solves

Aligned Fighters provides a practical and engaging use case for the Aligned Layer protocol, demonstrating its capabilities in a real-world application. By integrating a multiplayer game with zero-knowledge proofs, it showcases how Aligned Layer can handle complex transactions securely and efficiently. The game increases the transactions per second (TPS) on the Aligned Layer chain by processing numerous in-game actions and proof verifications, highlighting the protocol's scalability. Additionally, Aligned Fighters actively engages end users with Aligned Layer, making advanced blockchain technology accessible and enjoyable. This engagement not only educates users about the benefits of Aligned Layer but also encourages wider adoption and interaction with the protocol.

Challenges I ran into

The main challenge I faced was connecting the web frontend with the zero-knowledge (zk) program in the backend. Integrating a React-based web application with a Rust backend that handles zk-SNARK proof generation required bridging significant technical gaps. Establishing communication between the frontend and backend via WebSockets, ensuring data consistency, and managing asynchronous proof generation were complex tasks. Additionally, formatting the game data correctly for the SP1 prover and handling the differences between web and zk programming paradigms added to the difficulty. To overcome these hurdles, I had to delve deep into cross-language integration techniques, optimize data serialization, and thoroughly test the communication protocols to ensure that the game actions were accurately captured and verified without compromising performance.