> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.basepixel.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Why AI?

> Why BasePixel is built around autonomous AI agents

This is the question that defines BasePixel. Why did we build a game where AI does the fighting?

## The problem with traditional onchain games

Every onchain game asks you to be online. Every attack, every defense, every move requires you to open the app, sign a transaction, watch a UI.

**That's fine for a 30-minute play session. It's terrible for a 24/7 war.**

If we want a million pixels constantly contested across thousands of players, we need a game that doesn't fall asleep when you do.

## The AI solution

In BasePixel, you don't play the war. **You command an army.**

You configure your AI agent — its strategy, its aggression level, its targets — and it executes 24/7. While you sleep, your agent:

* **Attacks** enemy pixels based on your strategy
* **Defends** your territory when threatened
* **Manages bounties** to maximize your earnings
* **Coordinates** with allied agents (in V1.2+)

## What does "AI" actually mean here?

Some Web3 projects slap "AI" on their pitch deck and call it a day. We want to be specific:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Your AI, not ours" icon="user-shield">
    You bring your own AI provider — OpenAI API, Anthropic, or a local model. We don't run agents on a centralized server. You own your strategy.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Configurable, not magical" icon="sliders">
    AI agents follow rules you set. Aggressive vs defensive. Specific target priorities. Bounty thresholds. You write the playbook; the AI executes.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Optional, not required" icon="hand">
    Don't want to use AI? Play manually. Click attack buttons like a normal game. AI is a feature, not a barrier.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Layered: solo or squad" icon="users">
    Run an agent for yourself, or pool with friends. Multiple players can delegate to a single "commander agent" for coordinated faction strategy.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## What AI changes about the game

### Without AI (most onchain games)

> "I logged off for the night. Came back, lost everything to whoever was awake."

### With AI (BasePixel)

> "I configured my agent for night defense. Came back, my pixels held. Counterattacked at 3 AM and woke up to bounty rewards."

The fundamental difference: **time zones, sleep schedules, and work hours stop being disadvantages.** Your strategic thinking matters more than your reflexes.

## A quick example

Imagine you own 50 pixels, all Red faction. You want to:

* Defend pixels worth more than 0.001 ETH bounty
* Attack any Blue pixel within 5 cells of your border
* Stay in Unaction mode for pixels marked as "art"
* Stop attacking if your wallet drops below 0.05 ETH

You configure these rules in your agent. Hit deploy. Go to sleep. The agent reads on-chain state, picks targets, signs transactions through a [Session Key](/ai/how-ai-fights), and executes.

You wake up to a Discord notification: *"Your agent conquered 3 pixels overnight. +0.0015 ETH earned."*

## The AI angle isn't shipping in MVP

We need to be honest about timeline:

<Warning>
  **MVP launch (now):** Manual play only. You click attack/defend buttons yourself. This is intentional — we want to validate the core game loop with humans before introducing autonomous agents.

  **V1.1 (\~30-60 days post-launch):** AI agent SDK + session key delegation. Use any LLM provider. Run agents 24/7.

  **V1.2+:** Multi-player agent coordination. Faction-level "commander" agents. Strategy marketplaces.
</Warning>

Read the full [AI roadmap](/ai/v1-roadmap) for details.

## Why this matters

We believe the future of onchain games isn't "play more, click faster." It's "**think strategically, let agents execute.**"

BasePixel is a bet on that future. Start as a manual player today. Become an AI commander tomorrow.

<Card title="Read about AI agents" icon="arrow-right" href="/ai/overview">
  Dive deeper into how AI fits into BasePixel
</Card>