Often when we think about blockchain as a technology, we visualize it as financial transactions, secure ledgers, and cryptocurrency. It is true that quite a major chunk of the manifestations of this amazing technology belong to the realm of finance and trading, and probably in identity verification and authentication.
However, one of the most unexpected manifestations of blockchain lies in the world of gaming. It is hard to imagine that blockchain and gaming might even have a point of convergence. Upon close introspection, when we break down the elements that form gaming as an engaging ecosystem, it is quite acceptable that blockchain and gaming form an amazing bond.
Difference between crypto and Blockchain games:
Yes! Cryptocurrency cannot exist without blockchain. However, it is not the case with crypto gaming and Blockchain gaming. There is quite a chasm of difference.
Crypto games do not require blockchain technology to be played. The core of the game is no way different from traditional gaming technology. However, users will need cryptocurrency to gain access to these games, and they are likely to be in cryptocurrency rewards if they win the game.
Blockchain games, as the same implies, requires an actual blockchain for the game to function. The gamers need to invest money to get started, and they can create value just by playing. Blockchain games present added advantages like digital ownership, autonomy, and decentralization. We will be looking into the details of Blockchain games.
Although the definition might state that there is a clear line of demarcation, it might not be surprising to know that there is a possibility of overlap.
What characterizes Blockchain games is that it provides player ownership over certain virtual items in the game. It also runs on a decentralized blockchain network and the gameplay verification also happens on the blockchain without any discrepancies in the consensus.
Classifying Blockchain games:
Blockchain games can be classified into three major categories.
Traditional games are commercially owned games with online components running on centralized servers. The players do not have any rights over the game or the game items.
Ownership-driven games utilize blockchain technology to give ownership to virtual items. These items can be used or traded or sold at the discretion of the players. While the ownership stays in the blockchain, the actual game runs on the usual centralized servers.
Autonomous games are the games where players have full control not only over the virtual items but over the entire game. The gamers contribute to the public blockchain network. The fairness of gameplay is protected by the activity of players. This also gives space for players to use Blockchain fork and create a game of their own.
Let us look at the games where blockchain has a part to play in great detail. However, before that, let us also take a brief look at the disadvantages posed by traditional games.
The disadvantages of traditional video games:
There are a lot of traditional video games that enjoy patronage in all corners of the world. These games include famous names like World of Warcraft, Call Of Duty, and FIFA. Such games are manufactured or developed by big brands like Blizzard Entertainment, Activision, and Electronic Arts.
Gamers invest quite a lot of their time and money in playing and in purchasing accessories like in-game items, skins, and a lot more. The players are nothing more than consumers. The biggest disadvantage with these games is that when the companies suddenly decided to pull the plug, all the items that they purchased, including all the money that they spend, goes down the drain. It is real money spent on virtual items without any real advantage.
Looking at blockchain and gaming:
When we look at ownership-driven games, certain items can never leave the virtual world, and they only provide a fake sense of ownership. However, when we start using blockchain technology, the assets are stored in a cryptocurrency wallet, which the players can access using a private key. When it comes to a certain point in time when certain assets possessed by the players become scarce in the digital world, they can be sold in exchange for some cryptocurrency that might have value in the real world.
Ownership-driven games might present some advantages. However, it is not as great as the advantage provided by autonomous gaming worlds that are built wholly on blockchain technology.
In the autonomous gaming world, the players have total ownership over the assets in the game. In addition to that, they also contribute to the game itself. Every player, in essence, becomes a node to verify gameplay actions, transactions, and also the fair play of the game and ownership. Even though a game studio develops a game, they provide nothing more than a window of visibility through which the game can be looked at.
Decentralization:
One of the greatest advantages brought about by blockchain is decentralization. Most of the critics use the extent of decentralization as a measure of quality when it comes to Blockchain games. Developers use decentralization as a measure of user empowerment. Although it might not be the perfect yardstick to measure the quality of the game, until better metrics arrive, decentralization will continue to be the de facto standard for the measurement of Blockchain game quality.
Conclusion:
Blockchain has been transforming a lot of industries, but gaming might not have been in the list of those! Blockchain gaming is one of the best examples to show that the new technology has the power to transform any process that had issues with trust and centralization. It also presents a lucrative business opportunity to create a Blockchain game and reap the profits out of it. We have already seen the astounding results of Ethereum Blockchain game development in the field of both blockchain and gaming. At this pace, it might not be long before a lot of mainstream companies adopt this new technology to ensure trust and transparency in their game playing and recording system!
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