<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a story we\u2019ve been hearing for what seems like years now \u2014 \u201cblockchain-based gaming will onboard new Web3 users en masse.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The promise of a gaming landscape where players truly own their characters and in-game assets, where developers can create in a decentralized, censorship-resistant environment, and where the power dynamics of the gaming industry are flipped on their heads.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a compelling narrative \u2014 one that seems more and more possible as Web3 matures and the technology\u2019s potential continues to unfold.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And yet, the question remains: Why hasn\u2019t it happened yet?<\/p>\n
One of the biggest reasons we aren\u2019t living in a blockchain-enabled gaming utopia is resistance from an unexpected quarter: gamers themselves. Surprisingly, or not at this point, gamers are often the most vocal critics of blockchain, crypto and NFTs \u2014 which seems counterintuitive given the potential benefits of these technologies for the gaming community, right?<\/p>\n
Maybe the vitriol is warranted. We in Web3 like to preach the virtues of honesty, transparency, equality and true ownership. But let\u2019s be real, the number of scams, spoofs, hacks, phishers, ill-intentioned influencers and abundance of downright shady folks make for some pretty bad PR. And the gamers are more than aware. Just go on any gaming subreddit and search for the words \u201cnon-fungible.\u201d RIP.<\/p>\n
My little brother owns every gaming system ever made and spends the time that he\u2019s not gaming, watching other people game online. He summed it up for me: \u201cGamers hate NFTs, crypto, and blockchain stuff. It feels like someone is going door-to-door trying to sell us crappy knife sets. Like, \u2018hey, look over there,\u2019 while they stick their hands in our pockets.\u201d<\/p>\n
I get it. Between FTX, the hacks, and ponzi-style NFT pump and dumps (to name a few) \u2014 it\u2019s a bad look, man. But I\u2019m here to help you look past all that just for a minute. I\u2019ve seen the mountain, and it\u2019s glorious!<\/p>\n
I wrote this article to change my brother\u2019s mind, or to give him at least a rounder perspective on what blockchain gaming could offer. The crypto world might be rife with dirty rotten scoundrels, but that doesn\u2019t mean that blockchain gaming is a bust.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
A key issue with the current state of gaming is the level of centralized control that game developers and publishers maintain over their products. This control often extends beyond the initial creation and release of a game, affecting ongoing gameplay and the player experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n
One of the most telling examples of this issue is the World of Warcraft incident involving none other than the Shiba godfather himself, Vitalik Buterin, the creator of Ethereum.<\/p>\n
World of Warcraft (WoW) is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) that has captivated millions of players worldwide since its release in 2004. When people say MMORG, WoW is the game that comes to mind. So what\u2019s the problem here? The game\u2019s developer, Blizzard Entertainment, has the ability to modify gameplay, balance character classes and tweak the game environment at will.<\/p>\n
In 2010, Vitalik Buterin, an avid WoW player, experienced the arbitrary nature of this centralized control firsthand. The game developers had made a decision to weaken the abilities of the Siphon Life spell, a key skill of Buterin\u2019s beloved Warlock character.<\/p>\n
This incident deeply frustrated Buterin, who felt powerless against the centralized authority of the game developers. He had invested considerable time and effort into developing his character, only for the developers to effectively diminish his character\u2019s powers at a stroke.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The lack of recourse or ability to challenge this decision made Buterin acutely aware of the limitations of centralized control. It was an experience that would stick with him, eventually influencing his decision to develop Ethereum.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn that day I realized what horrors centralized services can bring,\u201d Buterin wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Madden NFL 23 incident, which occurred in late 2022, revolved around the corruption of many players\u2019 Connected Franchise Mode (CFM) save files due to a \u201cdata storage issue\u201d at EA, the game\u2019s developer. This incident not only disrupted gameplay, but also erased the progress<\/a> players had made, causing considerable frustration and disappointment.<\/p>\n In a decentralized model, where data could be stored on a blockchain, this type of incident could be avoided. Blockchain-based systems are inherently resistant to data loss and corruption due to their distributed nature. If one node fails or loses data, the other nodes in the network maintain the integrity of the overall system. Not only could players have more confidence in the security of their data, but they could also potentially control and transfer their game progress independently of the game developer or platform.<\/p>\n The lesson here is clear: The use of blockchain technology in gaming can provide a more secure, reliable and player-empowered experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n Here comes another WoW moment \u2014 and not in a good way. The sudden shutdown of Blizzard\u2019s games in China in early 2023 was a shock that underscored the vulnerabilities inherent in centralized gaming systems. Millions of Chinese players lost access to popular games like the World of Warcraft franchise, marking the end of a two-decade partnership<\/a> between Blizzard and NetEase.<\/p>\n For many, this was more than just an inconvenience: It was a devastating loss of a cherished pastime, a community and a virtual home.\u00a0<\/p>\n The tense parting between the two companies highlighted the impact that business decisions and contractual disputes at the corporate level can have on players. The decisions made by Blizzard and NetEase affected millions of gamers who had no influence over the outcome.<\/p>\n In a decentralized gaming world, such shutdowns could be avoided. Games could operate independently of licensing agreements or individual companies, and players would retain access to their games and characters, regardless of corporate disputes or business decisions.<\/p>\n Blockchain\u2019s inherent transparency could also ensure that players are never left in the dark about the state of their games. With blockchain, players could truly own their gaming assets and experiences, leading to a more resilient, player-empowered gaming industry.<\/p>\n In traditional gaming, the assets players earn or purchase are typically stored on a company\u2019s server and governed by the game\u2019s terms of service. Despite players investing time, effort and often money into acquiring these assets, they don\u2019t truly own them. Any change in the game\u2019s policy, a server shutdown, or even a ban can lead to players losing their assets.<\/p>\n Blockchain-based gaming offers a compelling alternative.<\/p>\n Here, in-game assets are tokenized and stored on the blockchain. This means that players have actual ownership of their assets \u2014 they can hold, transfer, sell or even lend their in-game items freely without needing permission from the game developers. This can offer a greater sense of reward and motivation for players, recognizing their investment in the game.<\/p>\n Blockchain gaming also introduces the concept of portability. Currently, in-game assets are confined to the game they were obtained in. You can\u2019t take your powerful sword from one RPG and use it in another. However, with blockchain, in-game assets could become interoperable. This means that a weapon or character acquired in one game could potentially be used in another.<\/p>\n In a traditional gaming environment, trust is placed in the game developers and operators to ensure fairness. Gamers play under the assumption that the rules are being applied consistently, and that the outcomes of their actions are generated fairly.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, this isn\u2019t always a certainty. With centralized control, there is potential for manipulation of game outcomes, opaque decision-making or even unfair banning of players. This is where blockchain can step in to dramatically enhance the trust gamers can have in the games they play.<\/p>\n Blockchain technology can enable what is known as \u201cprovable fairness.\u201d By leveraging the inherent transparency and immutability of blockchain, games can provide mathematical proof that each outcome within the game is fair and hasn\u2019t been tampered with.<\/p>\n In a blockchain-based game, the mechanics that determine outcomes (like the roll of a dice, the draw of a card, or the spawn of a loot box) can be governed by smart contracts which are open-source and visible to all. When an outcome is generated, it is recorded on the blockchain, creating a permanent, immutable record. This means that every player action, game outcome, and transaction is verifiable by the player.<\/p>\n If the rules of the game are pre-programmed into a smart contract, they cannot be changed arbitrarily. This ensures that the game rules remain consistent and transparent, and players can verify that they are not being cheated.<\/p>\n Blockchain technology is still in its early stages, and it will take time for the gaming industry to fully understand and address the existing issues \u2014\u00a0the potential for hacked wallets, crypto\u2019s volatility and potential environmental impact, the prevalence of crypto whales.<\/p>\n However, the potential benefits of blockchain gaming, such as true ownership, decentralized control, interoperability and provable fairness, offer a tantalizing glimpse of what the future of gaming could look like.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not just about \u201csaving the game\u201d \u2014 it\u2019s about shifting the paradigm to give the power back to the players. And that\u2019s a game worth playing. Still think blockchain gaming is stupid, Jake? It\u2019s okay if you do. Love, your big brother.<\/p>\n Josh Winer is an intuitive storyteller doing his part to shape the brand and product narratives at QuickNode \u2014 a leading end-to-end web3 developer platform. Previously the content lead at icy.tools, Josh has the unique ability of identifying and buying invaluable digital collectibles. When not shaping the landscape of web3 with QuickNode, Josh is deeply entrenched in the currents of blockchain, gaming, and AI \u2014 much to the immense joy of his incredible wife! <\/p>\n Get the day\u2019s top crypto news and insights delivered to your email every evening.\u00a0Subscribe to Blockworks\u2019 free newsletter<\/a>\u00a0now.<\/strong><\/p>\n Want alpha sent directly to your inbox? Get degen trade ideas, governance updates, token performance, can\u2019t-miss tweets and more from\u00a0Blockworks Research\u2019s Daily Debrief<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n Can\u2019t wait? Get our news the fastest way possible.\u00a0Join us on Telegram<\/a>\u00a0and follow us on\u00a0Google News<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s a story we\u2019ve been hearing for what seems like years now \u2014 \u201cblockchain-based gaming will onboard new Web3 users en masse.\u201d\u00a0 The promise of a gaming landscape where players truly own their characters and in-game assets, where developers can create in a decentralized, censorship-resistant environment, and where the power dynamics of the gaming industry […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":148724,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[230,225,221,227,226,228,229,60,223,224,222],"class_list":["post-148723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cryptocurrency","tag-brave","tag-coinbase","tag-crypto","tag-decentralised","tag-decentralized","tag-decentralized-exchange","tag-erc-20","tag-featured","tag-meme-coin","tag-robinhood","tag-solana"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148723"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148723\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":148726,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148723\/revisions\/148726"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/148724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Save file corruption: The Madden NFL 23 Incident, aka the big fumble<\/h3>\n
Licensing agreement expiry: The Blizzard-China shut down, aka WoW strikes again<\/h3>\n
Expanding the gaming experience<\/h2>\n
Provable fairness: A leap in gaming trust<\/h3>\n
Save game?<\/h2>\n
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