Linda Xie: Where may be the real usage of blockchain in the gaming business?

Could it be reliable for blockchain to improve gameplay?

Writer: Linda Xie, co-founder of Scalar Funds, a blockchain investment institution, early item manager of Coinbase

Recently, blockchain games have grown to be a hotly discussed topic in the crypto business.

For the integration of blockchain technology into the game, someone thought of a fascinating concept: start a token in a certain game, usually called a non-fungible token (NFT), this token can serve as an integral game Items can also be used in other games. For example, the game character you use in one game or the game item item you buy can also play exactly the same role in another game, and the game item item can also be used in the same way.

However, some people in the industry are usually skeptical of this idea, because this scenario will not always require blockchain technology to improve support. Provided that game programmers do some basic settings within their game applications, they are able to achieve mutual conversation between heroes and items. However, if the idea of blockchain will be forcibly introduced involved with it, it will generate unnecessary friction and complexity.

In fact, the real usage of blockchain technology in the game industry could be: the trading market.

The trading market Steam is a very popular online game platform in the gaming circle. They will have an integral game product commodity trading system "Community Market" (neighborhood market) where players can purchase and sell game items.

There are numerous virtual commodities on this market, and the trading liquidity is quite high. Some items on the shelves may even reach hundreds of thousands or even millions. However, Steam's “Community Marketplace” will be centralized, and it'll also cost the buyer a 5% handling fee for each game product commodity transaction. They said that money is principally used to bear the platform's anti-fraud and advancement expenses, and in the foreseeable future The proportion of charges could also change. Why is the players almost all uncomfortable will be that, for example, "Team Fortress 2" (Team Fortress 2) and Dota 2 two popular games, Steam charges gamers the transaction fee rate of products as higher as 10%.

The above is a screenshot of another well-known game "Counter-Hit: Global Offensive Prisma Situation" (Counter-Hit: Global Offensive Prisma Situation) players buying and selling items.

So, will there be a way to reduce transaction fees for game items? Needless to say, there are usually, for example, a decentralized trading market based on automated intelligent contract rules, where the props and commodities traded will observe open requirements, such as for example ERC-20 and ERC-721. Because the operating effectiveness of the trading system is improved, transaction costs will also be significantly reduced .

For another example, 0x has generated a Launch Kit which allows you to start the game props commodity trading system by writing a single line of program code in a few minutes.

Needless to say, if game programmers themselves want to cost transaction charges for his or her props, they certainly have the right to continue to take action. The meaning here's that blockchain technology may bring more optimization, specifically the optimization of the trading system of centralized game props.

Let's get back to Steam, since it is a centralized system, they are able to actually place the "rules of the game" independently. Currently, Steam limits user wallet balances to $2,000, and the price tag on a single item cannot exceed $1,800. You know, their previous requirements tend to be more stringent, the user's wallet balance limit is 500 US dollars, and the price tag on a single item cannot exceed 400 US dollars. Needless to say, you can find exceptions in a few actual procedures. The transaction price of several in-game props can even reach 38,000 US dollars, such as the out-of-publishing pink sticky hook of Data 2.

In fact, there are also high-priced game props in neuro-scientific encrypted games. For example, "CryptoKitty" (CryptoKitty) had been marketed at a cost of $17,000. Similarly, the Dark Lotus cards in "Miracle: The Gathering" (Miracle: The Gathering) was furthermore sold for $166,100.

It is undeniable that some valuable items in the game do have certain market demand. But exactly due to this, under ideal conditions, the market should not artificially limit the sales volume and sales price of game props, but should stick to the market supply and demand relationship to quantitatively price.

In addition, the centralized game props commodity trading system will also bring specific risks to game developers and gamers, for example, they'll suddenly remove a certain prop commodity, or even sometimes the complete game. Needless to say, some people may think that this is not a big problem. After all, the game industry generally sells even more props to attract gamers, but this danger still exists.

The trading card game market for trading cards can improve the overall user experience and increase players' fascination with the game. A typical example may be the trading cards game (digital card games). Hearthstone is a popular trading card game, produced by Blizzard, and currently has a lot more than 100 million gamers.

Interestingly, Hearthstone didn't choose to create a trading market for game cards, which furthermore left an opportunity for other trading card games to open the market. There is also the Pokemon trading card, that may swap cards with others, giving gamers an unforgettable childhood game experience. Therefore, electronic reproduction of this "childhood" gaming experience will certainly be very popular.

Additionally, there are two trading card games: Gods Unchained and SkyWeaver, both of which allow players to trade cards openly. Take the earlier release of Gods Unchained for example, which draws on among the best lessons learned from games such as for example Hearthstone, Miracle: The Gathering Arena (MTG) and Fearia , And transform them into truly community-centric games.

The core of Gods Unchained can be an advanced blockchain-based game which allows users to freely trade and sell their cards, and own the ownership of the cards, just because they really own them in true to life, giving people a genuine The sensation of "blockchain game".

As you continue to update in the game, you should have a growing number of cards in your hands. Even players who've not purchased a deck of cards can still improve the game's default cards. When you know that the cards you have developed are precious in the real world, and you could sell or trade other cards, this sensation must be very thrilling. If Gods Unchained gamers win the game or recommend friends to become listed on the game, they can furthermore get tokens. With their tokens, they are able to buy rare items built into the game, and they can also trade freely.

Above is a screenshot of Gods Unchained game

Some things well worth paying attention to. When NFT tokens can be openly traded by purchasers and sellers in the market, a problem will surface, and players need to keep their digital possessions. Although this issue sounds complicated, people rapidly found a solution: wallets.

It could be said that the wallet abstraction solves the complex issue of gamers' custody of digital possessions. In addition to being easy to setup and use, the usage of passwords and biometric systems also improves security.

However, there's another problem: the trading of game items will have a harmful effect on gameplay.

In fact, when people concentrate on getting benefit from game items, it means that only those players who are willing to pay lots of money for items can enjoy a better game experience. Get Diablo III for example. They released an auction system a couple of years ago. Gamers can use game tokens or money to switch in-game props. However, because of the excessive impact of this system on the game, they eventually had to near it because Gamers will only choose the best loot, so the whole game is no longer interesting. In the end, every player's goal in "Diablo III" would be to get the best loot, instead of focusing on the game itself.

From this perspective, game item commodity trading will seriously affect gameplay. Therefore, game development must find a answer to the problem. For example, the “prop commodity” which can be traded doesn't have to become limited by skins or weapons. The overall game period itself Can also be traded, and so forth.

Conclusion Nowadays, you can find a growing number of games with open trading markets. For example, Cheeze Wizards will be available soon, and players can even trade the heroes in the game. Although some people are skeptical about how blockchain enhances gameplay, actually, you can test it out for first, at least to find if encryption technology can make something new.