Heed the Warning: The Blockchain Games Are Coming: Experienced Games

I thought we turned a corner on this towards the end of the pandemic. Years ago, when the Non-Fungible Token (NFT) craze hit, the immediate and almost universal backlash occurred when we realized exactly what the gambit really was. That did not prevent companies from seeing the potential in this concept, and going full speed ahead with their projects.

After almost three years of constant back and forth, crashing of the crypto markets, and complete disdain for the market as a whole; the games are still released. While it may seem inevitable, there are tons of amazing people calling these games what they are, and if you haven’t been paying attention, it’s time to start, because as the landscape has changed with microtransactions, companies will find ways to sneak these concepts into your games without understanding the playbook.

Understanding the Gambit

I’m not going to explain what or how the entire breadth of the crypto and blockchain market works. There are more qualified people out there to discuss the full nature of its existence (if you want to call it that). Dan “Folding Ideas” Olson is a YouTube media personality whose videos tend to examine some of the more interesting and thoughtful concepts behind a wide range of topics such as pop culture and game design.

In a video of his that was released last year, Dan discusses in a three-hour video how the entire crypto market works, what it’s destroying, and how the whole concept behind NFTs, Crypto and Blockchain technology is a complete farce. It is the most comprehensive video out there, and if you want to learn more about the inner workings, I suggest you watch the video.

You don’t need to see his epic to understand the full validity of what I’m about to say, but it’s good if you’re familiar with it, and that’s because this is technology that could change the future of our medium. It’s presented as a net gain for users, but it all resembles the lootbox craze and “buy new to get in-game content” of this generation; a huge trend in gaming where companies attempt to optimize profits by offering a minimum for players with little or no effort on their behalf.

Applications in practice

To summarize the ideology behind these Blockchain games comes in three parts with only two of them really fleshed out. Earnings and trading appear to be the “working” parts of this system, while the third “universal” concept has yet to be proven to work on any level, because it will never work, just like the managers who oversee these systems.

A BC game allows you to play and earn gear that is unique to you. Maybe you have a green hat that gives you a bonus to some aspect of your character, which will make it desirable in the game. The game only offers a certain amount of these items to create a level of scarcity, and puts a good price on the table when you engage in the second part: trading.

Here’s how the system works: you can find a unique item in the game and then sell it on the market for whatever you want in the currency the game uses. Usually, these currencies are linked to various crypto markets. If you have a minigun that is red and increases your dexterity, but it doesn’t match your outfit, you can sell it and maybe get the blue one that matches for a certain amount of currency. It’s like frugality to shop in a shop that only accepts nails, it’s strange, but the shop owner just hopes you start biting your fingers. Think auction house Diablo III, but incredibly worse and filled with more venture capitalist tech bros than demons from hell. Hell, Diablo may be evil, but not as evil as the people who openly promote subscriptions to previously free services.

Then we have the third part with is the universal concept of bringing the item from one game to the next thanks to the blockchain technology. The problem is – that’s not how game development works like Linkin’ Park’s Mike Shinoda once thought before he was educated on the concept. Simply put, every game connected to the blockchain must include every variable and design feature that is in every game, making it impossible for any game to have everything. Imagine having to load a game that requires millions of the same resource just because the color was different? How about taking a jetpack from one game and transferring it to another that doesn’t have the means to handle that concept? It doesn’t work on any level.

The truth is that these games are not meant to function as something meaningful to the player. It’s designed to create shareholder value and addiction which most games these days already have, but I digress. The problem we face is how these games are now starting to rise, and there is a high possibility that you could end up playing one without knowing it. They even sport designs reminiscent of other popular titles.

Upcoming releases

Take Moonfrost for example. This free-to-play farming sim role-playing game looks and feels like Stardew Valley, a hugely popular title that still gets massive amounts of support to this day and is available on pretty much every platform, including mobile. The only difference is how Moonfrost has digital collectibles as a selling point, which may seem innocent enough, and that’s because it’s trying to be innocent. Developers Oxalias don’t want you to know it’s a blockchain game, so it uses other terms to hide the language.

Diving further into Oxalis and Moonfrost brought me to a thin landing page with three menu options: Games, Contact and Investors. When “investors” seem to be a main focus of your game, I can’t say I have faith in what’s being delivered, especially when you see who’s involved, which includes Griffin Gaming Partners, Animoca Brands, Pantera (not the band) ), and Supercell best known for Clash of Clans and Clash Royale.

If you are not familiar with any of these games, they happen to be using various tactics designed to take your money for very little return. Aside from King, Supercell is certainly one of the biggest titans in the mobile gaming industry, claiming to have earned $666 million USD annually in 2022. That’s an insane amount of money for a mobile game that can easily measure up close. to how much the banks earn from annual fees.

The profits that Supercell makes shouldn’t scare you as much as the sheer volume of videos and articles asking the question, “Is Clash of Clans addictive?” and my personal favorite “10 Signs You’re Addicted to Clash of Clans,” which is funny because I’ve seen that poster in my doctor’s office right next to “7 Ways World of Warcraft Causes UTIs.”

From Indie to Major Corporation

It doesn’t end there, as Square-Enix has been quite open with their own investment plans by releasing NFT and Blockchain games by the end of 2023 or early 2024. This also comes after Ubisoft has not implemented NFTs properly way in Ghost Recon Breakpoint, which if you ask me, is the worst game you can implement NFTs in. With the money poured into that project, Ubisoft could have just made another Rayman game, something people want but didn’t do because it won’t give them the return on investment they’re looking for, and that’s the sad part of it all. this.

Companies have no problem taking risks when there is a potential high profit margin and knowing this makes the forefront of game development a little scary. Sure, it won’t happen right away, but if one company can pull it off, it won’t stop others from trying to do something similar.

Even right now, Sony has embraced the idea of ​​”digital collectibles” for PlayStation fans, giving them something visually appealing alongside the already available Trophy system. Rumor has it that Microsoft is looking at something quite similar, and it doesn’t surprise me as they have also been keen supporters of Mark Zuckerberg’s Metaverse project; another equally ambitious but unappealing concept.

At PAX 2022 I was introduced to an NFT game. It had a lot of features that people would find fun, but it was based on an original IP that no one wanted to jump into. If it were to be applied to something like Pokémon, one of the biggest franchises in the world, it could be a force to expect. Apologists will create reasons to play the game over not engaging in it, as we have seen countless times, there is nothing weaker than a game boycott.

How to stop this

So what are we doing here? We are now going to see more of these games appear and there is very little we can do to prevent it except to call these titles out and educate people about how bad these games are. It won’t stop everyone, but it might be enough to balance the results in our favor. There is another hope, and that is the utter confusion of how crypto and blockchain technology work.

In some cases, you need to take your real money and buy coins to put in a wallet. Sometimes you need to convert one coin to another, and while this technology may be easy for the tech-savvy, it can be confusing for the target audience who may find that jumping through hoops just to enjoy a game to be too big. After consulting with one company, I can tell you wholeheartedly that utility and barrier to entry are not considerations for them.

While the future of gaming looks bright, it is this storm that we must navigate carefully because it is no longer the small and forgettable companies that emerge. Game monetization is already a hot topic, but if a major publisher with ties to companies that have no problem investing millions with any level of expected success, you can bet your coins that others will follow suit.