Introduction
Since the start of human civilization, people have sought ways to relax and entertain themselves. Before technology, people used sports, board games, puzzles, riddles, and other activities to fill up their leisurely hours.
With the arrival of integrated circuits and Personal Computers in the 20th Century, digital games were made into the common households, and corporations eventually introduced gaming consoles and special gaming software to capture the emerging market. 21st Century saw the introduction of blockchain technology which has also managed to upgrade the gaming industry with Web 3.0.
What is Web 3.0?
The first phase of the internet, from dial-up connections and basic networking connections, took a while to be made into a suitable consumer product. In the next phase, the internet, or the World Wide Web, has managed to enter into a golden era that is known as Web 2.0, where the users can interact with others online. Within the ten years of internet transformation from 1.0 to 2.0, the internet was able to generate considerable changes in society.
Today, the basic structure of the world has changed forever due to the presence of smartphones and personal computers with an internet connection. Furthermore, there are so many important economic, personal, and financial changes created by Web 2.0 in the last decade. However, with the arrival of blockchains, the developers are trying to upgrade the internet to 3.0, which would allow the creation of decentralized applications and software.
Web 3.0 is introducing wholly automated applications that are called DAO or decentralized autonomous organizations. It is worth noting that most applications and software today are owned and managed by private companies, and consumers have no control over their data or ownership of their assets on these programs. However, the systems like DAO can offer greater autonomy for the users that plan to use the IPv4 or Internet Protocol version 4, which is useful for data encryption and privacy.
What is Web3 Gaming?
Web3 gaming platforms have already started to emerge across the internet, with the biggest tech companies in the world placing big financial bets on these platforms. The web3 gaming industry is emerging following the success of NFTs or non-fungible tokens that allow unique ownership for the user on the digital plane.
There are arguments that Web3 is not a fully or truly community-owned or decentralized platform since they are still owned and operated by private companies. However, Web3 gaming has managed to attract some interest among blockchain enthusiasts and digital currency investors. The media hype around Web3 gaming platforms like Axie Infinity and Sandbox has managed to create considerable traction for them.
Limitations of Traditional Gaming
It is absurd to think that after less than a decade, mobile phone and PC-based gaming platforms have started to seem like antiquated technologies for the young generation. Gaming Giants like Nintendo, Sony Interactive Entertainment, and Microsoft have been trying to retain the market interest by issuing specialized gaming gadgets like a switch, X-Box, and PS. However, despite all these innovations and success stories, the traditional gaming has some limitations:
- In-Game Trades
Most of the in-game purchases in the traditional gaming platforms allow the players to make purchases with fiat currencies. While these gaming purchases can help enhance the in-game experience for the players, in the real world, these gaming assets do not have a lot of real value. Therefore, players are not able to get a lot of value out of their purchases, and they cannot use the same in-game purchases on any other gaming platform.
- Legal Ownership
Despite making purchases within the traditional games, the assets and the account of the gamer is under the ownership of the owners and issuers of the traditional game. It means that the gaming company can make any changes in the assets at their discretion. In most cases, the players do not possess real digital ownership of their purchases.
- Information Management
Traditional gaming companies host their software on privately owned servers. These gaming companies reserve the right to sell the data collected by the gamers that can be used by the advertisers to sell them products or services online. Furthermore, the assets and player information saved on these centralized servers is always subjected to security risks.
Advantages of Web3 Gaming
It is worth noting that with the emergence of disruptive technology like blockchain, the possibilities for gaming platforms have increased exponentially. The main reason that so many gaming enthusiasts are joining the Web3 gaming platforms is its underlying advantages:
- Digital Ownership
For the first time in the gaming world, the players can declare legal ownership of the in-game purchases. With Web3 and NFTs, it has become possible for a gamer to legally own upgrades, weapons, skins, passkeys, and other in-game assets as real entities.
- Real-World Value
With Web3 gaming platforms, the players can sell their in-game purchases and assets on other platforms. Since Web3 depends on blockchain technology, gamers can trade their in-game purchases and get a real value out of their digitally owned assets.
- Player Experience
Rather than forcing players to walk through a predetermined performance parameter and path to progress, the Web3 gaming platforms are much more dynamic. The players can have greater control over their gaming experience and also reap real-world rewards like earning cryptocurrencies based on their ranking in the game. These monetary rewards hold a value in the cryptocurrency trading markets.
- Server Security
Web3 gaming platforms offer greater security and backup for the gaming platforms. For traditional games, there is one or two contingent server that can go out in case of massive traffic or any other technical issues like a hack attack.
However, since Web3 games use blockchain technology, they can switch to a multitude of servers by using the consensus voting option. Furthermore, Web3 games have a smaller percentage of interference from any centralized entity.
Important Components of Web3 Gaming Platforms
Since Web3 gaming platforms offer a considerable amount of upgrades over the traditional gaming platforms, they also need some very specific and complex components that are esoteric and not widely available to the majority of the population. Here are some key components that are necessary for Web3 gaming platforms:
- dApps Library
dApps or decentralized application libraries are a crucial ingredient for cooking up an interactive and highly potent Web3 gaming platform. Without the presence of these libraries, it would be impossible for the players to interact with other blockchain projects and be able to conduct in-game asset purchases and cryptocurrency trading.
- Smart Contracts
Smart contracts are a lifeline for the Web3 gaming platforms. Without the presence of a centralized supervisor of the game, there are still some decisions that require approval. Smart contracts allow the community members to indicate their voting rights and participate in important decisions such as upgrades, protocol changes, and resolving conflicts.
- Multimedia Options
Unlike the regular gaming platforms, the Web3 game developers look to introduce open, secure, scalable, and interoperable Multimedia standards. These standards allow the players to talk, share information, conduct trades, and send media files.
- XR Hardware
Web3 games have started new customs for introducing XR Hardware. XR Hardware is used to indicate virtual and augmented reality input devices for gaming consoles. Without the presence of XR hardware like smart goggles, haptic gloves, and several other sensors, a Web3 gaming platform can lose its appeal among the players as an innovative concept.
- Digital Addresses
Without the integration and ownership of a digital wallet, a new player would not be able to join a Web3 gaming platform. On the top Web3 gaming platforms, digital wallets are made a mandatory requirement for every registration. Digital wallets also allow players to pay for joining the Web3 platform and store their in-game purchases and tokens.
- Node Generators
Node generators are another essential and integral part of a Web3 gaming platform. Without nodes, it would not be possible for dApps libraries to read and process smart contracts. The main objective of these Node generators is to allow the protocols to extract relevant information from the blockchain and deploy it without compromising the encryption.
How to Evaluate the Value of a Web3 Gaming Platform
Many players are taking an interest in Web3 gaming platforms not merely as a recreational activity but also as an investment opportunity. However, it is important to understand the qualities that warrant success for a Web3 gaming platform. The Web3 players who are planning to obtain NFTs, cryptocurrencies, and other digital assets from a Web3 platform as an investment should measure their credibility based on the following parameters:
- IPO or ICO Capital
It is important to get a background check on the issuer of the Web3 gaming platform. It is best to determine whether the platform has been issued by organizations and developers who have enough experience in the field. Additionally, it is also a good idea to look into the financial supporters of the gaming platform, which will reveal how invested the issuers are in making the gaming platform a raving success.
- Utility of Tokens
It is not enough for a native Web3 gaming currency to have a limited utility on a single platform. These tokens are sold and purchased in the real world, and the greater their use case on a multitude of platforms, the more their market value can be expected to gain traction.
- NFTs
NFTs are the main ingredient for Web3 gaming platforms that allow digital ownership features. Since most NFTs are considered artwork, they can sell on built-in and open cryptocurrency markets. Some gaming platforms allow the players to create new artwork themselves. NFTs have many types, such as work as a new Game Character, Collectible e-Card, Virtual real estate, in-game resources, passcodes, and even accessories.
- Gaming Universe
The success of a gaming platform depends heavily on the ecosystem that it offers to the players. With the increased capacity of gaming servers to store and process data, gaming companies have introduced massive universes within their software. The quality of animation, graphics, and styling of a universe can make or break a Web3 game.
- Player Feedback and Interaction
Web3 games cannot succeed if they are too complicated or lackluster for the average player. Therefore, it is important to read the experiences and reviews of the gamers who have already played the game before considering a join in.
- Ecosystem Participation
If a Web3 gaming platform does little to enable ecosystem participation based on the personally created NFTs by the players that it might not fulfill the expectations of the newcomers.
- Accessibility/F2P Component
Several Web3 gaming platforms use the F2P or Free-to-Play model like Thetan Arena, Splinterlands, and god Unchained among others. At the same time, there are some other Web3 gaming platforms like Alien Worlds, Sorare, and Axie Infinity that ask players to pay registration fees. Naturally, free-to-join games are more likely to have a greater market adoption.
- Advertisement
Web3 game developers use strategically placed advertisements in the universe to earn profits. However, some gaming universes are riddled with such hoardings and virtual real estate banners that can become annoying for the gamers enticing them to tap out.
- Liquidity/ Marketplace
It is important to measure how much liquidity and demand are available for particular Web3 gaming assets in the marketplace. Given that a Web3 digital asset does not cater to a suitable amount of liquidity, it can mean that the demand for the given token is less than ideal within the crypto community.
- Real-World Value
If a Web3 gaming token offers a higher quotient of interoperability in the real world, it can mean that more players will try to join the platform to participate. The popularity and the smart tokenomics base can create a lot of value for a Web3 game.
Genres of Web 3 Games
When it comes to Web3 gaming platforms, it has only started to gain some traction among digital currency users and blockchain aficionados. There are some tried and tested gaming genres from the traditional gaming markets that the Web3 developers are trying to build upon. However, at present, most of the Web3 Gaming platforms have limited types and modes of execution.
In the upcoming days, the market can be expected to grow with new gaming features and interactions. There are also some speculations around a possible failure of Web3 gaming on the basis that it is not a truly decentralized technology and still requires a lot of innovations and updates to get to its proclaimed level. However, the developers can provide exciting features for their consumers by offering them the following genres:
- RPG Games (Role Playing Games)
These games allow the players to impersonate their favorite characters from cartoons, movies, anime series, and other gaming avatars. Web3 developers are still largely away from introducing some of the most popular franchise and player alter egos into the gaming universe.
- MMORPG (Massively Multilayer Online Role-playing Games)
The presence of a massive universe that has been established by a famous fiction writer is one of the best ways to ensure player traction and participation. Web3 gaming platforms are not only offering to create a predefined universe but also pave the way for unexpected cross-overs and mash-ups that can make way for an interesting player experience.
- E-Sports
E-sports games are one of the most popular gaming franchises. With the help of Web3 gaming, e-sports arenas can recruit players from different parts of the world on a single team. The possibilities with the Web3 gaming e-sports platforms have the potential to transform into publically broadcast events that can attract a massive sponsorship from corporations all around the world.
- Arcade Games (coin-operated gaming machines)
Arcade games experienced a sudden halt with the arrival of mobile phones and internet gaming. However, Web3 gaming essentially revives the old tradition of Arcade Gaming Machines by offering native tokens and tradable digital assets.
- Play-to-Earn
Play-to-Earn is a unique concept that allows the players to earn rewards based on their participation and performance in a Web3 game. Therefore, most Web3 gaming platforms are using this model as their underlying player engagement strategy. The tokens hold a greater value in the real world since they are considered an investment option.
- Play-to-Own
Play-to-Own is a rather current Web3 mechanism that allows the players to gain ownership rights for NFTs, digital real estate, native tokens, and other rewards that are useful within a Web3 gaming universe and holds some value in the cryptocurrency market as well.
- Move-to-Earn
Since Web3 games are connected with XR hardware, the developers have come up with Move-to-earn gaming options and applications that allow the players to earn tokens based on the real-life movement they are making. This type of mechanism has gained appreciation from players as it allows the players to perform physical activity rather than remain glued to their computer screens for hours.
Conclusion
The Web3 gaming platforms have been around for less than five years. There is a possibility that Web3 gaming in its current state might not be able to survive in the long run. However, with continuous efforts and upgrades, certainly, Web3 gaming platforms can eventually rise again and become a multi-billion dollar industry in the future.
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