Blockchain Gaming Adoption Means More Choices For Gamers

In recent years, games using blockchain technology have increased their presence in the gaming industry.

There were early examples like CryptoKitties, which launched in 2017, but the trend is really gaining momentum, with major game studios exploring the technology.

At the beginning of 2022, the market cap of blockchain games will be around $25 billion, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to go down any time soon, even at the bottom of a bear market. According to his DappRadar, an analytics service, his two most stable areas in the cryptocurrency market this year are blockchain games and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which have recently become very closely intertwined and ushered in a new economic phenomenon. is producing.

A striking example here is the famous game Axie Infinity, whose token price surpassed $150 last fall, bringing over $9 billion in capital to the project. During the same period, his daily viewership for the game approached his 2 million.

In December 2021, when Bitcoin (BTC) started to fall from its all-time high, so did the Axie Infinity (AXS) token, but Axie Infinity still had an audience of around 3 million viewers per day. increased, and trading activity on its network quadrupled.

There are objective reasons for such dynamics. First, most blockchain games use browsers and the creator uses his HTML5 and WebGL technology, which radically expands the possibilities of developing browser games. Such games have rebuilt browsers, while simultaneously providing the ability to connect crypto wallets and extract NFTs to external markets without regulatory restrictions.

Second, blockchain gaming itself has no competition, as the traditional PC gaming industry still calls blockchain an incomprehensible or even “toxic” space. This gives smaller studios that are not yet capable of creating large-scale game franchises a big head start in development. The ability to launch an in-game economy quickly allows developers to quickly fund the continued development of their game worlds without incurring debt or blowing up working capital.

Finally, blockchain games are primarily about income, as blockchain-based games allow players to earn money just by playing. By completing tasks and spending time in the game, users receive tokens that can be invested or converted into real money.

which genre to choose

Like traditional PC games, blockchain games cater for all tastes. They have many common features. It works from a browser or mobile app, has simple controls and a user-friendly interface that even beginners can handle.

Blockchain games are related to many different genres, but they all have one thing in common. It is developed using smart contracts. In other words, it gives you the opportunity to receive valuable virtual assets. Therefore, all games are play-to-ween (P2E) games, regardless of their visual component or story. Genres of such games include action, strategy, online multiplayer arena, sandbox, etc., but it is possible to define the most popular games.

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) typically have a dynamic reward system in which players earn tokens by completing in-game tasks. Tokens are used to upgrade your character to gain an advantage over your opponent in the form of a fortified arsenal or character ability development. The most popular games in this genre are CryptoBlades, My Crypto Heroes and of course Axie Infinity.

When pocket monsters and endless battles seem boring, gamers can turn their attention to collectible card games. Such games use NFT systems to make digital cards look like real collectibles. Players must strategically defeat their opponents by building decks to counter different tactics, and cards can be bought, sold, or traded just like real cards. Some of the most popular card games include Splinterlands, Gods Unchained and Sorare.

Another interesting genre is “x-to-earn”, that is, doing something to earn money instead of just “playing” a game. The “X-to-earn” concept was first proposed by Ben Schecter, Head of Operations at RabbitHole. RabbitHole is a platform that rewards users for learning about crypto. The “X” in this equation is your daily activity, such as eating, exercising, sleeping, shopping, or studying. “Earn” is the financial gain that you get as a result of performing these specific actions.

In blockchain games, the concept of “x-to-earn” was mainly developed in the form of move-to-earn. In the example of the famous STEPN game, users are rewarded for playing sports and exercising. The main way to earn money in the English learning game Let Me Speak is to buy an NFT avatar and start learning English with the app. Every few minutes, players instantly receive tokens for their progress.

The most ambitious and large-scale projects are AAA games, or games developed by big publishers, which require a lot of time, a lot of resources, and a lot of money to develop. Such games are designed not only to attract players with the opportunity to earn money, but simply to enjoy the gameplay. The combination of authentic AAA gameplay and stunning graphics sets it apart from the rest. The best example of a AAA game today is Illuvium, developed since 2020 and released this year. According to CoinMarketCap, Illuvium’s “ILV” token is currently trading at around $60, giving him a market capitalization of $560 million.

Related: Is Illuvium the First Fun Crypto RPG Video Game?

Footprint Analytics Content Operations Specialist Lesley Fung believes AAA gaming is the future of GameFi.

“Some AAA games combine experienced teams with delicate production. It has potential resources.GameFi’s narrative is that current games lack quality and tokennomics are unsustainable.However, if AAA games come along, GameFi will grow after the bear market. will be brought to the masses and many of the current problems will be solved.”

According to Footprint Analytics, a company dedicated to discovering and visualizing blockchain data, the most popular blockchain game genre in the first nine months of 2022 will be card games such as Splinterland, while x-to I left the -earn and AAA games behind.

As such, the gaming space is enriched with a variety of blockchain games for every taste. Here we’ve picked a few unique games from each genre.

nine chronicles

Nine Chronicles is an Idle MMORPG developed by Planetarium in partnership with Ubisoft. The client runs on the Unity engine and the backend is entirely on the blockchain.

Robert Hoogendoorn, head of content at DappRadar, told Cointelegraph:

“It’s really hard to point out when we’re talking about gameplay. However, on a technical level, Nine Chronicles is very unique. It relies on the chain ecosystem, but Nine Chronicles works on its own custom blockchain.”

Furthermore, it is impossible for gamers to cheat as the entire set of game rules resides on the blockchain. Each player can manage nodes and participate in network maintenance. Therefore, updating the game requires all users to update their nodes as well.

The game focuses on crafting, requiring players to constantly loot and create more powerful equipment in player versus environment (PvE) in order to develop their character.

All battles are resolved automatically, and victory is determined by the player’s equipment level, its elements, and the randomness of hits. Players can win or lose using the same equipment.

In March 2022, developers made global changes to gameplay, introducing gear level restrictions.

Solitaire Blitz

In the card game genre, the fantasy game Splinterlands is very popular. But what if gamers want to play classic card games on the blockchain?

One of the most widely played card games of all time was classic solitaire. Perhaps that’s why the developers of Solitaire Blitz took this game as the basis for their project, and it is now enjoyed by quite a few active players. This is a standard solitaire card game built on the Flow blockchain. The game features an engaging, seamless and fairly simple gameplay.

In Solitaire Blitz, players are matched against players of similar rank. The player with the most points wins the game. A skill-based matchmaking system with a unique algorithm ensures fair competition. Solitaire Blitz is a mobile game available for download from Google Play or the iOS App Store.

XCAD network

When we think of the x earning genre, the first thing that comes to mind is the image of a hand earning game, but this genre is not limited to movement. One of the most intuitive variations of x-to-earn is watch-to-earn. This is a model where players can earn tokens by watching videos.

At the moment, the watch-to-earn industry is operated by the XCAD network project. It’s not a game, it’s a platform where YouTube content creators can create Fan Tokens and release their NFTs, opening up new sources of monetization and ways to attract fans. Fans themselves earn Fan Tokens by watching content from their favorite bloggers.

The XCAD Network differs from other x-to-earn projects in that the reward amount is directly correlated with user activity.Total number of subscribers for all bloggers work XCAD Network already has over 260 million.

Another unique feature of the project is that users do not need to see what the platform has to offer on the XCAD network. Instead, just install the XCAD plugin and watch the same video as before. Also, since the platform is built on the Zilliqa blockchain, users do not face minimum withdrawal amounts.

MIR4

MIR4 is a AAA game that hit the cryptocurrency gaming market in August 2021 and has been a success on both mobile platforms and Steam, the largest online store for computer games.

The most important feature of this game is partial automation. Auto-battle, auto-gathering of game resources, and auto-completion of tasks partially replace manual gameplay suitable for players who don’t have enough time.

The storyline continues with the Legend of MIR3 PC game, which closed in February 2012. The player assumes the role of an archmage’s apprentice who protects the princess, and the main attraction of the game is to upgrade everything and mine hundreds of components and resources. .

The game interface is very attractive and the game world is vast. The game store has a wide variety of items such as leveling boosters, currency, scrolls, power-up stones, and more.

As a mobile game, MIR4 is very beautiful. Of course, for players who are not familiar with such projects, the screen seems too crowded with information and inscriptions, but everything is compactly put together. The models of characters and monsters are very detailed.

Interestingly, the developers officially allow 4 windows to play. One is Steam, two are official game clients and one is phone. Please note that the Steam version is not associated with cryptocurrencies and money withdrawals, according to the terms of the platform.

The controls are better on the PC version, but the graphics are much better on the mobile version.

The game is filled with “dark steel” when it comes to making real money in the game. This is a resource that can be exchanged for his DRACO tokens after level 40. This metal is required for crafting and upgrading. The rate varies, but roughly corresponds to the value of 100,000 Dark Steel for 1 DRACO. Tokens can be converted into fiat currency and transferred to bank cards.

Trading in the in-game market also starts at level 40. Goods and resources are exchanged for gold coins, which can later be exchanged for Darksteel to convert into his DRACO.

MIR4 has great graphics, animations, special effects, dynamic combat and beautiful characters. It’s cross-platform, automation, branching development system, and attractive for many tasks.

The views and opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com.