What Is Game-Fi? A Beginner’s Guide To Blockchain Games | Expedite Design
This guide brings the objective to restructure the way people think about the Gaming industry, how blockchain is part of it, how it gives ownership and more control to players, brings new global friends using decentralization, and establishes the earning habit while playing games.
GameFi allows users to earn incentives for playing games and matches players with shared interests via a peer-to-peer approach. Gamers may make new acquaintances and take part in international gaming events thanks to GameFi.
First, let’s understand the few concepts to bridge the gap between conventional games and Blockchain-based games.
Conventional Games vs Blockchain-based Games
Despite not being restricted to certain platforms like smartphones and desktop PCs, blockchain games and conventional games mostly function differently. Here are four distinctions between blockchain games and conventional video games.
The standard video games or conventional games as we have played in the past end when the player has achieved the conquest or the character ran out of lives. Where does all the data go? What happens next? It only starts over as a fresh game. In centralized gaming models, all player data, and game-related intelligence including player account information and all of the events and in-game items users acquire on their virtual journeys, is kept on servers that are entirely under the authority of the game producers or administrators.
In addition to the fact that players never actually own their own data or the in-game items, they spend countless hours earning, all of the aforementioned are also at risk of being taken or even lost forever in the event that the game developers themselves damage or shut down the servers. This means that the player itself is not controlling the events/happenings about his character. Whereas, in blockchain games, there is a strong belief in decentralization. We will discuss that in detail below.
2. Where do the accomplished game assets go?
It is indeed a milestone for players when they win hard levels, reach the finale, and end the game with an amazing victory. After winning in traditional games, the player is bestowed with all the coins, cups, new skins, diamonds, and relevant game assets. Once the game ends all the assets are gone. And while remaining in the game, the assets are accessible on that system only with no procedure of sharing or using the swags afterward.
For obsessive gamers, it would be a dream come true to keep the items even after the game stops. The rewards acquired are limited to being used in the next level or sometimes the rewards are purely visual and have no effect on the earning and gameplay. The revolutionary gaming industry known as the Blockchain or Web3.0 gaming industry has changed its concept and put a lot more into the game assets being only static assets.
3. What’s in for the next level of the game?
With traditional technology, players can not actually get info about the procedure, and activity going on behind the video game screens. It restricts the freedom of players where they can truly take a peek behind the scenes. This is a lack of transparency in the older game plays.
The trust that players and game producers have in a game is increased by this level of openness. Gamers may observe every move done by developers and other players, eliminating the need for them to wonder what is occurring in the server of a game they have spent hours playing. However, in Blockchain gaming development, games offer expandability chances for ongoing game improvement in the industry and allow a fault-free and righteous gaming ecosystem.
4. Having permanent storage to increase reliability:
Since conventional video games are centralized, there is an enormous risk of losing everything you have played so hard to obtain. The only way to save your massive win and show it to your circle is by taking a screenshot of the final screen and framing it which does not sound like a rational approach. With blockchain games, this is not the case because of decentralization, as stated earlier.
The blockchain factor in games will store all game data on the Kronoverse/FYX platform. With Kronoverse’s Twitch-like match viewer, games that have been permanently saved may be broadcasted while still allowing for game replays. This implies that you may review earlier games to learn from your failures and achievements and advance your knowledge and skills.
What is Game-Fi?
The phrase “GameFi,” which combines the terms “gaming” and “decentralized finance” (Defi), refers to the incorporation of blockchain technologies in the gaming industry for monetization and other uses. Particularly smaller publishers take advantage of the tokenization option to monetize their games. The tokens are often released as part of an Initial Coin Offering and are based on the ERC-20 standard of the Ethereum network (ICO). This helps to pay for the expenses spent during the game’s production. Players get automatic tokens from the publisher via smart contracts in return for a payment using currently available cryptocurrencies, and they may spend those tokens in the game that is subsequently created.
It blends cryptocurrency, blockchain, non-fiat currencies (NFTs), and game mechanics to provide a virtual world in which users may engage and make money. GameFi has a “play-to-earn” business strategy. This idea is around offering players cash incentives to play games and advance through the stages. Some blockchain games let players make a full-time living while they play.
Such gaming initiatives are introduced on the blockchain distributed ledger. This implies that any items players obtain are fully their property.
For instance, some blockchain games offer rewards for in-game achievements, while others let players generate income from the many assets they hold.
Game-Fi background -the revolution:
The end of 2017 saw the global growth of the pet-raising game CryptoKitties, which is built on Ethereum smart contracts. In the first seven days after its introduction, the game’s transaction volumes surpassed $1.9 million, and it was so well-liked that it clogged the Ethereum network. Due to CryptoKitties’ popularity, traditional and online gaming firms have flocked to blockchain gaming. AxiomZen, the firm that created the video game CryptoKitties, received $70 million in a Series A investment a month later. Numerous strategic, role-playing, simulation and other blockchain games have since been released.
However, the word “GameFi” publicly appeared in presentations given at China’s Wuzhen World Blockchain Conference in November 2019 by the founders of MixMarvel, a blockchain game publishing platform, about how the technology behind cryptocurrencies may transform the video game business.
Numerous blockchain games with NFTs, Defi, and other components have surfaced since June of the year 2021, under the slogan “Play to Earn.” The most notable example is the pet-game Axie Infinity, whose single-day revenue of $9.72 million quickly eclipsed that of Tencent’s well-liked mobile title “Honor of Kings” in a matter of months. Over the course of just two months, the value of its tokens AXS and SLP increased more than thrice.
Five of the top nine applications according to DApp rankings are GameFi apps. Since the summer of 2022, GameFi has had more unique users than DeFi, and as a result, it now accounts for most of all Dapp users. Game-Fi has 9.21 million weekly active users as of the beginning of December, a record number.
The two important reasons why the rise of the Game-Fi revolution happened are; The first is the freedom of trading in-game resources, which is expressed both in the freedom of trading items and the freedom of trading prices. Traditional gaming models’ transactions resemble those of planned economies to some extent.
The second element is the open pricing and trading of in-game money. Although game currencies cannot be directly monetized through official channels, it has been neglected by many experts that it is feasible to generate real money from the game currency by selling in-game objects or props for money on underground black markets. But doing so results in high transaction costs.
How does the Game-Fi system work?
The mechanics of various GameFi projects differ. In-game things often take the shape of avatars, lands, outfits, weapons, currency, tokens, and pets and are created as non-fungible digital tokens (NFTs). As a result, you can prove that any in-game stuff you buy is entirely yours.
As they play the games, users claim these things, which they can then sell for profit on NFT marketplaces or convert into well-known cryptocurrencies. Most of the time, in-game items are NFTs that operate on the blockchain and may be exchanged on NFT exchanges. However, in some circumstances, users cannot buy or sell in-game assets until they have been transformed into an NFT.
Typically, the in-game items will provide players with certain advantages so they can earn more prizes. However, some games also provide cosmetics and avatars that are entirely aesthetic and have no bearing on the game’s gameplay or revenue.
Depending on the game, players can gain prizes by completing missions, engaging in combat with other players, or constructing buildings that can be sold. Through staking or lending their in-game assets to other players, several games can allow users to earn passive revenue without actively participating in the game.
Important Features of GameFi projects:
● Play-to-earn model (P2E)
Players may earn money for achieving game objectives in several blockchain games. The native token reserve stored within a smart contract is often where the money granted in these play-to-earn games comes from.
It differs significantly from the pay-to-play business model used by conventional video games. Pay-to-play games need players to make an investment before they can begin. Video games like Call of Duty, for instance, demand that users buy licenses or recurring subscriptions.
Most of the time, gamers of traditional video games won’t see any financial gains, since the gaming industry controls and owns all of the in-game assets. P2E games, on the other hand, may give players total control over their in-game possessions while simultaneously providing them with chances to make money.
Depending on the game, players can gain prizes by completing missions, engaging in combat with other players, or constructing buildings that can be sold. Through staking or lending their in-game assets to other players, several games can allow users to earn passive revenue without actively participating in the game. Let’s look at a few of GameFi’s standard features.
● Ownership of digital assets
Because digital asset ownership is made possible by blockchain technology, gamers may earn money from their in-game assets in a variety of ways. Blockchain-based games provide this wonderful fortuity to gain any valuable item from the game forever in your ownership even after the game ends. Everything you win, gather, or buy becomes your property, and it is kept in your virtual wallet.
Players may own avatars, pets, homes, weapons, equipment, and much more, much like in video games. However, in GameFi, these assets may be produced as NFTs and issued (also known as NFT minting) as well. As a result, gamers may fully control their goods and ensure their validity and ownership.
This protects you from the possibility of losing any in-game stuff if a game crashes in the middle of a match or your account is suspended. In the event that you lose Internet access after triumphing in CryptoFights combat, for instance, you still have all of your armor and weaponry. You may still trade stuff even if your account is suspended, keeping you from being totally shut out. You can trace every transaction, from purchases to exchanges, thanks to blockchain technology.
The notion of land ownership is emphasized in certain well-known metaverse games, like Decentraland and The Sandbox. They let users earn money off of their virtual property. Gamers may buy digital plots of land in The Sandbox and develop them to make money.
● Defi integration
De-Fi items and functionalities are also offered by several GameFi initiatives. Players often risk their in-game tokens to get awards, gain access to premium products, or advance through the game’s stages.
The addition of De-Fi components can further decentralize crypto gaming. Some Game-Fi initiatives let the community take part in the decision-making process, in contrast to traditional game companies that centralized control over their game updates. Through decentralized independent groups, they can suggest and vote on the next upgrades (DAOs).
Games on the blockchain are decentralized as said, which gives users and game producers more flexibility and security. The innovative environment that blockchain game developers build gives players more freedom to play and enjoy. Due to its decentralization, blockchain games vary from conventional video games like Grand Theft Auto and FIFA. DAO in Game-Fi gives freedom to the collection of individuals working together toward a common goal or project who, through the use of tokens and the blockchain, enable their members to cast votes. Game-Fi DAO also allows the players to team up and represent as a team like e-sports and share the reward. Blockchain games let you monitor and examine every action you’ve ever performed as well as the actions of other players
Players in Decentraland, for instance, may vote on organizational and in-game rules by locking their governance tokens (MANA) in the DAO. Their voting strength increases as they lock more tokens. This makes it possible for players to interact with game designers directly and affect how the game is made.
Making Friends Around the Globe:
Millions of gamers now have the chance to mix their gaming with partnerships. New resources are provided to developers for marketing and reimbursing NFTs and games. The selling of unique skins, things, and characteristics also bring in money for the investors.
As the gaming business becomes increasingly well-known every day, more influential players are joining forces with several top-tier GameFi and NFT initiatives to provide new, lucrative possibilities and features for the whole network.
This is bridging the gap between the global network and compiling a huge set of players into friend zones. People meet and greet at the GameFi events, and realize that they have met their virtual opponents, friends, and allies.
Following are some of the multiplayer games that let people compete, play, and fight in groups against other teams and earn a mutual reward, these made it huge into the industry:
· MMO RPGs
MMORPGs stand for massively multiplayer online role-playing games. These games provide players the chance to trade, strategize, explore, earn gold, craft, and even compete within a network pool of other players and teams.
· Battle Royale
It hit the news not very long ago that “The Next War Launches the First Blockchain-Based Battle Royale Style GameFi”. This is a great turn for all the Royale fans that they will now be joining the futuristic tech within their favorite game.
· Arcade
The Web3 arcade has a 5-step rule. 1. Stake 2. KYC 3. Apply whitelist 4. Buy 5. Claim and that is it. The players can play any game from the arcade using Multiplayer or solo mode abiding by these guides.
Final Note:
GameFi is projected to continue expanding quickly as blockchain technology continues to advance. It is incredibly well-liked, particularly in underdeveloped nations, because it allows users to buy stuff in games and profit from them.
It’s simple to understand how GameFi attracts gamers by providing both entertaining and monetary effects. It is expected that as blockchain games gain popularity, more and more significant businesses will begin to develop the metaverse. However, initiatives like Axie Infinity, Illuvium, and LOCGame will pave the path for the gaming generation by creating the subsequent ecosystems that will enable this market to reach its full potential. As we approach 2023, their creative fusion of NFT, Defi, and traditional gaming mechanics has established GameFi as a leader in this market.
Originally published at https://expeditedesign.com on August 11, 2022.
