Getting Gamers On Board With Web3
Gamers hate NFTs and crypto in general. There’s no way around it. Many gamers don’t like to pay for in-game assets in the first place, as much as they end up doing so. And when you open up the Pandora’s Box of NFT gaming, the negativity quickly turns into a cacophony of full-blown abhorrence.
People even write articles like this cheering on the haters.
But Web3 gaming projects attracted $739 million in investment according to a new report from DappRadar and the Blockchain Games Alliance in 2023. About 60% of these funds — $434 million — were raised in March 2023 alone. So Web3 gaming doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere, despite the deafening and often obscene squawking against it.
Secret Network is releasing new tools (and has some currently available ones) to make Web3 gaming better for devs and gamers alike. Let’s take a look at some of the gripes gamers have and how Secret Network’s tools like on-chain VRF, Walletless APIs and old school Secret NFT native privacy can enhance Web3 gaming in a valuable and effective way.
But NFTs and Web3 Games Are A Scam!
Let’s just preface by saying scammers are gonna scam, wherever the money is. It’s not a Web3 exclusive issue. And with the heaps of regulation that many gaming companies are required to adhere to, it’s going to become much less of an issue.
The whole draw regarding NFTs in gaming is that you actually own your in-game assets. This is in contrast to traditional games where you pay to get to use the assets in the game without owning them.
In traditional games, you usually buy cosmetics (skins, different outfits, etc) or even characters depending on the game. But these in-game assets are centralized and bound to your account. You can’t sell your Web2 gaming account (legally, anyway).
In Web3 games you could get those skins/characters as NFTs. If you don’t want to play the game anymore, you can sell your collection. Or if you like the game, and you want another skin but have no use for the old one, you can sell that as well.
Even if the in-game asset goes down in value after you purchase it because of coin price drops or other external factors, if you like the game, it’s worth it for you to own your assets.
And if you own an NFT that’s a file with interoperability specs as those we intend to create on the Legendao Universe platform, you can download them and use them wherever you can.
The argument about whether or not having property rights to an in-game asset is something of value or worth even pursuing is not within the scope of this article. But the question begs to be asked: “If you could own it, why wouldn’t you want to?”
Web3 Games Suck
GameFi models are built on the play-to-earn (P2E) concept. Most of them are admittedly awful and only serve to make the OG holders wealthy via pyramid schemes of engagement while doling out pennies to hopeful noobs. On the other hand, gamers who game for the game’s sake will certainly pay for a game if the content’s good enough.
One of the most valid criticisms gamers levy at Web3 games is that their gameplay mechanics are boring, life-draining, lame, stupid and just plain annoying because players are only there to grind and make the money.
It’s a shame because chances are the games these people are complaining about aren’t even really Web3 games at all.
Currently, most, if not all, Web3 games are simply Web2 games with an additional layer of Web3 built upon them for asset-owning and other superficial elements of the gaming experience.
Secret Network is a whole other ballgame. SN tools create a better Web3 suite for devs because it allows the game experience to be played out on the blockchain. With Secret PaaS APIs and tools, devs don’t have to rely on off-chain data storage, randomness oracles or custodial onboarding wallets.
Integrating Secret Network PaaS APIs and tools into the Web3 gaming ecosystem is going to be…er… a real gamechanger.
Secret VRF is a privacy-preserving and tamper-resistant random number generator. It’s so useful and so flexible on many different levels.
Games need a reliable random number generation mechanism to prevent biases or manipulation that lead to unfair advantages for certain players. Secret VRF deals with this effectively because it’s an unbiased source of randomness. Every player has an equal chance of winning with Secret VRF. For example, in a multiplayer battle game, Secret VRF can determine critical hit chances or loot drops that are impossible to manipulate by blockchain analysis. By privately ensuring the randomness of loot drops, rewards, or supply drops, Secret VRF prevents cheaters from exploiting the system.
Secret VRF is a tool whose use is really only limited by the dev team’s imagination. It’s a great way to code exciting and unpredictable in-game events. Say you have an RPG like Legendao. Secret VRF can determine when the player will encounter a rare quest, engage in combat or have something crazy happen within the game like an earthquake or a rabid demon devouring the very ground he stands on. This dynamic keeps players engaged and motivates them to stick around. And devs can also use VRF to code novel game elements that adapt to players’ actions or change the game environment completely, per VRF random whim.
TLDR: A dev who can use Secret VRF creatively and effectively will destroy any concept held that Web3 gaming intrinsically sucks.
Walletless API — Solving for Onboarding Issues
The onboarding process for Web3 games can be a convoluted and painful experience that many gamers feel isn’t worth the time or effort. Secret Network is coding a Walletless API in answer to this daunting need where devs can integrate the API to onboard gamers who aren’t even into crypto in the first place. This opens up their prospective user base exponentially. There’s also the plus that devs who use the Walletless API aren’t broadcasting the fact that they’re a Web3 game to the world. This means that gamers will judge the game based on its quality alone and give it a chance, which they might not want to do when they know a game is Web3-based from the get-go.
Secret NFTs — Customized Privacy for Web3 Gaming
Want to learn all about Secret Gaming, more reasons why privacy matters for blockchain games, and what you can build on Secret that can’t be built elsewhere? Check out the Secret Network article here.
In Conclusion
Gamers certainly have legit complaints about Web3 gaming. But Secret Network’s tools, either those available now like Secret NFTs & Secret VRF or those currently being developed like the Walletless API are solving these issues with a whole suite of Privacy-as-a-Service tools.
Devs who use Secret Network technology have the power to make Web3 gaming a serious contender for the gamers who currently despise it.
There is so much money and talent focusing on Web3 gaming right now. Things are going to change and games will be built that compete with even the AAAs of the traditional gaming industry. It’s only a matter of time. With Secret Network, devs can deliver gameplay that keeps gamers coming back because the tools themselves enhance the gameplay mechanics on an intrinsic level.
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Let us know in the comments.
Legendao is an independent project under SCRT Labs auspices.
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