Play-To-Earn Needs Inclusion, Not Exclusion: Introducing the Play-And-Earn Movement
The blockchain gaming standard has been going in the wrong direction. Don’t despair — there’s good news ahead
Blockchain integration is a powerful tool for games, but the industry hasn’t been using it correctly. Since around 2017, when CryptoKitties and similar projects rapidly rose to greatness and fell from grace with similar velocity, the potential of blockchain-powered experiences in gaming has fallen short of the mark, leaving a trail of abandoned games, worthless digital assets and disgruntled early adopters in its wake.
The issues we’ve seen in this industry lie largely with developers focusing on the wrong things: blockchain technology is a powerful tool to be used sparingly, not a gimmick to excite crypto enthusiasts and switch off conventional gamers. As a result of this misalignment, people don’t know how blockchain can help them and why it’s worth paying attention to. In this article, I’ll discuss the trials and tribulations of blockchain gaming so far — and how we can improve in the future.
The issues of blockchain gaming for traditional gamers
As a gamer, you may have heard of “the blockchain” or NFTs — it’s almost taboo to the unfamiliar. You may not be well-versed in what these things do, or even what any of it means, but you’re most likely aware that it has something to do with cryptocurrency (crypto). While crypto is no longer quite the taboo topic that was once associated with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, it’s still far from mainstream.
The same goes for blockchain: while some people are very familiar with technology behind cryptocurrencies — and even feel very strongly about how it can change their lives — most people aren’t. It’s true that many crypto enthusiasts aren’t fully tech-savvy either, which means that all these new technologies have created a barrier between gamers and non-gamers alike when it comes to understanding these new tools and ecosystems.
The blockchain space has been doing a poor job at explaining the value of blockchain to gamers
The blockchain & crypto space has fallen short of what it can and should do to emphasize the value of the technology to users. Blockchain is an incredible tool, but it is not a panacea. It is not a magic bullet. It does not represent a free lunch or cure-all for all problems in gaming or any other sector for that matter.
The power of blockchain lies in its ability to remove intermediaries from transactions, which in turn increases transparency and lowers costs. The technology can be used across industries as an immutable record-keeping system, but this requires careful planning from the start — there are no shortcuts!
The potential to empower gamers through on-chain events is endless, but we haven’t even scratched the surface.
Blockchain is a useful and powerful tool that can support games in many ways
Any gamer will tell you that in-game assets are worth their weight in renown and gamer-cred. With the rise of digital economies, those assets have become even more valuable, but how do we keep track of them? Blockchain technology can be used to create a secure database for all your game’s items and characters that is transparent and easily accessible for everyone.
This is what makes blockchain so useful for games: it provides an easy way to verify ownership and prevent cheating, which means you don’t have to worry about people faking their wins or messing with your economy.
I write this brokenheartedly; knowing I’ll never again see achievements or skins I gathered in games long-deceased (looking at you, Star Wars: Galaxies and Wildstar, amongst others.) Through verified and decentralized ownership, this need not be a reality for future gamers, who could permanently own rewards, skins and achievements, regardless of whether or not the servers are still online.
Blockchain developers have been trying to make games and generate NFTs without focusing on the gaming experience first
Blockchain developers, as a whole, have been focused on the technology of blockchain gaming, disregarding the enjoyment of its players. The P2E gaming industry has been so focused on the technology itself that it hasn’t considered the impact on how people play games, how enjoyable it really is or even the kind of games that would be best suited for it.
What we’re seeing now is an unfortunate side effect of this developer-centric approach: the industry is creating NFTs and blockchain-powered applications en-masse, without focusing enough attention on making sure the technology can actually be used in interesting ways within existing gaming experiences.
The only way that will change is if we start to see developers and studios take responsibility for bringing more compelling designs into our lives — this means they need to start thinking about what players want out of their games, not just what they want out of their players.
Requiring users to hold a crypto wallet just to earn in-game assets will only serve as a barrier
The necessity for crypto know-how is a big turnoff for gamers who aren’t as blockchain-savvy. At this point in time, most users don’t want to use a crypto wallet, and many don’t want to hold cryptocurrency for long periods of time — especially if they need it immediately before spending it on something else.
The onboarding process of installing and setting up crypto wallets is not an immediately user-friendly system; it’s an alien technology that’s totally new to most people, even many tech-minded gamers.
A better method: eliminate the barrier to entry. A free-to-play model that doesn’t require the immediate purchasing of tokens, or even the installation and setup of a crypto wallet, is the future of blockchain-powered experiences. Simple fiat on-ramps make paid features more accessible, and more familiar to most free-to-play gamers.
Games are hard — Making engaging ones is even harder
Making a fun, engaging game is no easy feat. To make games fun, developers have to balance multiple elements — game mechanics, story arc pacing, character motivation, level design and so on — to create an experience that’s enjoyable for players.
The main reason why many people play video games is because they are entertaining and keep us engaged in the activity for as long as possible. While this isn’t necessarily true for all types of games (such as puzzle or strategy titles), it does hold true for most titles that call themselves video games.
In order to create engaging experiences that keep players entertained throughout the course of their gameplay lifespan (that’s how long it takes to beat a single-player campaign, or to keep a player engaged long enough to explore most features of a replayable game), developers need tools that allow them to quickly prototype new ideas and iterate on existing ones with minimal effort required from development teams’ side.
Until now, the blockchain game space has largely ignored gameplay, choosing to rush development, forget about players’ needs and foster a lacklustre environment that alienates the wider gaming industry, causing people to say things like... this:
Fortunately, it’s getting better. Platforms like ours, and thankfully an increasing amount of others, are dedicated to shifting the norm and fully realizing the potential of blockchain-powered gaming.
This is where Play-and-Earn comes in. Gaming is about fun; gamers play for the experience, not to grind through unenjoyable experiences to earn tokens through gritted teeth.
At Plodding Isles, we’re putting gameplay and ownership at the forefront of our development, with a focus on creating experiences to last, not to burn you out. Earning should now and always be the bonus, not the objective.
Plodding Isles is our shared vision to bring the potential of blockchain-powered experiences to a gaming world that’s long-overdue a shift from the status quo.
The Free-to-Play format is fast becoming the mainstream in gaming, but the time and money invested by players usually amounts to little more than a few lines of code on somebody else’s server.
We believe that true ownership, tangible rewards and, above all else, quality experiences are the future of Play & Earn and gaming as a whole. We’re not there yet. That’s why we’re building it.
Eoin Coffey (Plodding Isles)
We know the future of gaming is bright, but only if we, and others, embrace blockchain correctly. This technology offers new ways to reward players and create immersive experiences that will engage more people than ever before.
We’re here for it, and we’re making it happen.
