Paintchain: A Creative Game to Teach People About Blockchain Technology
Hypothesis: If people understand blockchain technology better they will be more likely to engage with and adopt the technology thus enjoying the advantages it offers. Additionally, a game is a compelling and unintimidating way for people to learn.
Experimental variables:
- Players change in knowledge about blockchain after playing
- Player’s change in interest in and engagement with blockchain technology (investment in cryptocurrency, exploration of dapps, etc.) following playing the game
I will try to asses these changes speaking with players before they play the game as well as immediately after and a week or two later.
Prototype: The prototype I made to test these results is a game called Paintchain. Painchain is a creative non-competitive game where players paint a collective canvas. Players also mine (simulating the mechanics of proof of work) and create a blockchain record of changes to the canvas. For mining players are rewarded with “paintcoins” that are exchanged for the ability to change 100 pixels on the canvas. Specifically the prototype focuses on a walkthrough of the onboarding of the game.
