Can 2020 become the year of self-certification for blockchain games?
We have selected 5 new games to reveal some trends in the development of blockchain games.
Author: Li Hua, This article is authorized for reposting by ChainNews, Source: ChainNews (ID: chainnewscom)
After experiencing cycles of being hyped up and questioned, 2020 may be the year of the resurgence of blockchain games.
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Resurgence has two meanings. One is that after being considered a false proposition and remaining silent for quite some time, a batch of blockchain games will be launched this year, many of which are flagship products of mainstream blockchain game companies. For example, Enjin Platform, a one-stop blockchain game development platform, has just launched on the Ethereum mainnet, followed by the decentralized platform Decentraland set to launch on the 20th.
The second meaning is that the gameplay of blockchain games is moving closer to traditional games, based on playability with the addition of blockchain, rather than the other way around. The new blockchain games include popular game types from the internet.
In this article, we have selected 5 representative games that will be launched in 2020. If the production quality of these games can meet the standards of traditional games, we can observe through comparison whether the landing path of blockchain games is feasible: Can blockchain bring meaningful improvements to games? Are these improvements attractive enough to make ordinary players choose blockchain games?
A more advanced question is: Can games become an important scene for the breakthrough of blockchain technology, and can blockchain technology lead games into a new era.
Table of Contents
- Development Team: Satoshi’s Games
The team focuses on developing LApp games on the Lightning Network. Their games are blockchain versions of retro arcade games, featuring simplicity, addictiveness, and the addition of economic incentives to gameplay. - Blockchain
Enables small, real-time payments using the Lightning Network. - Gameplay
Players can earn real assets through gaming skills. Will this make playing games a true profession? Will it bring a new industry model to the gaming industry?
Online multiplayer battle royale games have become increasingly popular in recent years, and "Lightnite" is one such game, often described as the Lightning Network version of "Fortnite."
Unlike traditional battle royale games where players lose equipment, in Lightnite, players lose Bitcoin when shot by others and earn Bitcoin when they hit others. Players can also pick up items from fallen players and find items in the game, which can be exchanged for Bitcoin. The player's Bitcoin balance updates in real time with each shot or valuable item picked up.
Lightnite is built on the Lightning Network, allowing for small, real-time Bitcoin payments within the game. The development team, Satoshi’s Games, sees Lightnite as an experiment in Bitcoin micro-payments, which could lead to wider Bitcoin adoption.
The game supports both solo and team modes and once completed, will be released on mainstream gaming platforms including Steam and PlayStation. Similar to Fortnite, Lightnite is a free-to-play game where anyone can create an account to join the game. The team's revenue comes from selling customized services for characters, such as skins. This is a profitable model as Fortnite generated $1.8 billion in revenue in 2019, continuing to dominate as the world's highest-earning game.
Another interesting aspect is that if Lightnite succeeds, it may prompt a reconsideration of the traditional gaming industry model. This means professional gamers or esports teams may no longer need to rely on sponsors and can directly earn income by playing games.
Official Website: https://lightnite.io
2. Taurion: Real-Time Strategy Game- Development Team: XAYA
XAYA is a blockchain specifically built for gaming, aiming to fully decentralize games eliminating the need for centralized servers. XAYA has issued the CHI token. - Blockchain
Uses blockchain as a server to achieve decentralized online gaming; introduces blockchain mining mechanism where gaming is mining; loot as NFT assets. - Gameplay
When NFT assets make in-game loot real assets, will it make games more realistic, challenging, and attractive? Can it lead to new game development methods and forms, such as a unified, interconnected gaming world?
"Taurion" is the flagship product of the blockchain gaming platform XAYA, falling into the real-time strategy game category and sharing similarities with classic games like "Dune II." The story is set on the Taurion planet, a harsh desert planet with unique resources.
Players need to establish bases and mine resources on the planet. Mining yields ore resources used for base development, weapon and spacecraft manufacturing, and occasionally artifacts that can be sold in the marketplace. Strategically, players can obtain resources by attacking others or focusing on trade to increase assets. The game features three factions, each with different attributes, allowing players to choose a faction to ally with for development, defense, and combat.
Unlike traditional strategy games, Taurion is also a sandbox game. Similar to the real world, land resources are limited and unique. Players explore, occupy land, and maintain dominance over their land or faction, with the planet evolving based on player actions.
Taurion is categorized as Human Mining. Human Mining is a concept by XAYA where players mine valuable tokens by playing games, essentially meaning playing games equals mining. Andrew Colosimo, one of XAYA's founders, believes Human Mining is a token distribution method comparable to mining with mining rigs, enhancing the competitiveness of blockchain games. Players earning real rewards from playing games can increase their engagement and skill levels.
Official Website: https://taurion.io
Additional Recommendation: "Tycoon Touch," a theme park simulation management game released by veteran game publisher Atari.
- Development Team: SpacePirate Games
Founded in 2016, the U.S.-based team is led by Chris Loverme, a former NASA engineer and gaming advisor for Microsoft Studios, 505 Games, and several independent game studios, bringing extensive experience to the gaming and blockchain fields. - Blockchain
Utilizes protocols and smart contracts to enable universal game asset management. - Gameplay
Assets like characters and items can be used across games. Will this bring new game development methods and forms, possibly creating a unified interconnected gaming world?
"Age of Rust" is a post-apocalyptic style first-person adventure game, similar to traditional games like "Firewatch" and "Alien: Isolation." The game boasts impressive visual effects based on released trailers.
Players find themselves in a chaotic, dark alternate universe, exploring various locations from abandoned space stations to mysterious caves and hidden bases to uncover clues, treasures, and solve puzzles. These puzzles not only aid in further exploration but also offer rewards such as a main puzzle reward of 20 BTC, ENJ asset items, and other digital asset rewards.
The game is developed by SpacePirate Games and was first released in 2016 as a text-based adventure game. To enhance gameplay, an upcoming 3D version combines puzzle-solving and combat missions. Players can complete missions solo or team up with others to share clues and help each other.
Of note, the game is developed based on the Enjin token standard and is part of the Enjin Multiverse. This allows asset sharing across games within the ecosystem, enabling cross-game use of characters, weapons, items, and more. "Age of Rust" closely collaborates with another upcoming game, "Neon District," a cyberpunk-style RPG game, potentially allowing asset cross-game usage.
Official Website: www.ageofrust.games
Additional Recommendation: "Ethernal," inspired by "MUD."
- Development Team: Animoca Brands
A Hong Kong-based mobile game development company with rights to various cartoon characters like Doraemon and Garfield. They have ventured into blockchain actions, investing in Dapper Labs, striking partnerships with Metaverse, and acquiring Pixowl, the developer of "The Sandbox," for its blockchain version development. - Blockchain
NFT collectibles. - Gameplay
Combines sports gaming with NFT collectibles, merging personal interests, gaming skills, and investments. Will this integration offer greater attraction to players and fans?
"F1 DeltaTime" is a professional racing game developed through a collaboration between F1 and Animoca Brands, considered a fusion of traditional racing games with NFT collectibles.
There are two types of race cars in the game. One is limited edition complete cars, such as the F1 official race cars and national commemorative race cars currently being auctioned. These cars possess higher overall and special attributes, like the "China Edition 2019 Azure Dragon" car, which gains additional performance boosts when racing at the Shanghai International Circuit.
The other type is assembly cars. Players can buy boxes or parts from the market to assemble their own cars, including engines, tires, and body components. Each part is an independent NFT, allowing players to sell or swap them at any time. These parts/NFTs have different attributes for various championships.
After paying the entry fee, players can participate in races and earn substantial token rewards for victories. Unlike traditional racing games that offer virtual points, these rewards are valuable tokens that can be traded or used to purchase NFT parts or cars.
For F1 DeltaTime, balancing car performance and technical impact on races is crucial. If car performance outweighs skill, gameplay may suffer, turning the game into a mere NFT collectible issuer. The importance of paid items to gameplay is a common challenge for all blockchain game developers; for example, Age of Rust explicitly states that item ownership does not affect puzzle-solving.
Lastly, F1 DeltaTime introduces a Staking feature. Players can stake NFT cars to earn token income, with rarer cars generating more tokens.
Official Website: www.f1deltatime.com
Additional Recommendation: "Battle Racer," an arcade racing game in the Decentraland world; "NBA Top Shot," a collectible game developed in collaboration with the NBA and Dapper Labs.
- Development Team: Pixowl
A globally renowned game company, known for classic games like "The Sandbox," "Peanuts: Snoopy’s Town Tale," and "Garfield: Survival of Fattest," acquired by Animoca Brands in 2018. - Blockchain
Records and accumulates the value players create in the game world. - Gameplay
Similar to "Ready Player One," sandbox games envision a grand digital world. Will blockchain enhance the creation of more dynamic virtual living spaces?
Sandbox games are among the most anticipated blockchain game genres. However, when focusing on the games themselves, they have yet to face a real test. The highly anticipated "Decentraland" was publicly released on February 20, and "The Sandbox" has just begun land sales. The Sandbox is the blockchain version of Pixowl's classic sandbox game "The Sandbox."
A standout feature in The Sandbox is the VoxEdit editor, allowing game users to create 3D objects and import them for in-game use. With blockchain technology, user-generated content is issued in the form of NFTs, representing 3D assets that users can trade on markets like OpenSea.
3D objects form the foundation for further creation in The Sandbox: users or game developers can utilize them to develop their games or even universes. Currently, 36 blockchain companies, including MakerDAO, My Crypto Heroes, and Cryptokitties, have joined The Sandbox, becoming part of this universe. The Sandbox is not just a game but a gaming space.
For user-generated content-driven games like these, user incentives are crucial. NFT-ifying content appears to be a more reasonable form of incentive closely resembling the real world, possibly explaining why sandbox games hold high expectations among blockchain gamers. To motivate users to create, The Sandbox has launched a $2 million creator fund to encourage players to create objects and games.
Sandbox games possess strong asset properties, particularly evident in land ownership. In The Sandbox, there are two types of land: privately owned by players, including land and estates, with each plot measuring 96m x 96m, enough to construct a business establishment. The other type is collectively owned by multiple players, requiring governance rules, a unique land type not seen in other sandbox games.
Official Website: www.sandbox.game
Additional Recommendation: "Cryptovoxels," a voxel-style sandbox game with a sense of freedom in a virtual world.
According to a survey by BlockchainGamer.biz in the second half of 2019, over 60% of respondents believed that the main obstacle for mainstream adoption of blockchain games remained the quality of games. Over 40% saw the advantages of using blockchain in games as enabling ownership and free trade of items. Additionally, around 20% of respondents recognized its potential for players to earn money and the possibilities it brings to game economy system design.
The initial foray into blockchain games has brought to light these issues and showcased the advantages, setting the stage for a new beginning in blockchain games. Based on these experiences, blockchain games are poised for a fresh start.
It's not just the blockchain industry watching this time; traditional gaming and related industries are also closely observing, including companies like gaming giant Ubisoft and chip manufacturer AMD.
The gaming industry sees promise in blockchain technology application in games, yet they await validation. 2020 may be a pivotal year for blockchain games to prove their worth.
This article is republished with permission from ChainNews, Source: ChainNews (ID: chainnewscom)
Further Reading
The Moment Closest to a First-Class Player! Decentraland Officially Launches, $100,000 Treasure Hunt Begins
Trading Virtual Land is Hot! NFTs on the Rise, Weekly Trading Volume Exceeds $1 Million
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