Axie Infinity is toxic for crypto gaming

Blockchain games are only four years old. It’s a toddler compared to the rest of the industry. There is a lot to be done, especially when it comes to games that you play and earn.

A 28-year veteran of the game industry. During that time, he has produced 32 titles, from Sega Genesis to Oculus Rift. some of them were great. Many were forgotten. Until Axie Infinity started taking off, we didn’t hear much about blockchain gaming from traditional developers and players. At its peak in 2021, nearly 2 million players logged into the game every day.

At the time, most people outside the cryptocurrency community were (and still are) highly skeptical about blockchain’s ability to add meaningful things to games. They see Axie as an example of low production values ​​and rampant speculation, and they want to avoid it at all costs. Additionally, they see blockchain as a continuation of publisher overreach. But in 2021, many believed that Axie would prove blockchain gaming skeptics wrong.

It wasn’t. Axie and most other crypto “games” so far have been a terrible experience. They are more like digital sharecropping, rich his NFT owner exploiting low paid players. This is shallow gameplay layered on a tokenomics model. This was most recently noted in his October when the value of his SLP token on his Axie plummeted as a result of the impending token unlock.

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Most players sell their tokens on the crypto market rather than in games. This means that the number of tokens will increase, creating a kind of crypto inflation. The game model relies on a constant influx of new players to sustain it — this month has shown that is not guaranteed.

Axie’s value is based largely on this speculation rather than on its fun. The game is literally a grind if that’s what it is. Despite attempts to use iterations like Axie Origins to separate it from its reliance on the game economy, a toxic model of over-reliance on tokennomics prevails. This continues to hinder projects that use blockchain to create fun games that enhance the player experience.

At the peak of its popularity, the team behind Axie arrogantly claimed that it “liberated” players and enabled a world where work and play merge. But the decline of the game following his massive $620 million hack of customer funds in March showed just how hollow those words are. Axie’s creator, her Sky Mavis, has shifted from a play-and-earn narrative to a play-and-earn ethos, clearly recognizing that games fail to live up to their mission.

For blockchain games to be successful, developers need to focus on great game design rather than trying to underpin tokens. Even mainstream gaming is struggling in an increasingly difficult global economic climate. However, the games that are doing well despite market sentiment are AAA titles like God of War Ragnarok and the latest Call of Duty, with exciting lore and great gameplay.

It’s important that players can spend their time creating stickers, skins, weapons, and other things that people love, while still being able to monetize them. People need an outlet where they can unleash their creativity and bring together content that generates interest and emotion, along with a gaming-loving community.

To change the perception of blockchain gaming, we need to show how it can help gamers. It goes beyond words and demonstrates in practice that it improves gameplay and utility. Blockchain can be used on the backend to allow players to truly own in-game items, prove the attribution and history of weapons and loot, and get rewarded for what they create in-game. You can do incredible things as the infrastructure of

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Part of the impetus for Vitalik Buterin to innovate with blockchain was caused by his agony in World of Warcraft when he lost his ability to cast spells overnight as a result of the game’s centralized control. rice field. Blockchain will ultimately return true ownership of in-game functionality to players. This means that the player owns them even if the game changes or goes down.

This asset ownership can span many areas. Microsoft and Sony now allow videos of in-game activity to be captured and posted to social media, but it’s unclear how it’s monetized. You are tied to YouTube monetization. Blockchain allows a player to capture in-game moments, remember them as her NFTs, and allow people to buy and sell them as they see fit. Updating the game’s infrastructure and enabling new innovations also allows for real-time integration into the creative process of players, something rarely seen in the industry.

Players want to be involved in making games. They don’t want to be manipulated into paying more. Studios must prioritize gameplay, rich graphics, and compelling narratives to engage players. A successful blockchain game will be one in which players don’t even know the blockchain is working in the background.

Deception and speculative frenzy have become central features of the broader crypto market this year. That makes getting players on board very difficult. Studios need to do more to show players that blockchain games can deliver the security, fun, and adrenaline-pumping action that define the games they love.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended, and should not be construed as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views or opinions of Cointelegraph.