The creator of my favourite game from the last 10 years, Terraria, has just gone on-record to state his interest in using NFTs/crypto in future projects. One of those projects potentially being Terraria 2, currently in development.
My view on crypto is very, very negative, but that's a different thread.
The arguments often given for crypto being a "killer feature" in gaming, is allowing people to "own" the in-game items, and trade them.
Firstly, trading in-game items is not a new thing. We've had auction houses for years, and Steam and other platforms let you trade in-game items.
The argument then states that you can continue trading these items even if the game gets shut down. Well, erm, great? What use is your "Sword of Poking +1" if the game it featured in is no more, and all you have is a digital token saying that you own it?
Then people said, "You can transfer your items to other games!" So you're telling me, that a game dev wants to let you use your items from another game, because....? Because they don't want you to have to grind that item again? Or pay for it again, in the new game they just released and want to make a profit on? So they'll support you re-using your items from other games because....?
Second, we have a whole new class of games called "play-to-earn" where you get crypto "rewards" for playing. Which is exactly what gamers want. Blur the lines between gaming and work. It's often more like work because from reviews these games are often un-apologetically awful. Their whole thing is that you get (some form of) reward with a $ value from playing some hot garbage.
I can only think that everything to do with NFTs and crypto in games is a disaster, which will have no positive benefits and potentially plenty of negative consequences.
The fact that Ubisoft and EA are jumping into crypto with both feet means it's virtually guaranteed to be bad for gamers.
How do you see this playing out? Short-lived fad, or is crypto in games going to "revolutionise" gaming in the future. And if so, how is it going to improve on what we've got?
My view on crypto is very, very negative, but that's a different thread.
The arguments often given for crypto being a "killer feature" in gaming, is allowing people to "own" the in-game items, and trade them.
Firstly, trading in-game items is not a new thing. We've had auction houses for years, and Steam and other platforms let you trade in-game items.
The argument then states that you can continue trading these items even if the game gets shut down. Well, erm, great? What use is your "Sword of Poking +1" if the game it featured in is no more, and all you have is a digital token saying that you own it?
Then people said, "You can transfer your items to other games!" So you're telling me, that a game dev wants to let you use your items from another game, because....? Because they don't want you to have to grind that item again? Or pay for it again, in the new game they just released and want to make a profit on? So they'll support you re-using your items from other games because....?
Second, we have a whole new class of games called "play-to-earn" where you get crypto "rewards" for playing. Which is exactly what gamers want. Blur the lines between gaming and work. It's often more like work because from reviews these games are often un-apologetically awful. Their whole thing is that you get (some form of) reward with a $ value from playing some hot garbage.
I can only think that everything to do with NFTs and crypto in games is a disaster, which will have no positive benefits and potentially plenty of negative consequences.
The fact that Ubisoft and EA are jumping into crypto with both feet means it's virtually guaranteed to be bad for gamers.
How do you see this playing out? Short-lived fad, or is crypto in games going to "revolutionise" gaming in the future. And if so, how is it going to improve on what we've got?
