Even though there are still a lot of (very loud) opponents, blockchain-based gaming has grown a lot in the last few years. In 2018, millions of individuals joined Web3 without their knowledge. This massive enrollment was made possible by Axie Infinity, a pay-to-earn (P2E) video game that allows players to earn actual money. Blockchain gaming use surged 2,000 percent from 2021 to 2022, drawing many professional Web2 game creators and executives. However, why? What makes Web3 game development so alluring? We asked Web3 developers who made the transition from conventional gaming.

The gaming subculture

Decentralization is one of the fundamental principles of Web3 game development. Two implications follow for developers: 1) They must organize their labor such that there is always something fresh to share with their community in updates. 2) They must be receptive to community feedback on future adjustments and implemented improvements. In other words, the community should actively influence the direction of growth. Don Norbury is in charge of the studio making Shrapnel, a Web3 triple-A game coming out soon. He has worked on games like Bioshock Infinite, Madden NFL, and Sunset Overdrive that helped define their genres. In an interview, he talked candidly about the challenges and rewards of Web3 game production.

Norbury agreed that the fact that blockchain-based games are run by the community and are decentralized makes content developers’ jobs harder. From a development point of view, he says that Web3 gaming forces his team to “be more honest and turn things around to the community faster,” which is “harrowing” for people who are used to traditional game design. Even though Bioshock Infinite was very well received upon release, Norbury and the rest of the crew had no way of predicting the reception at the time. They lacked knowledge.

Also read; Top 10 In-Demand Non-Tech Web3 Jobs

The whole procedure is flipped in Web 3. White papers are put out before the release of Shrapnel and most other Web3 games. These white papers are neither promotional items nor promotional materials. They provide essential information on the motivation behind a project’s establishment, its usefulness, tokenization techniques, mechanics, etc. Before committing their time, money, and energy to a project, consumers may make a fully educated choice based on these reports.

This is important because it lets developers get early feedback on their ideas and make any necessary changes. This informs the game designers that they are on the correct path. Norbury, on the other hand, says that the people who make Web3 games do more than listen to community feedback and make changes to the game. Instead, they let the community change the game.

Retracing their origins

Norbury got the first taste of his future job through modding, an old tradition in the gaming community. “Many started businesses in the late 1990s and early 2000s by creating modifications.” “It was Neverwinter Nights for me,” he stated. Modding is the process of replacing game material with user-created content. According to GPU maker Nvidia, modding began in the early 1980s when users modified Castle Wolfenstein by replacing Nazi enemies with smurfs.

“Hands down the best trailer in Web 3.”@real_n3o and @realfrankwilder giving love to the @playSHRAPNEL gameplay trailer and this breakdown from studio head @DonNorbury pic.twitter.com/c6U6OrGy22

— West Wilder (@westmediaco) November 9, 2022

Ten years later, Nvidia fully embraced modding by making tools that let gamers change the 1993 game Doom. Such initiatives pushed aspiring game creators to attempt to create something. Today, Web3 game creators strive to provide gamers with a comparable experience. Users of Shrapnel will have access to all the tools they need to make anything, including in-game cosmetics, maps, and games.

It is what gamers want.

Web3 makes sense for game creators and executives responsible for guiding projects properly. Why? Because Web3 has shown immense promise in addressing some of the most pressing issues afflicting the traditional game business, specifically, the object of ownership.

In esports games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Dota 2, players often spend thousands of hours perfecting their skills and dollars on in-game cosmetics, battle passes, and other materials. Notably, these digital assets do not give participants a return on investment. In actuality, gamers often do not own the digital objects they purchase. They are just obtaining a license from the game creator. Rubinelli added, “They want to purchase and sell their in-game assets or accounts.” However, most gamers can no longer do so freely. “Selling [your in-game items] is against the terms of service and the end user licensing agreement.” Indeed, this is the truth.” It states, “You may not sell this to anybody else anywhere.” “We will block and permanently ban you if you do, regardless of how much you paid.”

Rubinelli stated that using Web3 game development; he can “create an experience where the economy functions as a participation model for the players and the developer gets to clip the ticket on the items sold [from player to player].” “This paradigm is where the world wants to go.” Rubinelli says that player-to-player transactions are important because players want to sell and trade their in-game items. Want proof? Grey markets have sprung up for titles such as Team Fortress 2, Diablo 3, and Dota 2. These helped establish the foundation for the present NFT industry.

Games that have blockchain built in are truly unique because they eliminate the need for gray markets in the first place. Players could buy and sell items directly with one another, just like when we were kids and traded real games and memorabilia. But even though Web3 could be the first to do this, there is still a problem: no one has figured out how to make Web3 games popular with the general public.

A story of two businesses

Rubinelli asserts that for most Web2 games to convert into Web3 games, game producers must be more specific about what they are doing and what they expect to accomplish. “They are coming, and at some point they will arrive in droves.” “First, though, a North Star must be established,” he stated.

Regarding Web3 gaming, developers still determine what works and what doesn’t. But suppose the fictitious “North Star of Web3 Gaming” appears shortly and recruits millions more players. Will Web3 dominate the whole game industry?

“When you consider works like God of War: Ragnarok or The Last of Us, you see the work of an auteur who develops material in a very distinct environment.” And it would be best if you had it. It would be best if you had someone who is obsessive-compulsive and obsessed with their degree of concentration and excellence. Norbury said there is no way to expose people to this procedure. In other words, the fact that the community makes Web3 games differs from how the most popular games were made before. The change will need time. However, substantial societal transformations usually take time.