Pixels is a cozy farming game, like Stardew Valley, but it’s a web3 version including features like NFT collection characters (not just profile pictures), land ownership, and a token called $PIXEL. While critics might say it’s just a more boring version of it’s web2 versions, it genuinely has some appeal to gamers because the game is simple and fun, not just because you can earn money from it. There are things to be learned from this game even if it’s not your cup of tea!

Pros:

• Genuinely interesting implementation of NFT collection characters and worlds.

• Cozy, fun, and inviting art that grabs the attention of web2 gamers.

• Wide array of crafting, farming, and other skills to level and sink time into.

• Updated frequently and transparent developers

• Vibrant community in-game and in Discord

Cons:

• Onboarding is terrible.

• Gameplay overall is boring.

• Incredibly high starting prices for NFT land ownership

• Disconnected worlds makes for uninviting feeling and confusion

• Please help their UI designers

Meh:

• They have a token, who doesn’t?

• Play to earn focus tends to leech fun.

• Onchain reputation was touted in docs, but I’m not sure if it’s actually onchain?

The best place to chat about these pros and cons is with web3 game designers here.

The most impressive thing about Pixels is the interoperability: if you own one of the select NFTs, you can not only use it as your profile picture, but you can use it as your character too. Also, of those select NFT collections, some of them have their own custom-made parts of the world.

For example, if you own one of the CyberKongz, you can play as one of the gorillas instead of a normal character. The picture below also shows the CyberKongz-specific part of the world.

This level of interoperability is really interesting to see come to life. It brings actual utility to owning a NFT beyond group chats, which is a big critique of many web2 users about NFTs. The idea of a NFT collection building their own aspects of a world isn’t just a web3 concept by the way - this idea is constantly talked amongst web2 users when talking about the metaverse… yep I used the “M” word. But something web3 genuinely has better than web2 is interoperability and that’s not just hopium.

There’s a lot to explore in this interoperability design space. How open will your game’s doors be for NFT collections to create within your game? A place to discuss those types of questions happen in The Delegati hypersub group chat. I personally see it as a spectrum from fully closed off to entirely open. Games with highly curated art, story, and gameplay will tend to the closed off side of the spectrum - think Skyrim or World of Warcraft. Games that are super casual and social focused will tend to be on the open end - think Fortnite or Roblox.

Currently, I’d put Pixels at a 5/10 when it comes to the potential of web3 interoperability. While it is great to have NFTs as profile picture, in-game characters, and used as inspiration for maps, it still had to go through Pixels to do so. It’s was not permissionless - people had to go through a gatekeeper. If I could imagine a 10/10 in terms of web3 interoperability it would be a game that is built entirely by its users… cough metaverse cough… but then at what point is it no longer a game? These lines are becoming more and more blurred these days - especially with all of this play-to-earn mumbo jumbo.

“Are we playing for fun or are we playing to earn money?”

This question comes up in every conversation with proper game designers. They have been trained all their life to make fun games, not to make colorful versions of work where you make pennies compared to your day job. My observation on it all is that web3 game designers are building the metaverse while web2 game designers are building fun games. Can these two schools of thought come together?

Yes, and the answer is MMORPGs baby. And if you know me at all, you know which game I’ll be using as an example: World of Warcraft! World of Warcraft is an online game with millions of players who pay $15/month to have fun. That is a very important statement, because web3 games really love to sell the fantasy that everyone will make money with play-to-earn. But if everyone is earning, where does the money come from? The answer is you need people to pay money for the game. Specifically, you need more money to be spent by players than earned. That is why out of all the millions of players, only the smallest fraction of them earn money through streaming, modding, and services in the web2 world.

For these reason, I still think web3 should be marketed towards the streamers, modders, and service providers that are the 1% of people trying to make a living off of a game ecosystem. Web3 should not be selling play-to-earn to the 99% of people. Again, if everyone is earning and no one is spending, you’re looking more like a Ponzi scheme than a game! Like World of Warcraft, you need many paying customers before you can support and in-game economy. Usually, web3 games do the exact opposite and promise to pay people before there are any paying customers! Now that’s wild!

Examples of WoW’s in-game economy:

• Players either don’t want to farm themselves or don’t have the time, so Blizzard now sells in-game currency for money.

• Many people are interested in raids to get good gear, but don’t have time to join a high-end guild, so they pay people to run them through a raid as a service.

• People want PvP gear that is gated from a PvP rating that they cannot obtain, so they pay a skilled player to help them reach that rating.

• People want to genuinely get better at PvP or Mythic dungeons, so they hire a coach just like any other sport.

• Gold farmers and Auction House overlords sell gold on the black market.

All of the above examples would be greatly improved with web3. For example, instead of players getting potentially banned for running people through instances for money, it should be a smart contract that players can complete. Perhaps there’s be a bounty board or a system where you go to a guild that provides these services. I think many things that web3 will be best at are legitimizing things that are currently grey areas that involve a blend between in-game and real-world money.

But let’s be clear, none of these these aspects of WoW’s economy would exist unless there was a world that people wanted to spent a ton of time in. To get a world like that, it needs to be fun and immersive. I’ll give you a hint: a play-to-earn fun is not fun and breaks immersion.

So how do we make a web3 MMO? Make a fun MMO. Make a fun MMO. Make a FUN MMO! If you make a world that people want to live in, then an economy will emerge. You should plan ahead of course, but don’t force the economy down player’s throats.

But let’s discuss this more! You and me! I’d recommend joining The Delegati Hypersub to get access to an exclusive web3 game design focused group chat.