The gaming industry is no stranger to innovation, but the introduction of blockchain technology has been a game-changer. With the introduction of on-chain gaming, the industry is set to undergo a transformation that will significantly benefit gamers. However, as with any new technology, there are strengths and weaknesses to consider.
One of the major bottlenecks of blockchain scalability is how to increase computational bandwidth without increasing the verification cost, which is ultimately the decentralization guarantee of a blockchain. However, with the advent of Optimistic Rollups (ORUs) and Zk-Rollups (ZRUs), developers have been able to run computations off-chain by high-end machines, while posting a proof of the computation's integrity on a settlement chain. This shift has enabled complex computation at a significantly cheaper cost, such as gaming dynamics.
It should be noted that Optimistic Rollups (ORUs) and Zk-Rollups (ZRUs) both over tradeoffs, however Zk-Rollups are technically more scalable and the theoretical computation benefits of these solutions could prove to be much superior overtimes. Games will ultimately need to make informed choices on which one is right for them.
On-chain gaming allows developers to leverage public on-chain components, such as a physics engine or on-chain VRF primitive to fetch randomness, NFTs representing skill trees, and quest factory contracts that anyone can deploy and import into the game. This feature has unlocked the potential for endless bottom-up collaborations and made games potentially composable and interoperable, preparing the ground for powerful and new human coordination, metagames.
While weakly on-chain games are much easier to scale, their downsides can be found in the problem of centralization, where the game publishers play the role of central authorities, implying rent-seeking over time. Furthermore, the game logic is off-chain, making interoperability and composability impossible. The user experience is similar to traditional games, but backrunning and other forms of MEV are prominent. Information meant to be kept secret is public on the game contract, exposing players to an asymmetry where those who can read the storage fields can exploit others.
On the other hand, with strongly on-chain games, users won't be forced to use a specific platform to play their games, and modders won't face any portability issues. However, every state change of the gaming contracts requires registration on-chain, meaning users must sign a transaction for every in-game action. While account abstraction is a compelling improvement, it is unfeasible for high-velocity games like FPSs.
In conclusion, on-chain gaming is set to transform the gaming industry significantly. While weakly on-chain games have their downsides, strongly on-chain games can unlock a world of possibilities. Influence is a major contender within this new gaming landscape, providing gamers with a decentralized gaming platform that is free from central authorities, censorship, and rent-seeking, making it potentially composable and interoperable, and unlocking a whole new level of human coordination.
On-chain gaming with public on-chain components has unlocked potential for endless collaborations and composable games
Weakly on-chain games are easier to scale but face issues of centralization and lack of interoperability
Strongly on-chain games have advantages in portability and user choice but require on-chain registration for every state change
On-chain gaming will significantly transform the gaming industry, providing new opportunities for human coordination
Influence is a decentralized gaming platform that is free from central authorities, censorship, and rent-seeking. By leveraging blockchain technology, Influence provides a trust-minimized environment that potentially allows for endless bottom-up collaborations, unlocking a whole new level of human coordination.
For traditional gamers, playing on Influence can provide a new gaming experience that is more transparent, open, and fair. Players can have more control over their in-game assets, and they can potentially benefit from new types of gameplay and coordination mechanisms that are not available in traditional games. Additionally, by using a decentralized platform, players can potentially avoid some of the issues associated with traditional games, such as censorship and centralized control.
Jean-Paul Faraj - Head of Community & Partnerships at Influence