Gaming
The Gaming Industry Today
In today's world, virtually all online games are based on a centralized architecture. Server-side data is saved on a server owned and operated by the game's administrators, who can access it at any time.
Account information and the server history, which records and maintains all events and in-game assets obtained by users, are typical examples of data that is commonly included (such as collectibles, items, and virtual money).
It's impossible for users to truly control their accounts and things because the database is owned by a single business. In addition, centralized servers have a number of drawbacks and weaknesses, some of which include:
Server malfunction due to technical issues
System infiltration by hackers
Game shut down
Undeserved ban of accounts
Lack of transparency regarding game mechanics and rates
Manipulation of the game economy by developers and administrators
To put it another way, the gaming industry holds all of the cards. Fortunately, the majority of these issues can be mitigated or completely eliminated because to the advancements made possible by blockchain technology.
How Does It Work?
There are many types of digital data that can be validated and secured using a blockchain-based system as a distributed database. The major goal is to remove the gaming firms' authority from the gamers and return it to them.
As a result, each participant has complete ownership over their accounts and digital assets, which they can exchange at any time. A blockchain game can be developed and maintained in a variety of ways.
How May Blockchain Impact The Gaming World?
Real Ownership
Among the possible assets are virtual cards, skins, gear, and even characters from the game. Regardless of the type of asset, a distributed network can keep track of it all through the use of blockchain tokens.
Decentralized Marketplaces
The drop rate and economics of video games can be manipulated by the gaming industry. In-game items can also be locked or bound, rendering them untradable.
Streamlining Payments
Gaming Multiverse
Using blockchain tokens to link in-game data and objects, gamers can transfer assets between various games. This might allow gamers to reuse their digital assets across a variety of different games, which would be beneficial to them.
Players can swap their digital tokens for gaming items on other blockchain-hosted markets because these items are represented by digital tokens.
Fair Playing Ground
It is possible to create open-source, distributed, and transparent gaming servers using the blockchain, depending on the implementation. Only if a majority of the network agrees can the rules of the game be modified.
The decentralized nature of blockchains also makes it difficult for cheats and hackers to sow havoc because no single point of failure exists.
Unlimited Gaming
When a game is hosted on a single server, its creators have complete control over when and how the game is shut down. Even if a game's developers leave, players can continue to play using blockchain technology.
The game isn't over until the blockchain network is up and operating again. New developers may be brought on board to help the project progress.
Limitations
Although blockchain technology opened up a brand new horizon for the gaming environment, it still has significant challenges to overcome. Some of them include:
Scalability: Blockchains tend to be much slower than centralized networks, which may prevent games from being adopted on a global scale.
Lack of adoption: Although there are hundreds of blockchain games available, the demand is still very low. Most games have a very small number of players.
Centralization: Not all blockchain-based games are fully decentralized. Some of them make use of ERC-721 or other blockchain tokens but are actually running on a centralized server.
Simplicity: There are some exceptions, but most blockchain games are way too simple to attract gamers who value high-quality graphics or elaborate gaming experience.
Barriers to entry: Raising funds to start and maintain a blockchain game can be challenging. Lack of adoption, along with scalability problems may limit the work of developers.
Competition: Blockchain games are often developed by small, independent groups (indie games). These teams may have a hard time competing with giant gaming companies from the centralized world.
Examples Of Blockchain Games
When compared to the traditional gaming industry, the blockchain gaming niche is still quite new and relatively small. Still, there are hundreds of dApps and games built on top of blockchain networks.
Most decentralized applications and gaming platforms run on top of the Ethereum blockchain (such as Enjin and Loom). But, there is a growing list of projects being developed on other networks, such as EOS, TRON, ONT, NEO, VeChain, and IOST. A few examples of blockchain-based games include:
Decentraland (virtual reality platform)
Cryptokitties
Gods Unchained
My Crypto Heroes
Cheeze Wizards
Crypto Space Commander
Mythereum
Axie Infinity
HyperSnakes
EOS Dynasty
EOS Knights
Beyond the Void
CryptoZombies
Relentless
HyperDragons Go
CryptoWars
Closing Thoughts
In the gaming sector, it is evident that blockchain technology has a tremendous deal of potential. It has a huge impact on gamers and developers, particularly in terms of decentralization, transparency, and interoperability.
Blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionize the gaming industry by giving gamers more control over their gaming experiences if the primary hurdles can be solved.
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