【特集】Fully On-Chain Games: Embracing the Uniqueness of Web3 Gaming

Web3 Games: Blending Web2 and Web3 Features

Web3 games are evolving to resemble Web2 games in terms of graphics, gameplay, and accessibility. Many games now opt for a simplified onboarding process that does not require connecting a wallet or owning an NFT. Moreover, some Web3 games are available on popular Web2 distribution platforms. To attract a wider audience, developers focus on creating great games rather than promoting blockchain and NFT benefits. However, by doing so, they risk losing what makes Web3 games special.

Fully On-Chain Games: Embracing the Web3 Spirit

While most developers choose to implement only select parts of their game on the blockchain, fully on-chain games are reimagining the entire gaming experience. These games leverage the blockchain as a substitute for centralized game servers. By putting every aspect of the game on-chain, including assets, logic, state, and storage, they enable permissionless interoperability and composability. Fully on-chain games are community-owned, censorship-resistant, and autonomous, offering new possibilities for game design and mechanics.

Challenges of Fully On-Chain Games

Fully on-chain games face several challenges due to the limitations of blockchain technology. Blockchains are known for their lack of speed, scalability, and storage capabilities, making fully on-chain games best suited for turn-based or simple game loops. Additionally, the transaction fees associated with blockchain transactions can stack up quickly. The user experience of crypto-native applications and onboarding processes also need improvement to attract more players.

Weakly On-Chain Games: Surrendering to Web2 Convenience

To overcome the challenges posed by blockchain, many Web3 projects opt for weakly on-chain games. Only freely tradeable assets like utility and governance tokens, as well as NFT game assets, are stored on-chain, while the remaining game elements are kept off-chain. Although this approach simplifies game design and development, it sacrifices the unique benefits that blockchain offers. The true potential of Web3 games lies in embracing full decentralization.

The Future of Web3 Games and Blockchain's Value

Web3 games offer various benefits such as digital asset ownership, open and permissionless marketplaces, transparency, and community building. However, these benefits have received mixed assessments in terms of their performance. Instead of focusing on blockchain's shortcomings, the industry should identify areas where it can excel. Technical advancements in developer tooling, Layer 2 solutions, and wallet authentication are improving the efficiency and usability of blockchain in gaming. To truly harness the value of blockchain, Web3 games should push boundaries and explore new ideas while maintaining decentralization.