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The number of blockchains out there is becoming a problem for blockchain gaming, according to a Web3 gaming executive.
According to Sebastien Borget, co-founder of The Sandbox and president of the Blockchain Game Alliance, the vast number of blockchains means that users are spread out across many different networks, with no single one boasting a large user base.
“Too many blockchains” is one of the biggest challenges in the industry, Borget tells Web3 Gamer.
Gaming companies have to figure out which blockchain ecosystem to choose, with so many options, including ImmutableX, Base, Avalanche, Ronin, BNB Smart Chain and more, among all the layer-1, -2 and -3 blockchains.
“We can no longer say that Ethereum is the gaming or NFT blockchain, as ImmutableX, Solana, Aptos, and now The Open Network have many more DApps and active users.”
With so many blockchains out there, each one is offering more “grants and incentives” to lure in gaming developers from the pack, says Borget.
But Borget raises a point: Beyond the perks like transaction speed, trust and transparency, do these blockchains really have enough users and a well-developed ecosystem?
He also noted that convincing rich venture capitalists to fork out some cash is getting tougher and tougher for the Web3 gaming industry.
Borget explains that there are “lesser investments than ever and more constraining token vesting and release schedule conditions that affect the viability of projects tokenomics on a longer-term.”
He also mentions that launching an NFT isn’t the hot trend in Web3 gaming anymore.
However, Borget thinks that in 2024, the Web3 gaming industry has “matured” in that the quality of games is finally meeting players’ expectations.
The Blockchain Game Alliance (BGA) is teaming up with Web3 advisory firm Emfarsis again to run the 2024 State of the Industry Survey. It’s open until September 20 and invites everyone in the Web3 space — from blockchain developers, marketers, project managers and anyone else — to share what they love and what bugs them about the Web3 gaming industry.
Does the game you play pass the “100 milliseconds” test? It probably should, claims Huddle01 CEO
Lag has been a major pain point for gamers ever since online multiplayer gaming began, but Huddle01 CEO Ayush Ranjan puts a number on it, saying that if it’s any more than a tenth of a second, the game becomes unbearable.
“In fast-paced multiplayer games, the round trip time for game updates must be less than 100 milliseconds,” Ranjan tells Web3 Gamer, adding that if it’s any slower, gamers are probably not going to stick around.
“Any delay beyond this can result in disrupted gameplay, where characters might lose progress or even be kicked out due to an inability to update in real time,” Ranjan says.
Huddle01 claims that its decentralized real-time communication network drastically reduces these round trip times by utilizing a network of “globally distributed media nodes” instead of centralized servers, which minimizes the data’s travel distance.
Ranjan says this makes updates faster, so players can stay immersed in their game without any interruptions.
He reiterates that “crystal-clear communication” between the network is vital for team-based games, where “precise coordination and quick decision-making are essential.”
Ranjan says that existing software development kits are “quite high priced,” arguing that a game such as the popular first-person shooter Call of Duty should be paying “$200 million or higher for their usage.”
He said that the high costs affect accessibility for developers just starting out as they don’t have “access to those kinds of funds.”
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Ranjan claims that Huddle01 wants to break down that barrier for newer entrants.
“By offering low-cost, decentralized infrastructure, Huddle01 allows developers to focus on creating innovative gameplay experiences rather than worrying about the high price point,” he says.
Huddle01 is teaming up with Xai and Aethir, two big names in blockchain gaming, to offer developers a super affordable Unity SDK — 95% cheaper — to help them create more budget-friendly and immersive games that attract more players and improve the user experience.
“The Unity SDK will be operating on our dRTC network — also ensuring minimal latency between players,” Ranjan says.
Sui Network wants developers to verify how random their game really is
Randomness is super important for making sure a game isn’t rigged by the developers. Now, layer-1 blockchain Sui has rolled out a new stable onchain randomness feature on its mainnet to keep things unpredictable.
“Developers now have access to a new source of randomness generated by Sui validators, available for use in testnet apps,” Sui says.
Sui explains that the “most obvious use case” is for games like lotteries, card games, loot boxes, raffles and casino games.
It claims that “onchain native randomness” lets gamers relax, knowing the network is making sure everything stays random so they don’t have to just trust the game operator.
Since it’s onchain, if gamers start getting suspicious, they can check the randomness themselves, increasing “transparency and trust.”
But let’s face it — after losing for hours, it’s almost worse to find out the game isn’t rigged and you’re just plain unlucky.
“This use case extends to more complex games, such as determining if a character in an RPG scores a hit on an enemy,” Sui explains.
“NFTs could incorporate genetic traits or random mutations in breeding scenarios, opening doors for creativity in the design and use of NFTs,”
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Decentralized oracle network Chainlink says randomness is the lack of pattern or predictability. For something to be truly random, it has to be unpredictable, unbiased, provable, tamper-proof and non-reproducible.
Similarly, Web3 native communication network Push Protocol believes that randomness serves as “a fundamental building block that underpins security and fairness.” It ensures that “processes are free from bias and manipulation.”
Other News
— Sony Group has created a blockchain called “Soneium.” Users will be able to access Soneium through apps that are compatible with its network, allowing them to interact with Web3 games, NFT marketplaces and other entertainment services offered by these apps.
— Immersive onchain RPG Pirate Nation claims to be the “world’s first multichain game” after launching on a second blockchain, the Boss chain, allowing players to trade “with each other across chains with zero bridging.”
— Game7 introduces “Factions,” which are groups within the Game7 community that compete for the top spot on its new Faction leaderboard.
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Ciaran Lyons
Ciaran Lyons is an Australian crypto journalist. He’s also a standup comedian and has been a radio and TV presenter on Triple J, SBS and The Project.
