This is a summary of the op-ed “Decentralization on a Spectrum: How Fully On-chain Games Are the Future of Web3 Gaming” by Leah Callon-Butler, published on CoinDesk on October 25, 2023.
In an effort to appeal to core gaming audiences, more and more Web3 games are emerging with polished graphics, familiar gameplay loops, and an approach to UX that opens opportunities for people outside the blockchain bubble to participate. While the Web3 gaming community has embraced this shift, Emfarsis Director Leah Callon-Butler argues that it overlooks what makes Web3 games special in the first place.
In the op-ed “Decentralization on a Spectrum: How Fully On-chain Games Are the Future of Web3 Gaming,” Leah proposes a radically different approach: going fully onchain. By putting every aspect of a game onchain, from its assets to world state, developers can open endless possibilities for permissionless interoperability and composability. Fully onchain games represent the pinnacle of what decentralization offers; truly Autonomous Worlds where players have near-total freedom to build, create, and interact with these virtual worlds as they see fit.
“Rather than getting so hung up on blockchain’s failings, we need to identify where it can score an A+ before we rush to bundle it under the hood.”
Unfortunately, fully onchain games can be extremely challenging for designers, developers, and players alike. For one, most chains are still too slow. This is why most Web3 games that come out tend to be turn-based titles where player actions are minimal, or games built around simple loops, such as Pac-Man or Flappy Bird. Second, when a fee is associated with each transaction, players can easily find themselves beset by costs over time.
Despite these setbacks, fully onchain games still hold massive promise in redefining what gaming can be. Once the industry can overcome these technical challenges, this take on Web3 gaming has the potential to shake up the industry as much as releases like Axie Infinity and CryptoKitties did in their heyday. Given the vast improvement of developer tooling, flexibility with account abstraction, and ease of use with session keys that day may come sooner rather than later.
Read the full article here:
“Decentralization on a Spectrum: How Fully On-chain Games Are the Future of Web3 Gaming” by Leah Callon-Butler. Published October 25, 2023 on CoinDesk