An interaction with Google’s Gemini taught me a few trends in the Web3 Gaming industry.
Web3 Gaming is known for its relation with blockchain technology, and the fundamental existence on the principles of decentralization. It’s been a while since Web3 Gaming came up from my side. What brought me back to it was an interaction with Google’s Gemini.
It was initially about knowing what kind of response the AI model generates to a simple prompt. Gemini didn’t disappoint and i ended up learning about a few new trends in the segment. Most of them are a big addition, considering my return to the segment is happening after some time.
Web3 Gaming Trends
Gemini fetched multiple trends but this post talks about only three of them to remain well within a decent reading time limit.
Play-to-earn, or P2E, continues to dominate the segment. Web3 Games like Axie Infinity and The Sandbox are holding onto the idea with their dear life. However, exploring new sides is inevitable majorly to attract new users. Onboarding the next billion gamers is not going to be easy and, by the looks of it, developers have begun contemplating a flexible expansion before things go completely mainstream.
Play-To-Own (P2O)
Play-to-own, or P2O, is exactly what it sounds like. Gamers engage with the main play to win in-game assets only to own them. In-game assets, also known as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), can be anything — a character, a digital home, or the character’s weapon. Having an NFT is regarded as something that instills a sense of ownership in gamers. The idea is to enhance their experience and strengthen their engagement.
P2O is an attempt to move beyond the boundaries of P2E by focusing little on earning and more on playing to own something directly. Other similar ideas that are being explored in Web3 Gaming are move-to-earn, create-to-earn, and learn-to-earn.
AI Integration
It would be rather too ignorant for anyone to not consider the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Web3 games. The technology is adding to its capabilities which were earlier limited to customized recommendations and other similar functions. AI integration with Web3 Games now includes boosting smart NPCs, that is non-player characters.
These are controlled by the script or the basic design of the game. With AI in the picture, they are smarter in the sense that they can adapt to the situation and respond to the player accordingly. The objective is to enhance the narrative of the game and the experience of the player. It potentially means that gamers no longer get what’s usual — they get something fresh every time.
Enhanced Gameplay and Experience
Something that picks up from where the previous point ended is the goal to enhance the gameplay and experience. It sounds broad but eventually narrows down to the intention of shifting from the crypto-first approach to the game-first approach. Meaning, Web3 game developers are ideating to prioritize the gaming experience instead of encouraging players to chase digital earnings.
It is largely to compete with traditional Web2 games which lack newly launched functions. Web3 games are likely looking to offer the same comfort so that gamers have to explore a little before making such a big jump. It is almost like asking someone to come to the door, have a little look inside the room, and then participate in a great evening without realizing that they are already a part of the gathering.
Future of Web3 Gaming
Given the ongoing approaches of the Web3 Gaming industry, one can safely assume that developers have more updates in sight. At the top is making the onboarding process seamless for players. Most of them hesitate out of the fear of the unknown.
The Web3 Gaming segment may attempt to normalize a hybrid model for a couple of years. This is where they introduce Web 2.5 gaming which is something between Web2 and Web3.
Finally, the utility of earnings within the gaming ecosystem to move away from speculative trading of in-game rewards.
There is always a lot to learn. Keep exploring!
Learned A Few Web3 Gaming Trends, Courtesy of Google’s Gemini was originally published in Coinmonks on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
