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As real world uses are starting to emerge, blockchain is beginning to move from the purpose in which many new it for with its connections to cryptocurrency and into other markets – one sector that has been combining the two for a while however is within gaming, and provides a range of opportunities for developers to take advantage of.
(Image from medium.com)
For those unfamiliar of what blockchain really is, since many may just associate it with crypto – it serves as a somewhat decentralized record keeper. Blockchains are used as a public record of transactions that are maintained across multiple systems, originally designed to track digital documents much like a notary would – with the exception of data that is within a blockchain being virtually impossible to delete. The link to crypto is that these currencies were built within blockchains, which is why the security can be held in a decentralized way.
One of the first games to implement blockchains and crypto in this way had been released a few years ago – the game called CryptoKitties falls into a style of games known as ‘crypto-collectibles’ and operate under a few principles; firstly the collectible is unique, second is that the item cannot be duplicated, and third is that the item increases in value over time. In this game, users could collect kittens in the game, with each being unique – if someone wants one of these in game kittens for example for whatever reason, that singular kitten is completely unique and can’t be recreated, thus assigning a value. If that same kitten remains sought after, the value increases – this provides a fuller sense of ownership, but also a sense of security in holding that item.
Another option for an introduction here is within using the currency within these blockchains to be used as the actual ingame currency – rather than monetising the ingame objects as CryptoKitties does, users can play the game to earn a currency, essentially gaining value and capital over time as they accrue more of the currency or exchanging it within the community
A perfect opportunity in which this could be used may be within mobile gambling through casinos and betting sites – the UK for example has recently introduced a number of restrictions to players through a credit card ban on these services and the introduction of an initiative called Gamstop which is aimed at reducing participation from problem gamblers, whilst many operators register outside of the UK, providing many casinos and sports betting not on gamstop for punters, there’s a chance that further restrictions could still emerge. Many of these sites already provide crypto as an option, but integrating a blockchain system may help strengthen the infrastructure and reduce reliance on outside systems such as credit card betting – and also continue to provide a safe and anonymous environment in which many of these games rely on keeping to attract a growing audience as this serves partly as a primary reason many make the change.
