Going to the dark side with Lukasz Plewa: Key takeaways from Podcast Episode 3

The third episode of the Aleph Zero Podcast played out as a 1:1 meeting with Łukasz Plewa (Head of Blockchain & Economy at DRKVRS) that resulted in an exploration of Web3 gaming as we discussed the dominant trends shaping the sector and the challenges it is facing. 

TL;DL:

Too Long; Didn’t Listen

• Metaverses are complex online games that use blockchain to create novel online economies and provide a higher degree of personalization as users can own their assets. 
• DRKVRS wants to build a game that appeals to both traditional and Web3-native gamers. 
• DRKVRS is a gloomy world; the setting of the game is the interior of a giant beast known as the Leviathan that traverses the cosmos. The primary location players will explore is the city of Babalon, found inside the beast. 
• The DRKVRS treats blockchain as an extension of the possibilities for gaming, not an end in itself.
• User-generated content will be a big element of the game as the developers intend players to be able to create not only custom skins but also contribute to the storyline and lore of the game. 
• DRKVRS will leverage the prisoners’ dilemma to create high-stakes moral conundrums for players to handle. 
• Lukasz Plewa believes that giving players control over their in-game assets and a larger role in a game’s direction is a step in the right direction for building modern gaming communities. 
• Gaming will not only be a tool through which video game developers profit but also a way for gamers to monetize their passion for playing. 
• The creators of DRKVRS are not worried by the skepticism mainstream gaming offers the Web3 world. They believe that, sooner or later, mainstream games will adopt many of the features provided by blockchain-based games. 
• DRKVRS is registered in Switzerland to ensure it is on the cutting edge of crypto regulation. 

If you’d like to hear the whole episode on your favorite platform, head over to the dedicated Podcast subpage.

What Is a Metaverse?

Metaverses are complex online games that leverage blockchain technology to create novel experiences for players, such as by creating functioning in-game economies that add a new level of depth to video games. Another area in which metaverses excel is in the degree of involvement they permit gamers to experience through the ability to host user-generated content that, most importantly, remains in possession of the gamer by being tied immutably to a particular gamer on the blockchain itself. Lukasz said that user-generated content does not have to be limited to skins or other gameplay artifacts but has the potential to allow users to actually impact the storylines and lore of the game through incorporating decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and voting mechanisms. 

What Is the DRKVRS?

The DRKVRS is a gloomy digital world currently being developed on the Aleph Zero blockchain that is designed to serve as a radical departure into an adult-themed online gaming experience.  

The DRKVRS story takes the players into the bowels of Leviathan, a cosmic beast that has been traversing the universe for eons, devouring entire civilizations that wind up inside its body. The plot will play out in the belly of the beast in the dystopian city of Babalon.

Our guest emphasized that a crucial element of the DRKVRS experience is that the possibility of betrayal will be built into every imaginable scenario. Therefore, cooperation between players will be tentative and always fraught with the risk of betrayal. 

DRKVRS Wants to Straddle the Traditional and Web3 Gaming Worlds

This gloomy experience wants to appeal to both traditional gamers while employing Web3 solutions to explore innovative online economies and novel forms of digital ownership. This will be done by creating a game that does not base its uniqueness solely on its technological solutions but by focusing on world and lore-building and an immersive gaming experience. The addition of blockchain-based solutions is to facilitate a more dynamic online-economy that prioritizes users owning their digital assets. 

What Web3 Brings to the Gaming World 

Besides ownership of digital assets, Web3 brings a new way to create community-driven storylines for video game designers which will result in a more engaged audience. Additionally, Web3 offers gamers a way to monetize their skills thanks to the in-game economy. Whether gamers decide to sell skins, artifacts,  characters, etc, they will be able to benefit financially in new ways. Offering gamers a greater role in the direction it takes over the course of its life is the next step in the industry’s development, according to Lukasz Plewa. 

Managing Industry Skepticism and Future-Proofing the Project 

One potential challenge facing Web3 gaming is a certain degree of skepticism from mainstream video game developers and distribution platforms. Notably, Steam in 2021 banned Web3 games from its platform. Lukasz Plewa’s response was that DKRVRS does not fear these limitations as other significant distribution platforms host Web3 games. Also, Lukasz theorizes that the industry will warm up to Web3 games sooner or later as their adoption continues. 

To ensure that DRKVRS remains future-proofed and prepared for whatever developments occur in the crypto space, the project has registered its activities in Switzerland, a country that has proven to be at the forefront of all crypto regulations.