What does blockchain technology mean for the gaming industry?

Blockchain Cuties game is blurring the distinction between developers and players. What does blockchain technology mean for the gaming industry?

Online games with persistent user profiles, whether massively multiplayer games such as World of Warcraft or casual games like Farmville or Candy Crush, all function on the basic principle that the time user spends in the game is recorded in the form of a user profile or maybe even an in-game character. The object of the game is the creation of an in-game value in the form of achievements or rank in order to distinguish him- or herself from the mass. In other words, yet when the player attempts to transfer this value outside of the boundaries defined by the developer they discover that they are not, in fact, the owner of their own creation. They will find that the value produced has accrued exclusively to the game developer’s account and that the player is simply allowed the right to make use of it for as long as his or her account exists, which by the way, is also subject to the developer’s discretion.

To some extent, this is the result of the underlying technology which makes it necessary for asset ownership to be centrally managed by the developer in order to prevent cheaters from simply duplicating in-game assets. That is why most gamers accept this as the way of the world, though some attempt to sell their accounts on the grey market and, when they do get away with it, are able to make a profit.

Blockchain Cuties is totally different. It is a crypto game which means it uses blockchain technology to make central asset management obsolete. Because of this, players can finally take full ownership of the value they have produced. This value, which takes the shape of avatars, appropriately named Cuties in the game, cannot be taken from them nor can anyone dictate the terms of their usage. In other words, the players are able to sell their collectibles in whichever way they want, for whatever price another is willing to pay for it. All collectibles have a status of ERC-721 tokens.

Blockchain Cuties is a crypto game where you get to breed your unique blockchain pets as puppies, lizards, bear cubs, cats and other real and fantasy creatures alike. Each cutie has a unique genome which is basically an analog for human DNA. While breeding, AI is responsible for a special combination of different genes to create attributes like hair, mustache, eye color. These characteristics will directly affect the cuties when you send them to test their skills in battles or place them in the marketplace for sale.

If players would want to withdraw all their assets (aka collectibles), they could sell their blockchain pets in the marketplace available directly in the game, or they could use third party marketplaces like OpenSea. Not to mention, a few unofficial trading platforms for cuties exist and there is no such thing as interference.

People then can feel free to post as much as they want what they are looking for, what they want to sell. — G Sh AKA Jewel, Valued and Mysterious Cutieneer

Because players actually own their Cuties they can even form strong bonds to them as player ChakraFox puts it: “I had to have a fox. It had devilish eyes so I named it Frosty the Devil Fox. And it has always been my favorite”. However, ownership is not the only aspect of Blockchain Cuties. What sets the game apart from other crypto games is the game experience itself. Ask the players and each will give a different reason for choosing to play. For ChakraFox it is the art style that sets the game apart “Cuties has wonderful well thought out art that is a lot of fun to keep coming back to”. Light511 loves the community and the ability to earn money while having fun “I love that the cuties have an actual game so when I play, I am also “earning” and having fun. The developers worked very hard to make the community part of the development of the game”. While Fishojoy loved the excitement and challenge of Blockchain cuties’ unique breeding system “I got really excited on breeding the noble cuties. I think the nobles are good for collectible because there won’t be another exact same alike one. I still have no luck unlock the tribute cuties. But working on it”.

Yet in the end it is the strength of the community, the engagement of the devs and the solidarity and openness of the players, that will drive this game forward. Bofur, a long time cutiener, says “They are in constant contact with the players. Patches/livestreams are done weekly. We know them by name and can DM them with any questions/suggestions at any time. I’ve had problems resolved by devs in less than 5 min sometimes. I can’t emphasize this enough, the dev team is driving this game forward with the constant development/additions and their willingness to listen to player feedback. Additionally, the community is super friendly, from giving away free starters/contests, to giving advice on the telegram app, everyone is very friendly. It is really a unique experience”.

What does blockchain technology mean for the gaming industry? was originally published in Hacker Noon on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.