Four Blockchain Game Trends in 2018

As the blockchain game industry picks-up, several companies, including Swace.io and CryptoKitties, are showing the direction this industry will take.

August 17, 2018. As applications of blockchain are growing in number and variety, more game developers are shifting their efforts to utilize this technology.

Currently blockchain, a public ledger of data that is resistant to any modification, is used in everything from computer programs to medical records. It is only a matter of time until this technology will disrupt the gaming industry.

The lack of intermediaries within the blockchain will bring openness and wider user control to the gaming industry, breaking down barriers between players and creators and creating unprecedented opportunities for collaboration and profit. Here are four examples of the way this could happen:

Collecting and trading characters that are actually cryptocurrency.CryptoKitties is the pioneer of crypto animal trading. CryptoKitties created a market for collectable virtual pets by allowing users to buy, breed and sell unique blockchain cats. Imitators quickly followed. For example, CryptoPets basically offered the same, but with more varied creatures, while Etheremon allowed players to trade ether monsters and used a Pokémon-like battle structure to entice nostalgic gamers.

Social Media Network Gaming. Social media users are getting tired oftracking, data collection and targeted content of Facebook and other mainstream social networks – but they love interacting with each other and winning rewards. With several blockchain-based social media networks being developed, one is introducing a gaming element- Swace, an interactive blockchain-based social media platform which engages users in social gaming requiring physical collaboration and in turn offers valuable rewards. Players could be asked to find 3D objects added to certain locations by using Augmented Reality. Collecting or spotting these objects earns players rewards, while providing with entertainment, physical activity and bonding between friends. Users who complete all the steps of a game share the tokens in the final prize pool. The tokens can be converted into cash or used for purchases in Swace’s special brand store. When playing Swace, users will not be tracked or bombarded with ads.

3. Learning to code via a blockchain game. Crypto Zombies is one part game, two parts code school, teaching the user to build other blockchain games. It is a great entry point for newbies. Crypto Zombies makes writing code simple and encourages creativity by allowing the players to see through the eyes of a game developer. One second you are browsing the web, a passive consumer, the next you are typing things like “pragma solidity ^0.4.19; contract ZombieFactory { start }” and customizing your own game.

4. Integrating VR and AR into the blockchain. Virtual and/or Augmented Reality are hot properties right now, and their applicability is bound for exponential rise. At least that’s what we’ve been hearing for the last ten years. Yet technology may have finally caught up to our imagination, all thanks to blockchain. Take a look at Augmentors, which is coming in Q4 of 2018, promising an augmented reality battle-arena of collectable creatures. Decentraland is even more ambitious, as it aims to create a virtual reality platform powered by the Ethereum blockchain, where users will be able to create, experience and monetize content which could range from static 3D scenes to interactive systems such as games.