• October 13, 2022
• Author: Scott

2 Reasons Why Good Game Mechanics and Design Matters More Than NFTs in Web3 Games

New markets, new gamers, and new user experiences all require fresh thinking. Gamers are demanding more engaging and immersive experiences across new game genres and sub-genres. This is hyper-realized when you see empty Web3 worlds. The hard fact is that games were built for Web3 and will drive engagement, and DAU. Period. This requires game makers to think outside of the box. To get their players excited about their product again, many DApp developers are focusing on non-fungible tokens (NFTs). From CryptoKitties to ERC721 Non-Fungible Token Standard — this buzzword is everywhere in the space. But why? Why does it have to do with gameplay mechanics? What do NFTs have to do with this? Let’s take a look at a couple of reasons why good game mechanics and design matters more than non-fungible tokens in web3 games.

NFTs Require Good Game Design

A lot of the time, people forget that games are about playing and enjoying the experience. It’s not about the NFT, it’s about the game. It’s not about the tokenomics, it’s about the experience. This is something that good-intentioned developers are learning the hard way.

If you’re introducing NFTs into your game, you’re adding a lot of extra complexity. You’re going to have to design a whole new set of items and in-game assets. And unlike with non-fungible items like swords or guns, there’s no real established pattern or design. So before you even start with your game, you need to go back and re-think your core mechanics and design. Afterthoughts like, “Let’s add NFTs!” and “Let’s add some basic crypto-collectibles mechanics!” All well and good, but these decisions need to be made and planned for early. This is another reason why good game design and mechanics are more important than NFTs.

NFTs Enable New and Innovative Mechanics

While NFTs require a lot more game design and mechanics, they also enable some new mechanics that non-fungible items cannot. For example, let’s say you’re building an online trading card game (TCG). In this game, you want to give your players a way to buy and sell cards with each other. This introduces a lot of problems, like how do you make sure the cards are real? How do you stop people from selling fake cards? How do you make sure people don’t cheat? There are a few ways to solve this. You could use a public and centralized database to store this information. You could use a blockchain. And you could use NFTs. Using a public database like a centralized database is the easiest way to do this. It’s quick and easy to set up and get going. But it comes with a lot of risk. Centralized databases can be hacked, shut down, and controlled. This is why so many gamers and users are now turning to blockchain solutions. Using a blockchain database like a public blockchain is a good option when scalability is not an issue. But it’s not perfect. The biggest risk here is that people might not trust or understand how a public blockchain works.

Conclusion

From what we’ve seen so far, NFTs are not a silver bullet. They require a lot of brainstorming, design thinking, and game mechanics. And they’re not a quick fix either. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done beforehand. But with all that said, there’s no denying that NFTs have a lot of potential and when done properly can enhance the gameplay experience. They could bring about some fresh new game mechanics and experiences. It’s important to remember that good game design and mechanics also matter. They matter even more than NFTs. So if you’re thinking about introducing NFTs in your game, make sure you’ve thought it through. It’s not easy to get right.