View play and earn will lead crypto games astray

notes ： The original author is Eva Wu.

Too many founders are in a trance , They think that ：

“ these years , Gamers have been putting hard-earned money into the game , But nothing . Thanks a lot crypto, Players can get valuable NFT Token . Anyone can and will have the right to make money by having fun , Because they are helping the game to succeed ！”

Unfortunately ,crypto It's not a magic solution , It doesn't make everyone money . It's time to reconsider the support for so many short-lived game economies “ To make money ” Philosophy . Before , I divide encryption games into “earn-first”（ Focus on making money ） as well as “play-first”（ Play is the core ）, And in this article , I will revisit these terms , And further discuss why Play and Earn（ Play and earn ） Will lead us astray , Then talk about better “earn-first”（ Focus on making money ） A better business model for games , And for “play-first”（ Play is the core ） The future of game design .

Play and Earn（ Play and earn ） Let us go astray

Play and Earn It's an anaesthetic label , It describes what players like first , Games that allow players to earn rewards . actually , Just like its predecessor （Play to Earn）, These games still attach great importance to “ To make money ”, And use short-term financial incentives to cover up their lack of real players .

The first question starts with the name itself , Use “earn” Label is a kind of bad brand promotion , This is similar to calling poker “Play-and-Earn The card game ”, Instead of making the game shine . However , Most games go through a “X-and-Earn” Slogans to make a first impression . most important of all ,“earn” The abundance of this word has been encouraging the game to build a doomed economy , And attract people who are looking for profits , Not real gamers .

When the gamer is informed “play” then “earn” when , It sets an unrealistic expectation , This will lead to the continuous selling pressure of the game's native tokens . Game economists had better reexamine “Play and Earn” Is it meaningful , Instead of spending most of your time thinking about how to raise taxes and deal with selling pressure . At least , Games should consider removing from the vocabulary “Play and Earn”, Instead, words that really explain the content of the game . otherwise , They may find themselves subject to unrealistic financial expectations 、 Players with unstable economy and poor brand .

It is not sustainable to pay for players forever

“ Most players should make money ” The idea of is unhealthy , We need to solve this problem , Because it is unsustainable to pay for ordinary players permanently .

No matter how much it increases sinks, Or a token or NFT How much money has the collection raised , If the embedded assumption and selling point is to pay for most players , Then the economy will soon be out of balance . Whether it's encrypted games or traditional games , Both need to pay attention to their economic flow . The bad truth is , Any issue transaction token or NFT The game of , They are paying players with someone's money . By “ Players have ” Such words attract game creators , Has been paying high fees to early users , To build a loyal community . These early players were mostly speculators and air drop hunters , The cash inflow they provide represents the short-lived success we see in different games . However , Spend on NFT And the capital on the token is quite mercenary , If that doesn't give them a net income , Then they will leave the ecosystem . therefore , The game not only pays exorbitant prices for mercenary players , It also scares away game lovers （ Those who primarily play and consume games and their inherent pleasures ）. Besides , If players expect more money than they put in , So are they really assets or liabilities ？ The net losers will continue to be late game creators and tokens /NFT investors .

The game should be play-first（ Play is the core ） still earn-first（ Focus on making money ）？

Founders must be vigilant about the differences between the games they want to make and the games they actually make . Many game developers believe that they will create one “ Play is the core ” The game of , But they have “ Focus on making money ” All outward marketing and Strategies of the game . A good litmus test is , The game related tweets and crypto The ratio of the number of relevant tweets . Game developers who want to build in this area should be aware of one of the most common pitfalls ： The game can be played from earn-first（ Focus on making money ） Players of start , Then turn in some way play-first（ Play is the core ） The game of . Although it is attractive to increase the market value index earlier , But the idea is flawed , Because the momentum of monetary rewards will deter those real gamers , meanwhile , Stopping or reducing rewards will also make those who earn-first（ Focus on making money ） Of players flinch . This is similar to building a new block chain first , Then try “ De centralization ”, And that usually doesn't happen .

If the game hopes to succeed in a shorter time , So build a earn-first The encryption game is reasonable . However , If the game developer wants to build a “play-first” The game of , Then they can try to change the hatred of the game community for encrypted games , Or get the game ready . In the long run , Pay too much attention to financial rewards to improve DAU Number , More likely to damage play-first Class .

earn-first（ Focus on making money ） The future of the game

In order to make earn-first（ Focus on making money ） The game was a success , Profit must occupy the central position , The pursuit of income is entertainment . Throughout history , People always derive pleasure from the potential to make money . Direct income drives our dopamine system crazy . Generally speaking , Such players can equate any small loss with nighttime entertainment .

In the short term , We may see more X-to-Earn The project tries to imitate StepN Short term financial success . Although these games have no lasting power , But if you are willing to pay attention , Ponzi games will always exist . Why? ？ Because these games can turn quickly , They are not serious , And it's fun , Until you lose money . In other words , The pursuit of income is entertainment . Besides , Every game has a shelf life , Some games have a much shorter shelf life than others .

For games with a long shelf life , They may follow a proven business model , Such as E-sports or casino games . Generally speaking , If there is sufficient solvency to pay the reward , Then the money making game can continue , This may come from ：

1、 Players willing to invest in rewards ;

2、 Sponsors who want to host the competition ;

3、 Spectators who want to tip or bet on the sidelines ;

4、 Any other user who can be taxed to pay for the award ;

Poker and sports are earn-first（ Making money is the core ） Useful analogies of games ： People can play socially and competitively earn-first（ Making money is the core ） game , The company will sponsor the color pool and hold the championship , Players can earn money by winning the pool , The coach will be paid to teach , Talent will be paid to make equipment , Speculators will watch the game , Tip and bet . This economy is more efficient , Because no matter in the players 、 Sponsor or audience , There is a direct relationship between them 、 An understandable exchange of value . This model supports people to make money and spend there . In these games , Making money is the goal , They will use the stimulus of money as the core cycle , And build an independent economy around it .

play-first（ Play is the core ） What will be the future of the game ？

In the past year , We tried to make “earn” Become play-first（ Play is the core ） The killer mace of the game , But it doesn't help . We haven't proved yet crypto How to make traditional games better , contrary , It is over - financialized in every way . In this chapter , I will share some high level Framework , They may help us design a more intelligent game economy .

game vs Financial game

First , Introduce tokens at any time , Will bring inevitable financial games . Traditionally , The game simulates our life , But it is a fenced and closed economy . And introduce tokens or NFT Removed a major barrier , And turn it on , To inherit the whole financial landscape of the real world .

In the past year , We have observed that the results of such a close integration of these two types of games are very bad . for example ,Axie On the surface, it is a lovely turn based strategy game , But by putting NFT And tokens into the game , Players flocked to the financial game . What they are really playing is a money making game similar to the pyramid mechanism . Every player who joins in is undertaking NFT cost , Want to be a seller before everyone else , And thus make money . When cash earning and games are intertwined , It becomes a natural scoreboard and motivator , Not the game itself .

Consider this , Maybe in the future, we will find a way to separate the game from the financial game . Either way , Next generation game developers need to find new ways to connect crypto And its embedded financial game , It doesn't overwhelm the game itself .

A useful analogy is the Pokemon card game , It exists as a set exchange card game and a financial collector game respectively . Again , In sports , Money and money flow through the game , But it will not affect the movement itself . If a player chooses where to move and how to hit the ball according to how much money he can earn each time he moves , This is repugnant to most sports . The player's mind should be on the game , Not external forces like money . This is Jean play-first Games and earn-first The reason why the game is different .

Supporting the game economy

Playing games is different from participating in games , as time goes on , More and more obvious is , Innovation in crypto games may not reward players , It rewards those who bring value to the game and its players . in many ways , The game creator plays the role of central bank and financial treasury , Creating an incentive plan is very similar to collecting taxes and choosing how to spend or distribute taxes . This analogy also conveniently describes when a game over inflates its native tokens , How players become losers . Consider this , Game developers should only consider rewarding those that directly or indirectly generate greater financial returns and increase their ecosystem GDP Action of . at present , Most game economies will have a total token supply of 30%-60% To reward every player in the ecosystem （ See the picture on the left ）. However , A dynamic economy should enable people to exchange goods and services with each other （ See the picture on the right ）.

Games should focus on creating ecosystems , Allow players to create and directly exchange value between groups , Instead of using financial funds to promote the game economy . This will support token as a real medium of exchange . for example , If the game wants the designer to create the world , The system should reward creators for their common interests , To get a share of future profits directly . Again , The game should support one mode , That is, successful KOL There are fans willing to pay for it , Not the game KOL Paid “influence-to-earn” Business model .

In this way , People can get many rewards by creating virtual goods and services , Not to get unsustainable rewards in advance farming Activities . Besides , This direct exchange creates real money opportunities for those willing to pay , And promote a more efficient economy . After all , Game economy is a complex economy . Like the real economy , When there is strong employment and growing GDP when , They will flourish .

The last thought

last year , A large number of retail investors and investors are competing for the next encryption game , As the tide recedes , We need to make sure that we are not naked , We have to face the assumptions we make when we are upset （ In this state , The numbers will only spiral up ）. It's time to break “Play and Earn” and “ Permanently pay players ” In a trance state , We need to wake up to crypto The inevitable financial game , And design a more intelligent game economy .

I hope this article can help game developers take a step back from the noise , Reconsider how they build their own crypto games . When I finish my writing , I found myself critical of what might happen , But also optimistic . If you're building something , And find yourself in this state , I'd love to talk to you and put forward some ideas .

thank Zaheer、Nicholas、Shual and Nix Comments and suggestions made , thank Brooks Helped shape and validate my ideas .

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