Ronen Kirsh of Game7 has articulated that the evolution of web3 games could represent a transformative 'ChatGPT moment' for AI.
Ronen Kirsh, a central figure within the Game7 community, has garnered respect as a trailblazer in the web3 gaming landscape. His career trajectory began when he noted significant disparities between the development of conventional games and those representative of web3 technology. In addition to his work with Game7, he also holds a leadership role in forming strategic alliances for Forte, a platform specializing in blockchain technology for web3 games.
Recognizing a void in cooperation and communication among web3 game creators, Ronen was compelled to foster a community of aligned thinkers. This initiative ultimately evolved into Game7, which strives to reform the gaming industry for the better. With his collaborative team, he is paving the way for a future where both players’ and developers’ interests are harmonized, building gaming products grounded in community engagement.
Through discussions with both developers and gamers, Ronen and his team uncovered a universal discontent with the existing gaming landscape. While the emergence of free-to-play models broadened access to gaming, it inadvertently introduced design dilemmas that hindered the sector's growth. In response to these challenges, Ronen enlisted fellow visionaries to create grassroots solutions that prioritize community dynamics.
Ronen Kirsh's aspirations for the future of web3 gaming are now materializing with Game7's introduction of a $100 million grant initiative launched in November, aimed at supporting innovative game development endeavors. accelerate web3 In addition, Game7 has rolled out a community management platform tailored to engage and motivate users through gamification. Summons , at ETHDenver.
We spoke to Kirsh to discuss the impact Game7 is having on the web3 gaming landscape and to explore his predictions for the future of web3 games.
What sparked your interest in the world of web3 gaming, and where did you first get exposed to the concept?
My curiosity about web3 gaming ignited when I learned about the Diablo Auction House—a feature that allowed players to trade virtual items for actual currency. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a colossal failure! The security concerns were significant, as hackers exploited the system, duplicating items and inflating the economy. Ultimately, it eroded players' trust to the point that it was dismantled.
Later, I discovered Bitcoin and recognized its potential to rectify many of Diablo's shortcomings. It promised a secure and transparent framework for asset ownership and trading, curtailing item duplication while shielding the economy from inflation. This enhanced transparency could facilitate a more trustworthy and reliable market for players dealing in virtual items.
Game7 has previously introduced NFT Inventory and now Summon. What was the motivation behind these two innovations?
- NFT Inventory: In our discussions with game developers for the Game Developer Report, we discovered that existing NFT standards and smart contracts weren’t fully optimized for game development needs.
To tackle this issue, we collaborated with the folks at Moonstream.to, who share our enthusiasm for web3 gaming. Together, we created NFT Inventory, a standard that serves as an on-chain tracker capable of addressing traditional gaming challenges that remain unanswered in the web3 domain.
Now, game developers no longer need to grapple with convoluted smart contract upgrades, error-prone DNA systems, or extensive server modifications to scale their games.
This also benefits web2 developers, providing them with the tools necessary to transition their in-game assets onto the blockchain effortlessly. Consequently, inventory systems, health points, experience points, and more can smoothly migrate from off-chain to on-chain.
- Summon: Humanity has long harbored the aspiration for a society that is equitable, collaborative, and merit-based.
Game7's dedication to decentralizing governance prompted extensive exploration of existing open-source solutions that align with our objectives. We noted a plethora of valuable yet isolated solutions; however, we lacked a comprehensive platform that could fulfill our ambitious decentralization plans. Thus, we decided to nurture a product capable of overcoming our specific hurdles, which we intend to share with the wider web3 community for mutual benefit.
How do you envision NFT Inventory influencing the overarching web3 gaming ecosystem, and what adoption potential do you foresee?
Presently, each game has its inventory management system operating outside the blockchain. To establish genuine value-driven economies within games, robust security is essential. Historical failures, like the Diablo Auction House, exemplify the pitfalls of inadequate security. By transitioning game assets onto the blockchain, developers can inherit the protections inherent in public chains, thus safeguarding the economy from item duplication that leads to inflation.
Moreover, various market solutions and open-source standards are set to guide the industry toward more transparent and on-chain inventory systems, enhancing the security and value of game economies. Adopting NFT Inventory could unlock avenues for heightened security and transparency within the web3 gaming ecosystem.
NFT Inventory allows game designers to associate in-game assets with a player's NFT character instead of their wallet. Why does this matter?
Firstly, as the web3 landscape evolves, personal identities are increasingly represented by wallets, making it logical for game assets to align with NFT characters. Players can utilize the same wallet across diverse games, even with distinct characters.
Secondly, in conventional web2 games, players often create accounts to sell after they have amassed significant gains, items, and statuses. This behavior has spawned gray market activities prevalent in most successful titles. However, in the crypto realm, users can’t sell private keys for their accounts.
This innovation paves the way for players to spend their time and energy in-game, reaping the rewards of their efforts. By linking reputation, assets, and other elements to the NFT character, game designers can cultivate unique economic models otherwise unattainable.
What are Game7's aspirations for the evolution of NFT Inventory and Summon, and how do you plan to adapt to the shifting demands of the web3 gaming landscape?
Our guiding principle is to listen and then take action. We don’t pretend to possess all the solutions, but we’re dedicated to uncovering them collaboratively, steering clear of assumptions and focusing on data-driven approaches for our initiatives.
Now that our products are unveiled, we’ll be heeding community feedback to shape our future directions, adopting a community-first strategy to ensure we develop tools that users genuinely want and need. Rather than creating in hopes of audience traction, we prioritize understanding and addressing the community's preferences.
What are your thoughts on the current landscape of the web3 gaming industry, and what role does Game7 occupy within it?
With billions of gamers worldwide, we form a populous community all on our own. We believe that together, we can transcend the limitations of the current state of affairs.
Through outreach efforts with game developers (in the Game Developer Report), it became apparent that many are dissatisfied. Developers find themselves stripped of the creative freedom needed to craft meaningful worlds due to unsustainable financial models, while players are increasingly frustrated with extractive pay-to-win practices.
We are navigating through one of the most significant realms of creative and economic opportunities in history. The merging of blockchain technology with gaming holds the promise of impacting countless lives. The future will redefine everything, and Game7 will measure its success by how much better aligned the digital and gaming economies become. When that alignment occurs, we will have fundamentally shifted the dialogue regarding sustainable game development and digital economies.
Where do you foresee web3 gaming heading in the near future?
It's crucial to recognize that some of history's most remarkable innovations emerged during bear market conditions, and I believe the same holds true for web3 gaming. Over the next few years, we will witness a select group of games that leverage blockchain technology to create actual value economies.
These titles are poised to represent a 'ChatGPT moment for AI' in gaming, inspiring other developers to invest more resources and creativity into the field. With infrastructure nearly primed to scale and user experience having dramatically improved over the last three years, there are an abundance of ready-made solutions for experimentation. This accelerates both time-to-market and the capacity for innovation. Given these developments, the potential outcomes are limitless, and I eagerly anticipate the journeys ahead in web3 gaming!
It’s an exciting time to be in web3 gaming Shutterstock incentivizes artists who contribute to generative AI models.
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Disclaimer
In line with the Trust Project guidelines As a prominent figure within the web3 gaming realm, Ronen Kirsh has been instrumental in shaping its direction. His adventure into the web3 gaming landscape began with an important insight about the differences in how traditional games and web3 applications are constructed.