Are there ‘too many’ blockchains for gaming? Sui’s random character: Web3 Gamer

The number of blockchains is becoming a problem for blockchain gaming, according to a Web3 Gaming executive.

According to Sébastien Borget, founder of Sandbox and president of the Blockchain Gaming Alliance, blockchain's massive nature means that users are spread across many different networks, boasting no single large user base.

“Too many blockchains” is one of the biggest challenges in the industry, Borget tells Web3 Gamer.

Gaming companies need to know which blockchain ecosystem to choose, with many options among all layer-1, -2 and -3 blockchains, including ImmutableX, Base, Avalanche, Ronin, BNB Smart Chain and more.

“We can no longer say that Ethereum is the game or NFT blockchain. Like ImmutableX, Solana, Aptos and now the open network has many more DApps and active users.”

With so many blockchains out there, each one is offering more “help and incentives” to attract game developers from the pack, Borget said.

But Bourget raises a point: aside from advantages such as transaction speed, trust and transparency, do these blockchains really have enough users and a well-developed ecosystem?

Convincing rich capitalists to spend some money is getting harder and harder for the web 3 game industry, he said.

“There are fewer investments than ever before and more restrictive tokenization and release schedule conditions will affect the long-term viability of projects in Tokenomics,” Borget explains.

He also mentioned that launching NFT is not a very popular trend in Web3 games.

However, Bourget By 2024, Web3 thinks the game industry has “evolved,” meaning that the quality of games is finally meeting the needs of gamers.

The Blockchain Gaming Alliance (BGA) is once again partnering with Web 3 consulting firm Emfarsis to conduct a 2024 State of the Industry survey. It's open until September 20th and invites everyone in the Web3 space — from blockchain developers, marketers, project managers, and anyone else — to share what they love and hate about the Web3 gaming industry.

Does your game pass the “100 milliseconds” test? It should be, says Huddle01 CEO

Lag has been a major pain point for gamers since the inception of online multiplayer gaming, but Huddle01 CEO Ayush Ranjan has put a number that, if it's more than one-tenth of a second, the game becomes unbearable.

“In fast-paced multiplayer games, the round-trip time for game updates should be under 100 milliseconds,” Ranjan told Web3Gamer, adding that if it's slower, players probably won't stay.

“Any delay beyond this can result in gameplay issues, characters losing progress or even being kicked out for not being able to update in real-time,” Ranjan said.

Huddle01 claims that a decentralized real-time communication network can significantly reduce these travel times by using a network of “global distributed media nodes” instead of centralized servers, which shortens the data's travel distance.

Ranjan says this makes updates faster, so players can stay immersed in their game without any interruptions.

“Crystal-clear communication” between networks is essential for team-based games, where “accurate coordination and quick decision-making are essential.”

Ranjan said that current software development kits are “very expensive,” arguing that a game like the popular first-person shooter Call of Duty would cost “$200 million or more to use.”

He said the high cost affects accessibility when developers are just starting out because they don't have “access to those funds.”

Ranjan Huddle01 says he wants to break down that barrier to new entrants.

“By providing a low-cost decentralized infrastructure, Huddle01 allows developers to focus on creating creative gaming experiences instead of worrying about the high price point,” he said.

Huddle01 is teaming up with Xai and Aethir, two of the biggest names in the blockchain game, to provide developers with an extremely affordable Unity SDK – 95% cheaper – to help them create budget-friendly and immersive games that attract more players and improve the user experience.

“The Unity SDK runs on our dRTC network – it also ensures minimal latency between players,” says Ranjan.

Sui Network wants developers to verify how random their game is

Randomness is extremely important to ensure that a game is not rigged by developers. Now, Layer-1 blockchain Sui has released a new stable onchain randomization feature on the main network to protect against unexpected events.

“Developers now have access to a new source of randomness generated by Sui validators, which can be used in testnet applications,” Sui says.

Sui explains that the “most obvious use case” is for games like lotteries, card games, loot boxes, raffles and casino games.

“Onchain native randomness” allows players to relax, he says, knowing that the network will keep everything random so they don't have to rely solely on the game operator.

Because it's onchain, players can verify the randomness themselves, adding “transparency and trust” if they start to doubt it.

But let's be honest, it's even worse to find out after hours of losing that the game isn't rigged and you're just out of luck.

“This use case extends to more complex games, such as determining whether a character in an RPG has hit an enemy,” Sui explains.

“NFTs can incorporate genetic traits or random mutations under breeding conditions, opening doors to innovation in the design and use of NFTs.”

Decentralized word network Chainlink claims that randomness lacks pattern or predictability. For something to be truly random, it must be unpredictable, unbiased, verifiable, irreversible, and unreproducible.

Similarly, Web3's native communication network believes that the push protocol will serve as a “fundamental building block supporting security and fairness” with randomness. It ensures that “processes are free from bias and manipulation.”

Other news

– Sony Group has created a blockchain called “Sonium”. Users can access Sonium through apps compatible with the network, allowing users to connect to Web3 games, NFT marketplaces and other entertainment services offered through these apps.

— Immersive Onchain RPG Pirate Nation claims to be “the world's first multi-chain game” after launching a Boss chain on its second blockchain that allows players to “interact with each other on a zero-bridge chain.”

– Game7 introduces “Factions”, teams that compete for the top spot on the new faction leaderboard in the Game7 community.

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Ciaran Lyon

Ciaran Lyons is an Australian crypto journalist. He is also a freelance comedian and has been a radio and TV presenter on Triple J, SBS and The Project.