Research on the Blockchain Gaming Track: Balancing Game Mechanics and Gamification

The blockchain gaming sector has not seen any truly successful cases despite years of development. Although some projects have achieved brief success, they quickly encountered bottlenecks. At the same time, capital continues to flood into this field, nurturing a batch of high-quality blockchain gaming projects. These games have innovations in gameplay, but the token prices have always struggled to rise.

After深入研究链游赛道, we found that some key issues are worth discussing:

1. At this stage, should the blockchain gaming sector focus more on "gameplay" or "gamification"?
2. What is the difference between "game mechanics" and "gamification"?
3. What do Web3 players really need?

To answer these questions, we conducted in-depth research on 62 players and arrived at 7 important conclusions about blockchain games. Before analyzing these research results, let's first explore the hottest topic in the blockchain gaming community - "gameplay" and its distinction from "gamification".

The Essential Difference Between Playability and Gamification

In November 2019, the concept of GameFi was proposed for the first time, opening up a whole new track. Three years later, the explosive popularity of Axie and StepN introduced the "X to Earn" model, triggering a funding frenzy for Web3 games, with total funding nearing ten billion dollars. Subsequently, many AAA-level game projects started development, shifting the focus of the track from "Fi" to "gameplay."

So, what is the difference between "gameplay" and "gamification"?

We can use a cake as a metaphor:

The gameplay is like the main body of a cake, determining the basic flavor and shape of the cake. It encompasses the core mechanics, rules, challenges, and ways of interaction in the game, which are key to players' enjoyment.

Gamification is more like the decoration on a cake, such as icing and piping. It involves applying game elements to non-game scenarios with the aim of enhancing user engagement.

In simple terms, gamification determines whether players "want to play", while gameplay determines whether the game is "fun".

In Web3 blockchain games, gameplay serves as the foundation of the game and directly affects the player's gaming experience. Gamification, on the other hand, incentivizes players to engage in community building, market trading, and other Web3-specific activities through game mechanics.

BigTime is a typical Web3 game that focuses on "gameplay." It features diverse scene designs, randomly dropped rare equipment, and NFTs that enhance the excitement of the game. The growth and improvement of player skills also provide a sense of real progress. These elements greatly enhance the playability of the game.

Cards AHoy is another blockchain game that emphasizes "gameplay". As a card game, its mechanics are simple yet strategic, with a 60-second design for each round that keeps players wanting more. The game has also undergone deep expansion beyond its basic mechanics, introducing new races and skills, enriching the game's strategic depth.

Although some blockchain game projects have achieved good results in terms of "gameplay", truly "fun" blockchain games are still rare. After all, creating an interesting game requires time and the accumulation of skills.

As a result, some projects have turned to focus on "gamification," maximizing the incentive mechanisms of Web3. Spacebar from the Blast ecosystem is a typical example.

The core gameplay of Spacebar is very simple: register an airplane account, roam in space and visit different "planets" ( project ). By daily check-ins and staking ETH, players can earn point rewards. Although the interface design gives a feeling of "playing a game", in reality, it is more like "gamifying" the process of understanding Web3 projects.

Spacebar attracts users to log in daily through various incentive mechanisms, providing TVL and understanding other ecological projects. These actions are not aimed at enhancing the fun of the game, but rather at increasing user engagement.

Similar "gamification" projects include Xpet, Xmetacene, Notcoin, and Catizen, all of which have put a lot of effort into their incentive mechanisms, packaging the mining process in a "game" format.

The Real Needs of Web3 Players

Is it more suitable for the current Web3 environment to create a game that makes people "want to play" or a game that is truly "fun"? To answer this question, we need to hear what real Web3 players have to say.

We conducted a survey among some players and reached the following 7 conclusions:

1. Most Web3 players have played no more than 5 blockchain games.

2. Twitter is the main channel for Web3 players to obtain information about blockchain games.

3. 90% of Web3 gamers play blockchain games for no more than 2 hours a day, with 57.5% of players spending less than 1 hour a day on blockchain games.

4. The popularity of a game is the main factor for players deciding whether to try a blockchain game.

5. 30.6% of players play blockchain games because of the "gamification" ( that has profit factors ), while 29% of players play blockchain games due to the "gameplay" ( that is rich in content ), with both proportions being close.

6. 38.7% of players gave up on a blockchain game due to "the disappearance of gamification"( losing its appeal for making money), and similarly, 38.7% of players gave up on a blockchain game because "the disappearance of gameplay"( made it no longer fun).

7. The Top 5 blockchain games that players look forward to the most are: Xterio ecosystem games, MATR1X, Space Nation, Pixels, and BAC Games.

These survey results are unexpected. As a veteran of Web3, I originally thought that most people play blockchain games mainly for profit, and that not many truly care about the "gameplay." However, the survey shows that half of the players would experience a game because it is "fun" in itself.

This discovery reflects that the Web3 gaming industry may be at a turning point, beginning to truly return to healthy development. Web3 players seem to value both "gameplay" and "gamification," seeking a balance between the two.

Conclusion

Innovation in terms of "gameplay" or "gamification" is good as long as it meets the needs of players. However, innovation cannot be separated from demand, and the basic needs of humans have not changed much; only the means of satisfying those needs have changed.

Web3 games are essentially still about fulfilling people's needs for spiritual freedom and emotional release, just in a different form. Although there are currently very few Web3 games that can truly meet players' spiritual needs, as long as this demand exists, Web3 games will definitely have a future.

As for when this future will arrive, it remains to be seen by the market. But whether it's about making "gamification" or games with prominent "gameplay", the ultimate goal is to enlarge this "cake" so that both developers and players can benefit from it.