1. Share with you because I think it’s cool and interesting

2. Generate discussions in the Delegati group chat and Delegati Farcaster channel. So I encourage you to pick something from this article and post your thoughts.

3. Be wrong about a lot of things, but also be willing to learn

https://www.tonk.gg/posts/farmvillemoment

This article does an amazing job at inspiring game designers to think outside of the box when thinking about building fully onchain games. It encourages something non-skeuomorphic design where you are not iterating on the past, but fully embracing a new design space and creating new ideas that aren’t possible with previous technology.

My favorite quote:

“Gaming - as a literal playground for technical exploration - has proudly been a leading indicator for innovation since the tech industry’s halcyon days. After all - the peril of centralized game design was probably responsible for Ethereum itself.”

Let's have a non-skeuomorphic game jam session for fully onchain games?

https://aw.network/posts/infinite-modding

Infinite modding brings up the idea of composable game assets which are assets that can be used by anyone to build upon an existing game or build a completely new one. Although this concept has existed a while in web2 with UGC games like Roblox, Fortnite, and Minecraft, this article takes a blockchain-based take on UGC. It is like web2 UGC, but with a strong open-source feel to it, whereas web2 UGC is certainly not open-source.

My favorite quote:

“Onchain composability means that any game can be infinitely modded by anyone. With thoughtful design at the sandbox level, any team can introduce new functionality on top of an existing game, with the community being the final judge as to whether the functionality advances or detracts from the game. In an Autonomous World, there is no hard distinction between consumer and producer, audience and author, player and developer. Who creates the game is now truly open. Audiences can make a game their own, defying the developer's expectations. With this technology, they do not need to ask permission.”

How do you see modding looking different in web3 verses web2? What are the implications of that?

https://mirror.xyz/1kx.eth/v6HaPiqRvtC_qIeDnyhiC8ICjwtBdLiNhZh4vbqsW-s

A good overview of the current understanding of fully onchain games (FOCG) and autonomous worlds (AW). I’d certainly recommend this to anyone who asks what a FOCG or AW is.

My favorite, clear overview of FOCGs:

“An on-chain game is a game where:

1. All game logic, state (assets and others) are on-chain, implemented via smart contracts.

2. The source of truth for game data is the blockchain. The blockchain is not just used as an auxiliary store of data or a “mirror” of data stored in a proprietary server; all of the meaningful data (not just asset ownership) is stored on the blockchain. This allows the game to fully utilize the benefits of programmable blockchains: a transparent, permanent, and permissionlessly interoperable data stores.

3. The game is developed in accordance with open ecosystem principles.

4. The game contracts and (usually) an accessible game client are open-source.

5. Third-party developers are empowered to customize or even fork their own gameplay experiences through plugins, third-party clients, interoperable smart contracts, and even full redeployment. This, in turn, allows game developers to harness the creative output of an entire (incentive-aligned) community.

6. The game is client (front-end) agnostic.

Do you agree or disagree with this definition? What would you add, change, or remove?

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2128270/Path_of_Achra/

Path of Achra is a dark fantasy roguelike of the ancient earth, with a focus on streamlined controls and rapid hero customization.

I played this old looking (but made in 2024) game because I was researching roguelikes in an attempt to find something that could be made fully onchain. Specifically, this game is turn-based in its movement and combat, which is important for fully onchain games (FOCGs) since there needs to be lower actions per minute (APM).

If I were to build a FOCG today, it would be heavily inspired by this game, but with better art, UI, and progression.

If you were to build a FOCG today, how would you simplify the APM so that it could be run entirely onchain?

https://research.auditless.com/p/al-64-my-7-best-ideas-for-web3-games

casslin.eth shared this article and I thought it was perfect for looking back at older games and thinking about how they could reemerge as blockchain-based games. As you’ve already seen above with Path of Achra, I think this approach makes a lot of sense… especially since they are proven to be fun. Something that’s missing in a lot, if not most, of web3 gaming.

What game or genre would you turn into a blockchain based game and why?

https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/how-nft-royalties-work/

This is super applicable to any game that wants to have in-game trading and marketplaces. In World of Warcraft, the auction house was vital to the game so you could buy/sell armor, weapons, and potions. The auction house took a small % of gold on each auction listed and sold.

Some thoughts/questions:

If marketplaces have a royalty, will players just trade peer-to-peer? Or will the in-game marketplace provide enough utility/convenience to justify spending 1% on your transaction?

It seems like the allowlist approach seems most similar to web2 - more control and more profit. While the blocklist approach is seems more web3 native - less control and less profit.

I really would hate to see web3 games close off modders and external devs with an allowlist. That's essentially the same thing as APIs today where the studio can turn them off any time they want, right?

The staking thing is interesting for sure - innocent until proven guilty, but you need to show investment. Steam does this with games - $100 to post

Post your thoughts on Scott’s post (the author of article) here.