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Or they could just, y'know, release their server code? Or hell, you can have fans reverse engineer it, which has already happened quite a few times (most recen

Or they could just, y'know, release their server code? Or hell, you can have fans reverse engineer it, which has already happened quite a few times (most recently with Dark Souls 3 since From Software still hasn't brought back the servers, most likely because they're trying to push players towards Elden Ring).

bombcar 5y ago
Which would likely go alongside it; the only thing MAYBE it would allow is everyone to continue to play "in one big agreed-on world". I suspect it's unlikely and better handled by just using a database and a trusted group but it's the only idea I have been able to come up with.
cwkoss 5y ago
I think the way most games are set up, the 'drops' part isn't compatible with self hosting - how do you verify someone accomplished the thing (completed the quest, killed the boss, etc.) without cheating? If you don't verify, the economy gets flooded and value of everything approaches zero - even if it is on the blockchain. If the entity controlling the economy isn't controlling the servers the code is running on, is anti-cheat feasible? I think there could be a novel game economy pattern could emerge from this that could be compelling (where items are not tied to in-game accomplishments), but I'm skeptical blockchains can mesh with current popular game economies. The only alternative seems like it would require all of the game logic to be encoded on the blockchain, which would mean killing a monster would cost money (to encode the transaction) - would have to be an extremely compelling game to justify the expense.
- cwkoss 5y ago
  Maybe a game could be created that's an autonomous CCG game - so the 'game' is played half on self hosted servers where you take a set of cards, configure and build your 'deck' and play test games with yourself (potentially just locally), then you could engage in 'ranked battles' on controlled servers which have the authority to issue new cards. Each server could have an allowlist of which servers' cards are playable on their server, so it would allow for a decentralized network of card issuers and a web of trust to determine which cards are valid in which contexts. (Gameplay doesn't necessarily need to be card-based, could be autonomous entities like soldiers and tanks with a set of buff/modifier cards.)

bombcar 5y ago

Which would likely go alongside it; the only thing MAYBE it would allow is everyone to continue to play "in one big agreed-on world". I suspect it's unlikely and better handled by just using a database and a trusted group but it's the only idea I have been able to come up with.

cwkoss 5y ago

I think the way most games are set up, the 'drops' part isn't compatible with self hosting - how do you verify someone accomplished the thing (completed the quest, killed the boss, etc.) without cheating? If you don't verify, the economy gets flooded and value of everything approaches zero - even if it is on the blockchain. If the entity controlling the economy isn't controlling the servers the code is running on, is anti-cheat feasible? I think there could be a novel game economy pattern could emerge from this that could be compelling (where items are not tied to in-game accomplishments), but I'm skeptical blockchains can mesh with current popular game economies. The only alternative seems like it would require all of the game logic to be encoded on the blockchain, which would mean killing a monster would cost money (to encode the transaction) - would have to be an extremely compelling game to justify the expense.

cwkoss 5y ago
Maybe a game could be created that's an autonomous CCG game - so the 'game' is played half on self hosted servers where you take a set of cards, configure and build your 'deck' and play test games with yourself (potentially just locally), then you could engage in 'ranked battles' on controlled servers which have the authority to issue new cards. Each server could have an allowlist of which servers' cards are playable on their server, so it would allow for a decentralized network of card issuers and a web of trust to determine which cards are valid in which contexts. (Gameplay doesn't necessarily need to be card-based, could be autonomous entities like soldiers and tanks with a set of buff/modifier cards.)