A new initiative aims to make game creation and creative projects on the blockchain simpler for a wider community.

Today, Feb. 18, blockchain startup Enjin launched its gaming and digital collectibles creation platform on the Ethereum mainnet.

Platforms such as Enjin’s consider that the blockchain can and should be used for purposes beyond currency and value transfer.

Commodities such as video games, digital art and even memes can be tokenized and monetized, circulating in a peer-to-peer community using blockchain technology.

For this kind of ecosystem, a unique but tradeable blockchain asset — known as a non-fungible token — can be used to represent all manner of virtual — and equally, real-world — goods.

Unlike many digital tokens and currencies, non-fungible tokens are a form of a digital collectible: non-fungible meaning they are not interchangeable, carrying unique information (metadata) and varying in their level of rarity.

Enjin’s pitch is that they provide a simplified interface for users to design and market their games without needing to get into the nitty-gritty of mastering code and blockchain infrastructure engineering skills.

The platform allows users to create both fungible and non-fungible tokens, and to customize their supply model, transfer fees, value and other parameters.

Game and other product creators can also use an Enjin-hosted blockchain-based crowdfunding model to raise capital for their development needs — offering investors either digital currencies or in-game assets that can be later be used or exchanged.

Popularizing blockchain

As reported this week, digital collectibles and blockchain-based gaming ecosystems are quickly gaining traction as a lucrative industry, providing a means for individuals and enterprises to efficiently monetize online viral phenomena and branded products.

The field has attracted household names such as Microsoft, Formula 1 and Atari — the developer behind the iconic video games Tetris and Pac Man.

Last year, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin argued that developments such as NFTs and gaming are potential sectors that can help propagate and broaden blockchain’s appeal.