The Synergy between Gaming and Blockchain

Accessibility and Education through Familiarity for the Masses.

Are we in for a harrowing future of gaming like in Ernest Cline’s book? (Image from https://geektyrant.com)

What do we already know about investing in cryptocurrency?

With all of the recent hype that came about in the new year, with talk of investing in cryptocurrency and all the risk and horror stories surrounding it, a lot of fuel was added to the fire of doubt and uncertainty, and in all fairness I don’t think we can blame people for it!

The word ‘investing’ is already scary enough, there are massive implications of risk, you all know the classic disclaimer about investments going down as well as up! In addition to that, it typically means parting with a significant sum of money relative to what you may have, and in the recent financial climates the results tend to be a lot more negative than they were in boom times!

Add the word ‘cryptocurrency’ or ‘bitcoin’ to the mix (wait, what’s a blockchain?!), and we get an additional set of negative associations to do with scams and black markets. Unfortunately, I think it’s hard to disagree that no matter what happens in the coming years(Unless Ernest Cline’s vision comes to pass), it will take a while before people really trust and embrace the idea of any ‘cryptocurrency’ as a sensible investment, and rightfully so I hasten to add!

The image needs no further description - from jooinn.com

So…maybe we need to take a different approach, and please allow me to be a little sensationalist..!

If you read the title you’ve probably guessed what’s next, and that is using games and entertainment to educate and encourage people to actively learn about the blockchain(we won’t call it cryptocurrency anymore!). The gaming and entertainment industry is huge and the majority of people interact with it everyday, and not because they are hoping to strike electronic gold, but to wind down and relax. Fortunately, this also appears to be a much more effective way to learn than if you sat down and forced yourself to read an article about what a distributed ledger is…

Before we get too carried away, I must point out that blockchain games so far have predominantly involved an element of monetisation, but the amounts in question start far lower than anything labelled an ‘investment’ and the pretext here is that it’s all a bit of fun and you shouldn’t be expecting to make money. Throughout all the cryptogames so far, a lot of people have not made a profit(especially given that it’s a zero sum game by definition), and hell not everyone has even had fun, but I can guarantee that everyone has learnt something! Reading about how transactions work on the ethereum network is boring, but spend half an hour in CryptoGameTalk when a pyramid or hot potato is being launched, and you’ll learn all about it!

With all of that being said, I still firmly believe that games are a great way to introduce people to blockchain and what it means, whilst hopefully having some fun and at potentially little to no cost to them. This doesn’t have to apply to just ‘young tech savvy millennials’ as it is typically portrayed, but really anyone old or young who is curious! With the explosion of the sector, there will soon be something for everyone, and in a much more friendly and approachable context that isn’t associated with heavy financial losses!

I think this also sets a premise for the synergy referred to in the title as game developers will begin to explore how micro economies can be run using the blockchain and provide a new level of depth in the monetisation of online games, but that’s a whole new topic of discussion which will come soon(but in the meantime, read the book ‘ready player one’)!

The DopeRaider world and the current market!

What is the next step?

It is no coincidence that this has been posted on the DopeRaider medium page, and though we as a team are not claiming we are paving the way to blockchain adoption through games, we are definitely trying to take a step in that direction.

If you share the same vision as us then come and chat to us and have a play on the Ropsten testnet — our aim is to create a repeatable and engaging multiplayer strategy game on the ethereum network, but maybe you can help us push the boundaries to something greater!

To find out more and meet us come to:

Website: https://doperaider.com/

Discord: https://discord.gg/trEA8AY

Telegram: https://t.me/DopeRaider

Email: team@doperaider.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/doperaider

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/doperaider/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DopeRaider/

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/playdoperaider/?hl=en

Medium: https://medium.com/@DopeRaider