Binance NFT TUESDAY - NFTS in video games, a potential revolution?

Shortly before having revealed to the general public its ambition on the NFT with the launch of its marketplace scheduled for June, Binance already organized several online events on this subject.These events taking place on Tuesday are called NFT Tuesday.Today, Cointribne returns to these episodes.

This NFT Tuesday offered by Binance is focused on video games and animated by two presenters, David Princay (a French Binance Angel) and Mari (a Spanish Binance)).The presentation is divided into two parts.

A first part (1) consisting of a discussion between two actors from the NFTS and video games industry, with Aleksander Leonard Larsen working on the Infinity Axie and La Jounalist game, Elsa Ramon.

Then a second part (2), consisting of a panel of several stakeholders of the ecosystem of the video game NFTs with Anna Norvik of Antler Interactive developing the game Myneighboralice, Artur Sychov from Somnium Space, Sebastien Borget of The Sandbox and Marguerite Decourcelle deGames blockade developing the Neon District game.

1 - Conversation by the fire “Fireside Chat” with Aleksander Leonard Larsen and Elsa Ramon

[Elsa Ramon / Er]: Hello everyone, and hello Aleksander!I was presenter on a television news channel in the United States.And I left my work for the crypto active ecosystem.

[Aleksander Leonard Larsen / All]: Hello Elsa!I am Aleksander Leonard Larsen, I am one of the founders of Sky Mavis, the company behind the Infinity Axie Game.I am also on the board of directors of the Blockchain Alliance game game.I have been working in the video game ecosystem on the blockchain since early 2018.We built and developed our games during the Bear Market and now we see the result of our work accomplished with a constantly evolving and very popular game.

[And]: Yes, we start to notice a trend for games on the blockchain.I have an 8 year old son who taught me a lot about the world of video games!I noticed by doing my research on the NFTS that it was not only a leisure and entertainment, but that the NFTS became a social movement.a financial opportunity.It is complicated to express yourself on the subject with the NFT word because it designates a multitude of different things.In 2020, according to Statista, the video game industry was valued at more than $ 131 billion as a whole.This money largely benefited companies producing video games.Whether through people shopping in the game, skins, etc...

What is your opinion on the fact that the video game industry could completely be transformed by the NFTS?

[ALL]: When we started to develop our Infinity Axie Game, it was because we felt that the NFTS were going to change the way the games were going to be changed forever.And one of the main reasons for this was that the NFTS give players the opportunity to have an impact on what is created in the game and on the value of this creation.

We discovered as the NFTS develop a “network effect” in video games.Players are becoming more and more committed and more and more confident about their money expenditure in the game when they really hold their objects available in the game, when these objects are NFTS.

This is not something that we say in the air.We have real proofs of this in Infinity Axie.Especially when we can see how ready to spend for these objects that do not necessarily offer a generation of pecuniary return.

It's quite wonderful to see the impact that the NFTS already have.But for NFTS in particular I can say that it is more natural for them to be used for video games than for art.Because a player directly understands that he has an NFT, that means that he can use it within the game.It's less clear for a work of art nft.

[And]: Yes, it's always complicated to explain to people outside the world of crypto, what the NFTS are, that these digital objects have real value.Something that I don't need to explain to my 8 year old son, nor to children, adolescents or adults playing video games!

Is it complicated for you to explain that NFTS have a value?

[All]: not necessarily, because players are used to its mechanisms.

[ER]: Yes, but outside the players?

[All]: In all honesty, I don't even try.The video game market is so important that now non -players are forced to admit our existence and our presence.

And it's really good, I was a player throughout my life and we see more and more people playing games throughout their lives and they continue to grow, they live experiences throughgames.And this is also happening in Infinity Axie, we just push this experience further.Players earn tokens who are shares in the world of Infinity Axie.I am extremely excited to see what will happen.

[ER]: There is already irrefutable evidence that NFTS and games like Infinity Axie can have a strong impact on communities.

Last year, during the peak of the pandemic, I had read an article on Coindesk explaining that Axie Infinity had really transformed a community.It was not just a game.

Thus in the Philippines during the pandemic, many people ended up in need and without salary.The game allowed them to get out of it by offering them the possibility of making money.

This story really marked me because it gave a way for these people to benefit from infinity axis, from its community.It seems to have a big impact beyond what people can read, see and think about these games.that would only be games.

Do you see that happening in other community in the future?

[ALL]: It is linked to the way we have appointed the economic system of the game.From the start we were clear about how we want to structure the economy so as not to have a great influence on inflation or on the resources that the player can obtain.

People were accountable that they could earn a living by playing the game.And this is possible because instead of selling characters directly in the game, Axie Infinity shares with the players part of the value generated in the game

As soon as a player wants to buy an axie, he must buy it on the marketplace and this axia is itself created by a player.The player who wants to create his axia must have love potion in his inventory and we take a percentage of this transaction.

The games develop and the players participate in the creation of value for the game.It is very effective because the more the community grows, the more players we have, the more they want to win resources, collect axes.It’s a circle that is self -secure.

This is why we saw people earn their lives thanks to the game.It made us understand the potential for Axie.and what the game could become.

Because we find solutions to larger issues than most people realize.This is the question of a universal income and the definition and creation of a digital nation.

It's a bit like the game was a cake, and this cake is shared between the players' community and the developers.We do not have all of them, and this is what gives the greatest value to a game composed of NFT.

[ER]: Speaking of food, how can players exchange the potions they earn?They seem that there are complications, because the costs of Gas on Eth are very expensive..

[All]: We are in the middle of an important infrastructure upgrade that has been on the way for over a year.We are going to a sidechain in order to reduce Gas fees.There was a moment or two Ethereum minors received more than 2000.000 dollars of gas fees every week.It had become absurd.

Now players can play on our sidechain: novel Network.The Gas is very low, but the problem is that they must go through Ethereum, then by Binance.

Things happen but take longer than we had anticipated.

Creating a quality game takes several years, and when you build on a technology as disruptive as blockchain, you have to understand that you are not just creating a game.Everything around the game is as important as the game like the community, the players, the game economy.This is what we try to do at Axie Infinity.

[And]: I imagine that the NFTS would have different impacts on different communities around the world.Whether in Europe, in the United States, in the Philippines.The impact will be different.How do you see the universe of NFTS grow and adapt to the different needs of people all around the world?

[All]: In Axie Infinity, and in many other games, there are different types of players.Some play just for fun, they like the game.Others want to make high -level competitions.It is not necessarily to earn tokens or money.

Each player has his motivation to play.Some are only there to have this feeling of progression, others to obtain the token and a remuneration.

Often a person arrives to win tokens, but remain for the game.

So even if we use growth strategies with tokens, we must make sure that the game is fun enough for people to appreciate their moment in the game.So that it is not precisely a mechanical of work, of pure yield.

It is put together a game and real life.You could say that it is gaming in a sense our life.

[ER]: You are right to say that it is more than a game.Children love games a lot and play with their friends.They make alliances, strategies, we feel as parents that there are more of the game than the game itself.They learn and develop different skills in addition to having fun.

I would not have imagined that someone could have a real career, and even go to a school for that.Some universities have programs that open in its fields.

What is your opinion on the future of his video game careers?

[All]: I come from the high-level e-sport universe, and I think it's always a dream for a player to be able to live his passion.But the truth is that these old gaming systems and games were not necessarily designated for this.

In ESPORT, 0.001 % of the entire players have the opportunity to live from their passion.And even at the highest level it may be a dozen players.

When you democratize your new business models, this is where it becomes interesting.Thejeux evolve from games to real virtual world.There will be an evolution towards metovers in which everyone can play different games and use the NFTS of their different games in a sort of mega game.

It may be utopian but it should happen in a few years.Things go fast, and NFTS will have a great impact on this evolution.

[And]: a lot of money in the video game industry.131 billion in 2020.No doubt more for 2021.What do you think of the potential of the video game industry considering income?

[All]: The potential is unlimited.We are heading for a digital future.People will be players.This is why I dedicate my life and my work to Infinity Axie.Because I believe in this future.And that is why I am delighted to be in this ecosystem, because there are many people younger than me, who have found their vocations.Or they are not judged by older generations.We can do what we want and change the world.I'm convinced.

[Er] What would you say to young aspiring players who are looking at us to talk about the future of video games?

[All]: it depends on what you want to do.If you become a video game developer, it is a brutal industry where it is difficult to make a place for yourself but it is extremely rewarding when you manage to do it.

There are opportunities in the NTFS ecosystem for those who are ready to invest in it, to meet good people and good communities to invest themselves.

In Axie Infinity, there are many groups and guilds looking for players.You don't need to pay if you can meet the right players to join a community, then win tokens and start from that.

I think the most important thing is to have passion and energy forever going ahead, and not to take no answer.

After the exchange comes the time for the question of the hearing:

[ALL]: One of the great challenges we meet in the NFT ecosystem is that there is not as long as that of content for the NFTS.Each NFT needs a place where it can be used, and if you cannot do it, it becomes useless.This is one of the most basic limitations.

If you have an NFT, someone must find a use to this.In art, the line is a little more blurred.But in video games, if you have an NFT of the game but there is no use to this one, you have nothing, you just expect the arrival of this opportunity.

However, we can also say that if you have an NFT of a game that must be released, there is always the possibility and the potential that this game becomes popular.

This is one of the interesting things in the NFTS.You can buy NFTS of games very early that have not yet been released.

[Er]: yes, but there is a risk inherent in that.It is a bet, if the game does not work or does not come out the NFT is useless.However, the benefit if it comes out and finds its community is extremely important.

[All]: in all that we do in life, there is an inherent risk.Everyone must be aware of this.But it is true that people playing in the crypto ecosystem have a greater risk aversion than others.Of course you have to do your own research and opinions all the time.But I think many people are careful when they invest in the NFTS.

As I said before, it takes time to develop a game.So if you invest in a project, it is possible that it does not come out quickly or at least that everything is operational and playable within a short time.If we promise you the opposite, you have to see it as a bad sign for the project.

Look for the right teams and for players who have experience in the development of something.And you will be positively surprised!This is what happened with Infinity Axie!

[ER]: What advice would you give to people who have just arrived in the ecosystem of the video game NFTs and want to go and check and do research on the projects that could interest them?

As the subject of this NFT Tuesday became known, many people took the opportunity to post investment advice in various projects in comments.

[All]: I could say that Axie Infinity is the best place to start haha!the reason is very simple.You can see how it should be done.Things are obvious, transparent for people who invest in the project.The distribution of tokens is limited for example.These are very basic things to look in in crypto projects, but for NFTS, people are not as used to looking for this.As the maximum number of copies of an NFTS available for example.

You have to pay attention to what you buy.This is why watching the most successful projects is a good thing, you can compare the projects and go see if their active discord, or if it is only twitters boots.Can you look if the people present in the discord are creating value for the project?Do they create tools for the community, works of art, are that they speak positively about the project even if they do not necessarily have a pecuniary interest in doing so?

You have to know how to detect good and bad projects according to a harness of clues.Hence the interest of making a comparison on solid projects and present in place for a long time as an Infinity Axie.We have more than 50.000 active players per day.

[ER]: Have you seen the impact of Infinity Axie on other communities in the world than that of the Philippines?

[ALL]: In early 2018, we started to see that the community was starting to develop games around Infinity Axie.It’s a positive sign.Our ability to attract a community of developing players is a big reason for our current success.

From a more geographic point of view, there are places like Venezuela in which they do not have a bank account and therefore are interested to earn some money or tokens just by interacting with the game.

The more the game is growing, and the players flock, the more it consolidates the confidence of the players.You have more and more players who do not come from Western countries but this increases the confidence of Western players observing that the game becomes more and more flourishing, and are therefore more confident to spend money;

This is also a factor to observe for a project: do players are active, do they spend money and buy resources in the game?Is there an ecosystem?

It takes time to build this ecosystem.We have been developing Infinity for three years.

It's like Bitcoin, we can make a reproduction, a bitcoin fork several times but it is not the same thing.Bitcoin cash, it's not bitcoin.

[ER]: Do you think that social networks and communities, outside the video game industry, will want to become an ecosystem including NFTS, games?

[All]: Yes for sure.I think everyone should have what they do online.This can be your data on social networks, your games in games, your money in a wallet.

What is happening in games is only a pioneer of what will happen later outside this ecosystem.Everything is already digital.

I'm really impatient to see people use their nfts.And that already happens, there are uses of NFT to show the value of an asset, or that the person belongs to a community.This can be infinity or other communities or you must have a specific NFT for example

The most Cointribuni: this is the case for Defi France or Bankless for example with NFTS allowing to prove its commitment to the community.But also for Uniswap V3, on which the liquidity contribution is represented by an NFT ERC 20.

[ER]: How do you see its different communities connecting?Or do you think they will stay in their corners, their own ecosystems?

[All]: a bit of both.There is a division within the NFT ecosystem.With on the one hand, the artistic side and on the other side video games.But these can mix.

I would not have thought that the hype for art nft would be so important.I thought it would be the video games first!

For the second part of the NFT Tuesday dedicated to video games, it is different actors in the video game world that have been invited to discuss and answer questions from Internet users.

2 - A panel of video game actors

This panel was made up of the following guests:

Anna Norrevik: CEO of Antler Interactiv, studio known for the game Myneighboralice Quia makes its ICO (Initial Coin Offering) in March.

Sebastien Borget: CEO and co -founder of The Sandbox, a digital and video game world on the blockchain that values players and creators thanks to the use of NFTS.He is also the president of the Blockchain Game Alliance, an NGO with more than 200 members of the Blockchain video game industry and who pushes to adopt the technologyblockchain technology related to video games, as well as to highlight the work of the differentmembers.

Marguerite Decourcelle: CEO of Blockade Games, studio working on the Neon District game, a Cyberpunk RPG on Polygon.The studio has existed since 2018, and Marguerite is an active blockchain developer since 2014.

Artur Sychov: CEO and founder of Somnium Space, a virtual reality platform or the economy, property and experience of all objects are on blockchain.

[Binance Tuesday]: What do you think will be the future of NFTS in the traditional video game world?

[Anna Norrevik]: My professional experience comes first of all from the traditional world of video games.I worked at paradox interactive before, and we made mobile games, augmented and virtual reality before making blockchain games.

I think there is great potential for NFTS in video games, such as connecting various elements in the game to competition winners.For example in Counter Strike, a game with a lot of tournaments, a strong e-sport place, and a community behind the big sportsmen.For me it would be interesting to be able to know if such a weapon or skin was used during such a victory by such a player.The object would thus take more value and have a story.

I also think it can be used other ways.As for example in RPGS, with a sword that could only be used a certain number of times maximum.The number of use being anchored in the blockchain, and this would also have an impact on the value of this object.

I think what it takes for there to be a click in the world of video games is that big video game studios are starting to realize that there is a lot of potential behind Blockchain technology even forthem.

[Artur Sychov]: As Aleksander Leonard Larsen said earlier, NFTS need to have a use.I think that the future of NFTS in video games but also in general, depends on the fact that they will have to be used, usable and useful for their owner.Otherwise they will have no value.We believe that in 10 years many people will use augmented reality.The avatar I currently wear is an NFT.This is my identity.Things like this will have great interest in people in the future, and they already have a value today.

[Marguerite Decourcelle] at [Artur Sychov]: Are you familiar with Codemiko?A virtual influencer who carries a VR combination on Twitch.Do you wear a combination now?

[Artur Sychov]: No, I don't wear a combination.What I am currently carrying is a VR helmet, with a controller with follow -up of the movement of my fingers.And I wear 3 sensors on my body to reproduce the movements of this.Everything I wear currently costs less than € 1,500 and anyone who buys it can use it directly in the VR universe and free.

[Marguerite Decourcelle]: Ok, I'll do that!

[Artur Sychov]: You should!If you do, tell me and I will help you on the installation, it's really easy, and then you can: "Start dancing in VR".

[Sebastien Borget]: For me, it's really a question of paradigm shift.With a real property of the player.It is not a concept yet fully accepted within the fun video industry, which works a lot around the principle of free to play.If we take up the figures just now of $ 131 billion in income, 50% of these come from free to play.These games exploit users and sell non-limited elements that do not have real uses outside games itself.There is enormous potential to move the industry to a more community approach, putting the player forward and at the center of the economy.By contributing to it but also by being rewarded by this contribution.

It is also a multitudes of utility behind what developers think of how players and creators can create a commitment through NFTS.This can be through the elements in the game but also the ability to exchange your NFTS on marketplace external to the game and generate an income.The ability to create an entire system around the NFTS in which the NFTS are the means of having the possibility of accessing guilds, Dao (decentralized Autonomous Organization), in which players organize themselves and participate inthe governance.NFTS can have an impact on the gameplay itself also, or to create a decentralized finance system in which you can borrow, lend, rent an NFT.

[Marguerite Decourcelle]: I think we are here are building immersive platforms encompassing an economy.We have a vision of the possibility for micro-economies to exist within these games and universes.And that is what great with this is that players can open their own digital business, as on the challenge and on the different tools that we are developing.They are not immersive in the social sense.Having the elements in the game, these digital collections and identities is exciting for people.When you put it in connection with greater economic vision, their business, their communities, it takes on another dimension.

Everyone is all the time on Telegram or Discord for example.Crypto never sleeps.

For me, we will arrive at a time when the lines will merge between the blockchain, the crypto and the avatars.

We currently see it with the artistic movement, everyone is obsessed with the great variety of avatar that we can have.And now the only way possible is to give its avatars a utility.

[Sebastien Borget]: and they have a use in the virtual world essentially.Today Artur is showing us.All virtual worlds can be connected.Artur's avatar could be used in another virtual world.Virtual worlds are the very example of the interoperability of NFTS.

[BT]: What will be the impact of the NFTS video games on creators and artists?

[Artur Sychov]: I think we show and teach people today that they have a property on digital objects.It has never been done before.I have been in virtual worlds since 1999.I started with Ultimo Online, if some are old enough to know.Then I went to Second Life.I saw the vast majority of existing virtual worlds, but also the ascent and the fall of many of them.And companies have started to be too big and make mistakes.The centralization of the game economy was often one of the major reasons for their failure.

Players today, in, any game, have no property or control over their property and possessions.And this is one of the reasons for the most important lessons that people learn.And when they start to understand it, the click intervenes.

This object belongs to me, no one can take it to me, it is in my wallet.

Once the players realize that they are free to do what they want with their objects everything changes.They can sell it, give it, send it to another digital world.All this without needing anyone who.They therefore start to be more confident in the system but also to invest and create more within it.

We are trying to build the future of communication and creators' economics in addition to everything I mentioned earlier.

People will create, people will consume and people will have fun.There will be a value creation.

[Sebastien Borget]: I would like to add that at Sandbox we mainly focus on the content generated by the player.Sandbox has existed for ten years, started on mobile, had more than 40 million downloads, millions of active creators that have made more than 70 million creations.But due to the limitations on mobile, there was not yet the aspect of property, of income sharing.We could not pay its creators when they participated in the success of the game.

As soon as we saw the NFTS appear, we have detected the existing advantages to combine the creations of users and NFTS.You can have your creations, you can exchange them, sell them without authorization, you can start monetizing them.The whole content of The Sandbox is made by users and belongs to users.They can create their own experiences, business, games, algorithmic museum!

They can designate their own clothes and styles.They can go even further in the aspect of Metaverse by taking NFTS that come from other creators such as punk cryptos or meebits, and use them in our virtual world.