6 ways to leverage tokens in gaming

Blockchain enables developers to give players more control over their assets – but it also creates ways to enrich the actual gameplay, and can support development. Be inspired by these examples.

Think you know what gaming tokens are all about? Maybe not… Anyone who starts to look into Web3 games soon realizes that the range of possibilities is vast indeed. For a start, many games use multiple kinds of token: Different coins may be needed for participation, governance and rewards, for instance, with NFT assets up for grabs as a further incentive. Here are some examples of how games are using various tokens to engage players.

1. What’s at stake

Since token staking is a valuable tool for developers to lock in liquidity, a little creative thinking can use this tool to provide benefits for gamers as well as game creators. Maybe you could offer players special items or abilities, or access to privileged player tiers, in exchange for staked tokens.

Alien Worlds, a play-to-earn game that focuses on token mining in an outer space setting, uses staking to enrich gameplay. Players stake Trilium to join missions (where they may discover NFTs – the longer the mission, i.e. the staking period, the rarer the NFTs available) and to participate in planetary governance.

2. A new breed

Axie Infinity has had a lot of problems (many of which were baked into the design), but we give them points for taking the CryptoKitties concept of unique breedable, collectible creatures and putting them in a fun battle game. Combining cuteness with an action element was a winning formula; developers however should think carefully about how to prevent oversupply problems when your NFTs can keep pumping out new assets.

Horse racing game ZED Run tackles this issue by ensuring that its NFT horses don’t just race and breed – they age, too. Horse owners aim to earn money by winning races and breeding them (offering stud services to other players), but each horse has a limited lifespan.

3. Collect and conquer

Collectibles aren’t just good for bragging rights: building a well-curated collection of NFTs can be an essential part of game success. Splinterlands follows the formula of physical card-based battle games like Magic: the Gathering or Pokemon, in which winning requires a well-balanced deck with a good range of cards. That strategic requirement supports a healthy secondary trading market.

Sorare offers a sports spin on the same deck-building idea. But instead of squaring off against other players, you build your fantasy football team with NFTs linked to real-world players and win tokens based on their performance in real-world matches.

4. Land grab

From digital downtown to zombie-ridden wastelands, a host of games invite players to make money off digital real estate. Upland is mapped to the real world, tapping into player nostalgia and aspirations: buy a favorite restaurant and charge visiting fees. Alien Worlds of course offers the chance to mine your planetary plot, and in The Walking Dead: Empires, landowners can earn passive income when other players use their land to build on or craft weapons.

5. Get crafty

Crafting items is a key part of gameplay across diverse genres and can support wildly different forms of fun. In The Walking Dead: Empires, of course, it’s a matter of survival; players need to build or scavenge essential resources, but watch out, those newly created NFT assets could be stolen from you by another ruthless player. No such fears in My Neighbor Alice,an Animal Crossing-style build-and-farm game which leans on charm instead of adrenaline for a relaxing experience in which collaboration rules.

6. Layer it on

The Walking Dead franchise boasts not one, but two blockchain games, and while Empires promises heart-thumping action, TWD Lands is pitched more as a “build and earn metaverse” – with a heavy emphasis on NFTs of all kinds. Beyond that building and developing game mechanism, players can buy vehicles to explore more land and scavenge for resources. The “Degenerative Walker” NFT series provides timed airdrops of the particular zombie a player has purchased in progressing stages of decay. And the studio is also putting weight on the special privileges NFTs can grant, offering passes that grant early access to future airdrops, signed merchandise, invitations to real-world VIP events and so on. On top of that, Walker Access Pass holders will receive randomly minted zombies with every future purchase.

It’s hard to top that for creative leveraging of the rich potential of NFTs. In designing your game, ask yourself what more you can do with every asset. How can it be more fun? How can it generate more reward? How can it be more enticing, and attract more investment? The tech opens up endless possibilities – the fun part is in putting it all together.