Gamers: If You're Creating Content, You Should Be Paid

The potential benefits of web3 technologies are legion, but where gaming is concerned, the opportunities are truly endless. 

In recent years we have seen a flurry of blockchain-based releases capture players’ imagination, from simple NFT trading card games like NFT Top Shot to immersive virtual worlds that breathe fresh life into a decades’ old industry.

One such immersive world deserves closer investigation. Read on to learn more.

Power to the Player

Among the numerous advantages typically cited when it comes to web3 games is player ownership. And not just in terms of in-game assets either. Thanks to decentralized tech players can own commodities they find and earn/unlock, but they can also pocket cryptocurrency for completing quests and missions, and even have their say in various executive matters via the use of governance tokens.

In fact, “player” no longer seems like an appropriate term for modern participants in web3 games. Sure, a swathe of gamers still operate as out-and-out players; but an increasing number treat their virtual endeavors like full- or part-time jobs, earning lucrative sums through ingenious gameplay.

This new paradigm makes a mockery of the old model, whereby 99% of content created for gaming communities by the gaming community itself went unpaid: back then, publishers were the sole beneficiaries of all that value created. In the metaverse, this is beginning to change.

Alien Worlds is the perfect example of a web3 game that furnishes opportunities for hardcore players and content creators. One of the first releases to introduce in-game DAOs, and notable for its economic-simulation model and outer-space setting, the smash-hit metaverse creates countless financial incentives and rewards for those who actually build cool stuff and craft engaging experiences for others.

Governance duties in web3 games is a serious business, as DAO members make decisions with far-reaching consequences, such as deciding how to allocate a treasury budget. Some intrepid gamers even build their own commercial businesses in the metaverse, hosting ticketed events, leasing tracts of digital land or coveted NFTs, or creating their own mini-games, missions and tournaments. 

All of the above is possible in Alien Worlds, where DAO members get to manage sizeable digital asset treasuries, funding games and events as they please while allocating the most valuable NFTs to the best players; community members are encouraged to create their own games, apps, and events under the Alien Worlds banner; and if a DAO (or “Syndicate” in AW parlance) wants to build a business and commercialize its endeavors, it can actually receive support from the platform itself.

After all, if you’re a successful Syndicate building games on the Alien Worlds franchise, you are effectively driving the canon forward and providing a blueprint to other would-be players. If you’re creating content – NFTs, games, tools, tournaments, etc – you should be rewarded accordingly. No excuses.

Naturally the game provides players with a vast terrain to explore, compliments of primary contributor Dacoco. But unlike the old gaming model, the publisher doesn’t have a monopoly on creativity: decentralized communities are able to fund and launch their very own fun games and engaging experiences, with the stage set for friendly competition between DAOs governing the metaverse’s half-dozen planets.

In the past, it was the developer who captured all of the value from players who had to fork out money just to onboard. Now, you can open a web3 wallet and plug in without having to cover an expensive outlay. In the case of Alien Worlds, you need only purchase a “membership” in the form of an NFT costing less than $5. At this point, you can start mining for the game’s native asset Trilium (TLM) with a default shovel tool NFT; you can blast off into space to conduct missions to other planets; and you can participate in a wide range of community events.

Players, of course, are the lifeblood of any game – but it must be said that some bring more value to the ecosystem than others. Think about the Twitch and YouTube streamers that have become celebrities in recent years, watched, admired (and yes, sometimes despised) by millions. These streamers are influential tastemakers, walking advertisements for the games they play – which is why various creative studios have launched content creators programs to encourage them to stay on their platforms. Alien Worlds has a similar goal, though it’s more keen to make its ecosystem irresistible to players than simply lock them into the ecosystem.

Building On Success

The only active metaverse with player-driven DAOs, Alien Worlds retained its status as most-played game in its genre in 2022, averaging a little over 200,000 unique active daily wallets and 13 million+ daily transactions per DappRadar. But rather than staying still, the platform is busy setting the scene for evolution in the years ahead, elevating its brand and design aesthetic and crafting new ways for players to profit. 

While many such developments cannot yet be announced, there will be a renewed focus on building out user-generated content through spinoff ventures and add-ons, mini-stories that exist within the overarching world. The power dynamic in gaming is being completely reimagined, and the lore of Alien Worlds itself is being refined and extended.

With more web3 gaming startups than ever delivering novel experiences and excitement, projects such as Alien Worlds committing to empowering players, and advances in wearable technology, it feels like a great time to be a web3 gamer.

This post was authored by an external contributor and does not represent Benzinga's opinions and has not been edited for content. This contains sponsored content and is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.