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Sega calls video games that use blockchain technology 'boring'
(gamerkick.com)
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this post was submitted on 07 Jul 2023
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Right, a blockchain doesn't require mining, that's just how many cryptocurrencies happen to encourage transaction processing. But not all of them do it that way. Ethereum, for example, moved to proof of stake for its blockchain (i.e. you put up X coins and you're trusted as a verifier), so it doesn't need to do any mining at all.
A blockchain is just a series of cryptographically verified transactions. How people are trusted and rewarded for verifying transactions is up to the blockchain implementor.
That said, it's kind of a buzzword right now, so I assume most, if not all, games that include blockchain either do it as a gimmick or do it in a very predatory/scammy way. But that doesn't mean the tech is bad (i.e. email isn't bad because fraudsters use it), it just means it's very niche in usefulness.
Thing is, forming a chain by having each entry reference the checksum of the previous one is also used by the version control system git, which preceded bitcoin, being released in 2005 as opposed to 2009. So technically, it's not blockchain technology, it's git technology. In fact, you could easily implement this sort of thing with a git repository. E.g. say you want to keep track of real estate. Have a file for every piece of real estate, and when somebody wants to sell something, they create a branch, and append the file for the real estate they want to sell. They sign the commit. Likely, the buyer and a notary will also add signed commits. Then a clerk at town hall checks if all necesarry signatures are there, and merges it back into the main branch.
I guess if you take a super abstract view if it, that comparison makes sense. But the whole concept is the nature of verification. It would be like requiring the majority of your team to sign every commit before it becomes part of your git tree. And to do so without any central authority.
The innovation with blockchain isn't in the abstract structure, but the decentralized verification system. A game doesn't need all of that decentralization, but it could use some of it (e.g. players verify transactions outside of the game, but use central servers for a part of the verification process).
Your git example requires authorized people. Blockchain removes that requirement. Instead of someone deciding something gets merged, everyone (or a majority, plurality, etc) decides what gets merged.
The presence of parties powerful enough to screw you over without using trickery removes the value of decentralized verification. Even if the central authority refuses to merge it, I can proof that they refused to merge it without good reason. The central authority could take my house and disregard the blockchain if they so choose, and at that point, all I could do is prove that they screwed me.
I'm not sure what your point is. You're essentially saying you're screwed with the blockchain, but everything you started implies you're screwed without the blockchain:
Sure, and they can do that now. The only thing stopping your city from taking your house is the court system and police enforcement. In a game, there are even fewer protections, so the game devs can take your digital assets if it's inconvenient. I guess you could sue them in civil court, but they're also in control of the EULA for the game. We've seen cases where games ban players, which essentially takes away the license they bought for the game.
With blockchain, you could externalize all of those transactions. If the main servers block you, you could join another server that doesn't recognize the ban. The less control the game companies have over transactions, the more transparent those types of decisions become.
However, it needs to be built properly to actually take advantage of the benefits of blockchain. Everything I've seen has simply been a money grab because there's little incentive to do it properly.
I typed that right after I got home from a long hike, and i fell and hit my knee on the way back, so I was rather tired when I last replied to you.
The point being is that since some trust in a central authority is required, the central authority can handle verification. And because of the cryptographic signatures, the only way they could cheat would by ommitting transactions. Invalid transactions, either because its unsigned or because the numbers don't add up, can be detected trivially. So if we just give all stakeholders a copy of the transaction, they'd be able to prove that the transaction has been ommitted.
I hope your knee is okay. :)
I'm more concerned about what happens when the central authority disappears. I think everyone has experienced a game being dropped by the studio, and if it's an MMO or something, you could lose valuable items you've purchased even if third party servers exist.
Externalizing transactions means individual servers can decide which transactions (i.e. which central authorities they recognize). So if the game devs act poorly, the community can switch to another authority they prefer. It also gives devs less of a reason to discard transactions between version releases because the community would expect those transactions to remain valid (they are separate from the game after all).
So I think they are a lot of good ways it could be used to players' benefit, but unfortunately it's usually a gimmick or scam.
My knee is doing better now. Thanks for your concern.
Well, under my model, somebody else could take over for the central authority, as they just need the most recent version of the ledger. Since stakeholders of transactions are supposed to retain copies, that shouldn't be too difficult.
The moment work needs to be done off chain, be that hosting servers or enforcing the law, the blockchain loses its one advantage. I suppose the best verification mechanism would be proof of identity, where key players are known and can't get a new pseudonym.
And that could work, depending on how the ledger is implemented. It needs to be such that the dev can't just "force push" and get away with it. As long as the public (meaning the playerbase) has a high confidence in the ledger being accurate and immutable, and the public can take over the ledger, I think it's worth pursuing. Blockchain is one possible solution, and I'm sure there are plenty more.
Thing is, we don't need to make fraud impossible, we just have to make sure that it is always detectable. We know who the devs are, and if we can prove when they abuse their authority, they can be sued and their reputation would be ruined. This should proof a sufficient deterrent, and allow damage to repaired through compensation.
Sure, and blockchain is one option to make the ledger public and trusted. There are lots of ways companies can go about it.
The important thing is to get companies to actually do it, and building on crypto hype is one possible avenue to reward companies for transparency. So I'm all for discussing ways for blockchain to fit in to gaming.