A Perspective on NFT Game Balance

Gaming can be an emotional topic, especially where nostalgia is concerned. Adding wood to the fire, financial dimensions are now being integrated with games via blockchain technology: cryptocurrency & NFTs. Developers should commit to maintaining fair gameplay mechanics amidst the rush to integrate crypto.

We all know what happens when a unit or item is buffed too much or nerfed too hard — an uprising. That emotional effect will only multiply where players are financially concerned with the outcomes of gameplay. This is why we’re committed to fairness of gameplay and player opportunity as we explore integrating play to earn rewards into our first games.

There are existing successes in the NFT games market that, while undoubtedly amazing, provide in-game advantages to players that hold certain NFTs. This results in an environment where those with the most money are the most likely to win (“pay to win”), even if that game is play to earn. This is because in this type of economy, the item that gives the greatest advantage will eventually cost the most on the open market as it allows the holder to earn more rewards — supply and demand. In this case, the price of an NFT becomes a function of the “earn” it can generate. And with that, some in-game magic has been lost (one may opine).

Instead, if NFTs are removed from the game balance equation altogether, then player money is unable to affect gameplay outcomes. A sense of justness can been restored with purely cosmetic game items, for example. Fortnite is an exemplary model of this neutrality (albeit non-crypto, for now), bringing in billions a year without selling any in-game advantages.

There are, of course, highly desirable game elements and traits that require imbalance or unfairness to be achieved. It is a matter of structure, preference, and type of game, and is a topic for discussion regardless of whether a game integrates blockchain technology.

In order to facilitate a sense of fairness in the community, a founding hypothesis is hereby established that our NFTs shall not impact game balance or outcome of play.