Published on: 01/02/2022

Metaverse Games: What is Gaming in the Metaverse?

The definition of the metaverse can simply be put as virtual reality (VR) space with interoperable and unified features where users interact easily with themselves and the digital world through the use of advanced human-computer interaction (HCI) software and hardware. The emergence and advancement of blockchain gaming technology have given rise to the creation of metaverse games in relation to the concept of gaming.

So, what is a metaverse? Metaverse refers to a virtual space that can represent either a digital world or a physical, real space. You can gain entry into the metaverse with or without VR/AR headsets due to the virtual nature of the environment. Lands, watch concerts, play-to-earn and shops can be owned on the metaverse, which is one of the ecosystem’s beauty.

What is Gaming in the Metaverse?

At the time of writing, the virtual reality gameplay can be found on independent applications installed on the VR gear, your desktop, or mobile phones. You can be forgiven for believing you are having the perception of reality while playing because of the almost real nature of the games.

‘Snow Crash’ is a Sci-Fi novel where the coinage of metaverse was first discovered in 1992. It has a standpoint that an individual could link together several virtual reality games in order to birth a seamlessly operational space for users.

Gaming in the metaverse possesses the following attributes:

• Social gaming: The sociability of the metaverse makes it unique and distinct from the traditional virtual reality experience. Players who play metaverse games can reach out to the real world, invite other players, enjoy the moment together, and build long-term relationships.
• Games-as-platforms: A great deal of flexibility is experienced by gamers as they engage in other activities aside from gaming, build their own content, add to the virtual worlds and create sub-games.
• Mixed reality experience: The leverage of the MR and AR by the metaverse offers mixed reality feelings. From the group text in MR and AR board games, users can transit into a well-developed VR realm without struggles.
• Play to earn: Play-to-earn can be very profitable for game lovers looking for a place to invest. It is an essential part of the whole concept behind metaverse games.

Top Metaverse Gaming Companies

Some of them are Axie Infinity, Yield Guild Games, Gala, Chromia, Decentraland, and Mines of Dalarnia:

Decentraland

Owners do a lot of things in the Decentraland virtual world. The events page on it gives participants opportunities to partake in activities like DJ parties and art exhibitions. You can use any authentic Crypto wallets to explore the Decentraland after signing in, and if you are a guest, you can also be part of the experience.

Some other things done here include buying and selling digital real estate. You can also advertise, rent, and build on it.  These activities in Decentraland virtual world are totally controlled by owners and not intermediaries.

Gala

Gala games developers have said that they will work on providing crypto games and releasing a blockchain of their own known as GalaChain, which is currently deployed on Ethereum.

This is a fantastic blockchain gaming studio developed by the dev team and launched with attractive games like SpiderTanks, a PvP game, and a simulation game known as Townstar. Gala is also a native token with which you can buy and sell in-game items.

Sky Mavis

Play-to-earn is a methodology adopted by Axie Infinity developed by Sky Mavis. This game allows players to earn when they collect and breed digital creatures. The Axie Infinity approach differs from that of Decentraland, which seeks to build a virtual world where aspects of the original world are mimicked. It is interesting to know that the Axie mentioned earlier participated in the player vs. player (PvP) contest.

Axie Infinity is operated by the AXS or Axie Infinity Wards, its personalized governance token. Players who engage in metaverse games on this platform can sell creatures in exchange for the native tokens and then make real profit with them on the marketplace.

Yield Guild Games

Yield Guild Games is a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) that makes it possible for a set of players to engage in blockchain games from different locations. The flexibility of the games’ participation is a major advantage this concept has over a lot of games.

The goal of the Yield Guild Games is to accommodate different players from various locations in the world for them to compete and also win contests together.

Also referred to as the YGG, its approach is not like the conventional or old age period when one must be present to successfully start and see out competition for in-game assets, tokens/cash, and prizes. On the YGG, you can explore the abundant freedom you are given to play metaverse games like Axie infinity, among others.

Due to the decentralized and autonomous nature of the YGG, players have to approve important decisions by voting. Such decisions could be the type of games the players want to play so as to get rewards, the NFTs to purchase, or where money should be invested.

Chromia

Just like Gala, Chromia is a blockchain gaming studio that has witnessed the creation of several games like the Mines of Dalarnia. Krystopia and My Neighbor Alice are some of the other metaverse games. As this emerging tech gets stronger and better, expect more wonderful gaming innovations.

In Mines of Dalarnia players have to fight for gears and items while also combating other players in order to grow into the game tactically and develop more skills. It is necessary you know that the game is a 2D one, but it will not be a bad idea to integrate 3D worlds and maps so as to create an environment for awesome gaming experiences.

Companies Involved in the Future of Metaverse Games

Venture capitalists, tech giants, and gaming companies have been making landmark investments in the metaverse.  Companies like Epic Games, Sandbox, and Meta have all been involved in the potential of metaverses in gaming.

Epic Games

It is best known for the VR game Fortnite. All over the world, artists have done concerts with the metaverse to check the capabilities of the game. Epic Games had made an announcement about its intention to invest $1 billion to create its metaverse focused on gaming.

The Sandbox

Like the Open Sea, the Sandbox game accommodates users’ building on land after buying before selling such buildings in NFT marketplaces. The process for the player is first to buy the land, build on it, then sell.

It is also a play-to-earn format like the Axie Infinity. On the Sandbox, you can be the builder of a metaverse or be a participant who plays metaverse games developed by other builders.

As an owner, you have digital rights to your creations, and you can also trade them. The native cryptocurrency used for facilitating transactions and powering the economy is called SAND.

Meta

Formerly known as Facebook, this is a new entity that has been introduced to the metaverse. Facebook created a rich world full of great experiences, demonstrating the innovative vision it has for the metaverse. Its VR innovation has an attractive and applaudable track record.

Challenges Associated with Metaverse Games

• Child Monitoring And Control: It could be a big problem to monitor children’s activities, and if the server has heavy avatar customization, it can be challenging to distinguish who the children are and who the adults are. Metaverse games produced must have enough controls.
• NFT ownership rights: The fuzzy and inconsistent state of the ownership rights of in-game assets like the Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) is a major challenge that needs urgent address. There needs to be a clear and specific definition of a user’s rights to own an NFT and how to trade and interact with it.
• Infrastructure Challenges: Even though the metaverse is interoperable to a good extent, there is a huge level of interoperability required to create metaverse games, which has not been achieved yet. Coming up with a single set of metaverse laws by countries, Tech giants, and virtual reality gaming industry stakeholders must be done to achieve tremendous results that will help stabilize the infrastructure of the metaverse.