New Opportunities in Blockchain Games: Social Interaction May Break the Barrier

With the approval of the Bitcoin spot ETF by the United States, the crypto market has experienced a four-month rebound. Bitcoin has risen from $16,000 at the beginning of the year to around $40,000 now, and the onset of a bull market has become a consensus. During this period, inscriptions, the Bitcoin ecosystem, and blockchain games have become the three main drivers leading this bull market.

So, what new narratives and opportunities will Web3 games have in this bull market?

I. The Three-Year Journey of Blockchain Games

The story of blockchain games can be traced back to early 2021. At that time, DeFi was booming, attracting a large amount of outside capital. For ordinary users, games seemed easier to understand, so early blockchain games can be seen as DeFi dressed in a gaming shell, or adding the "metaverse" concept to the DeFi economic model.

The year 2021 coincided with a crazy bull market, and the wave created by blockchain games shook the entire crypto sphere. Even those who don't understand games could earn huge profits just by clicking the mouse a few times each day. With the support of the bull market, various economic models seemed feasible, but a pure Ponzi scheme would inevitably collapse quickly. The Luna and FTX incidents in 2022 taught newcomers a lesson. Without the benefits of a bull market, the survival cycle of most products has drastically shortened.

The project team has begun to try to attract users with game quality and playability. Many Web2 game teams are confident and hope to surpass projects like Axie with high-quality games. However, so far, there has not been a blockbuster Web3 game that can surpass Axie or StepN. Perhaps everyone is waiting for the opportunities in the bull market of 2024-2025.

In 2023, powerful traditional Web2 giants finally entered the market. They not only brought high-quality games under premium IPs but also introduced investments from veteran players in the gaming industry to test the waters of blockchain gaming. Representative projects include Matr1x, Seraph, Metalist, Metacene, Crystal fun(Outer), and so on.

Insiders refer to projects that have both financial strength and professional capabilities as Web2.5 chain games. Compared to the purely Ponzi model of Gamefi 1.0, Web2.5 chain games have made significant leaps in playability and quality, and their long-term operation of NFT assets has deepened the recognition of Web3 users.

2. Is pursuing AAA gameplay the only way out?

Improving the quality of blockchain gaming products is an inevitable path for the industry, as the playability of the last wave of blockchain games was simply too low. Without the profit-making effect, users find it hard to derive enjoyment from those Gamefi 1.0 products.

However, is pursuing AAA-level playability the only way out for the current blockchain gaming track? Will existing Web3 game users buy into it?

Let's first analyze the characteristics of current Web3 game users. After two years of a bear market, those who continue to play blockchain games are mostly old users. They believe that high-quality blockchain games represent not only high playability but also signify that the project has capital, a team, and technology, which is the so-called "value investment."

Most users do not believe that big productions necessarily attract more users from outside the circle. Their logic is: big productions mean that the team invests heavily, and it is unlikely to focus solely on small players' money. This reflects that since the initial investment is large, the likelihood of the project running away is lower.

The vast majority of old users come purely for making money. As for new users, currently at the early stage of the bull market, there hasn't been a large influx of new users, making it difficult to accurately pinpoint.

Another issue is that well-funded crypto giants won't spend too much time playing games. This leads to large funds only being used to purchase assets, without truly entering the core mechanics of the game. Big players are more willing to invest their funds in DeFi mining. In games, it is mainly small funds engaging in PVE grinding or mutual competition, and the game's lifecycle depends on the speed of new user onboarding, the financial strength of the project team, and the ability to attract external funds.

Therefore, currently the user profile of Web3 games overlaps significantly with that of the crypto circle, as both are driven by the desire to make money rather than being true gamers. Increasing the playability of games may not directly meet the current needs of Web3 game users; their mindset is: high playability → good project background with funding → early users may profit.

Improving playability sounds easy, but the cost is huge. What's more embarrassing is that most Web3 game users are not real gamers; they may be insensitive to the project's investment in UI and art. The project parties want to showcase product value with exquisite production, but users lack the judgment. The differing expectations of both parties can easily lead to communication barriers.

So, besides enhancing playability, do blockchain games have other development paths? The answer is definitely yes - social! In 2024, the casual game series BAC Games will debut with the concept of "Playing Web3 games is playing social."

3. "Strong social interaction outside of the game" may become the way to break the circle.

The social aspect in the gaming field is defined differently from traditional socializing. The social interaction in gaming products is about gathering a group of people through game mechanics, initially fostering rapport through shared tasks, extending discussions beyond the game, gradually capturing users' emotional value, ultimately achieving the effect of "the game might not be that interesting anymore, but this group of friends is still quite enjoyable." The game becomes the medium that connects this group of people.

Web3 games have unique advantages in social aspects. Most Web3 users work in distributed environments and have less daily interaction with the outside world, creating a particular psychological need for socialization.

Introducing social interaction into blockchain games, what effects will it bring when multiple members discuss, make decisions, enjoy, and participate in national battles together?

First, the chain game gold miners who are good at budgeting will gradually shift from being rational individuals to emotional ones. When the alliance is bullied, everyone will upgrade their equipment together to fight back, no longer overly concerned about the return on investment cycle.

Secondly, the disharmony and lack of unity generated by social interactions, as well as the disputes and confrontations among members, will lead to friction in output and prolong the selling pressure on tokens.

4. The Innovative Social Game Mechanics of BAC

BAC's chain game focuses on social interaction, specifically "socializing outside of games." The core model of the game is designed as "Group to earn," much like the protagonist in the movie "Ready Player One" relies on the full support of team members. The gameplay of BAC based on the social concept is as follows:

1. Closely tied to the EVM Layer 2 public chain Blast. The game name "Blast Auto Clubs" can be understood as "Racing Car Club" or interpreted as "Car Club on Blast". The Blast team has extensive experience in social aspects, and their model of "group staking ETH to receive airdrops" is a social innovation that directly addresses pain points.

2. BAC Games is a series of casual game combinations, with the first game BAC adopting a special "Group to earn" economic model. Users must join a car club to participate in operations in order to share profits, and the club is similar to alliances in traditional games.

3. Ingenious grafting idea: BAC directly airdrops Vetoken to users who stake ETH on Blast, which can be used to upgrade character NFTs and open clubs in the game. This provides liquidity options for ETH users locked in Blast that cannot be liquidated.

4. The project team stated in an English AMA that early users must make money in order to create an initial traffic effect, and that social engagement is difficult to achieve without a sufficient user base.

BAC Games is a key project supported by Ultiverse. Ultiverse has received investment from renowned institutions such as Binance and Sequoia Capital, with a total financing of $9.5 million. Recently, due to the anticipation of a token listing airdrop, its Yueliang NFT has performed excellently, with prices continuously rising. The community leader of Ultiverse, Yueliang (also a gold medal host for Binance Live), has become an ambassador for BAC Games, frequently introducing BAC in various AMAs.

The relationship between BAC Games and the Blast team has not yet been officially stated, but the launch time of BAC is closely linked to the launch time of the Blast mainnet, which basically confirms that BAC will be the first chain game on Blast.

The currently available V1 version economic model:

Users randomly receive three types of character NFTs by purchasing blind boxes, with different NFTs producing different materials. Users join the car club, contribute materials to build cars, and deploy different types of vehicles in various cities to operate Uber, generating BAC token revenue for the club, which is automatically distributed to their respective wallets based on member contribution points.

It is worth noting that Vetoken will be used to build clubs and upgrade character NFTs. The initial users who hold Vetoken are mainly those who participated in ETH staking on Blast. It is reported that over $1.3 billion in ETH has been staked on Blast, providing a large user base for the game.

The V1 version is expected to launch with the Blast mainnet in February-March 2024. There will be a closed beta test for 300 people before the mainnet launch, and the BAC Discord community is actively seeking qualification for the beta test. The whitelist for this beta test will later be converted into guaranteed spots for Genesis Role NFTs.

The V2 version is scheduled to be updated and launched in Q2. In addition to the three levels of PVP, it will also include gameplay such as car enthusiasts, elections, and auctions, and even introduce inscription assets. The V2 version also mentions the issuance of avatar-type NFTs, representing the top empowerment of the entire BAC Games series.

5. Chain Games More Suitable for Web3 Users

The idea of BAC Games is very clear:

1. The current Web3 gaming user base is most suited for casual and relaxed games;
2. To quickly guide into social scenarios and consolidate community consensus.

Therefore, the BAC product has two notable innovations in its economic model design: the embedded model + "Group to earn", which is similar to Blast's "Fleet model" that directly addresses pain points.

"It's not that 3A can't be afforded, but rather that social games offer better cost-effectiveness" - In 2024, the blossoming of the blockchain gaming sector has already begun. In addition to major blockchain games competing in terms of game quality and playability, can projects like BAC Games, which adopt a "lightweight" gameplay approach focusing on casual gaming and social attributes, stand out and find a unique path? Let's wait and see.