The purpose of this article is to explore the native possibilities brought by blockchain and the classic paradigm of full-chain games that may be nurtured from it.

Authors: ck, MetaCat

Preface

Although the Ethereum ecosystem has nurtured a narrative of "Autonomous Worlds" that reaches the pinnacle of ideological thinking, there has not been a truly killer application or paradigm in the field of "Fully On-chain Gaming" at the practical level. This article aims to explore the native possibilities brought by blockchain and the classic paradigm of full-chain games that may be nurtured from it. Let's together search for the "Holy Grail" of full-chain games!

Revelation of "The Dark Forest"

The pioneering full-chain game "The Dark Forest" is a perfect fusion of the following two innovations:

• The "Digital Physical Laws" built on the basis of blockchain "immutability"

• Non-complete information game (fog of war) implemented based on zero-knowledge proof (ZKP)

Digital Physical Laws

The premise for the normal operation of the physical world is the existence of ancient and immutable physical laws such as the law of universal gravitation, the law of conservation of energy, and Archimedes' principle. People can only build everything under the premise of following these laws, or in other words, these laws are not subject to human will, as the saying goes, "The heavens move with regularity, not for the sake of Yao's preservation, nor for Jie's destruction."

The essence of Autonomous Worlds is self-growth, self-organization, and self-operation, and its core characteristics are the same as the physical world. Therefore, the premise for the normal operation of Autonomous Worlds is the establishment of "ancient and immutable" "digital physical laws." This is also the reason why Ludens emphasized in "Autonomous Worlds (Part 1)" that "Blockchains are a type of substrate for Worlds." Currently, the only medium in the digital space that can establish "ancient and immutable" "digital physical laws" is blockchain.

Autonomous Worlds

In a sense, we are the "gods" of Autonomous Worlds, creating "physical laws," creating things, creating people; at the same time, we may also be "artificial creations" of the physical world. If the physical world is a first-order universe, we are constructing a second-order universe through Autonomous Worlds. In this second-order universe of Autonomous Worlds, it is also possible to construct a third-order universe, which is somewhat similar to the Buddhist concept of "three thousand great thousand worlds" or the imagery expressed in "The Matrix" :)

In summary, blockchain is the only way to realize "digital physical laws" and an important starting point for exploring the ideal type of full-chain games. Full-chain games must provide something that traditional games do not have in order to truly win users.

Non-complete Information Game

Non-complete information games are very common in the physical world and traditional games, such as business negotiations, sealed-bid auctions, poker, mahjong, and real-time strategy games like StarCraft. In the physical world, we rely on artificial rules to implement non-complete information games, while in traditional games, centralized rules are generally used to implement non-complete information games.

In the field of blockchain, non-complete information games are generally implemented based on the "elliptic curve cryptography algorithm" to achieve a more "perfect" mechanism for non-complete information games (such as the "fog of war" in "The Dark Forest") through "zero-knowledge proof." Here, "perfect" mainly refers to the flawlessness and cost-effectiveness of the solution itself (cost-effectiveness determines large-scale adoption).

In the technical roadmap of Ethereum Layer 2, ZK Rollup is a good integration of blockchain and "zero-knowledge proof" at the infrastructure level, laying the foundation for the development of upper-layer applications.

In the game "The Dark Forest," the "digital physical laws" and "asymmetric information game" were perfectly integrated for the first time, but in the subsequent evolution of full-chain games, we have not seen further development of these two aspects. From a first-principles perspective, the further integration and sublimation of these two aspects are likely the path to the "Holy Grail" of full-chain games.

Division of Full-Chain Games

The current ecological pattern of full-chain games can be roughly divided into the following two major camps based on the exploration of full-chain game engines:

• A series of explorations based on the MUD engine and the OP Rollup expansion solution, represented by Sky Strife, OpCraft, Word3, and Network States

• A series of explorations based on the Dojo engine and the ZK Rollup expansion solution, represented by Loot Survivor, Roll Your Own, and Shoshin

"Loot Survivor"

The full-chain games in these two major camps are either in the stage of exploring the correct use of full-chain game engines or in the stage of exploring which traditional game modes are suitable for transplantation to full-chain games. However, from the author's subjective experience, the results of these two types of explorations are far from amazing; in addition, the author has recently gained some micro-experience through full-chain game development (see here for details). The overall feeling is that while full-chain game engines have native innovation, the innovation of full-chain games themselves is currently insufficient.

The Road Ahead

Based on the experience from both aspects, the author believes that the further integration and sublimation of "digital physical laws" and "non-complete information game" may be a more worthwhile direction to explore in the field of full-chain games. This viewpoint also stems from thinking from another dimension.

On the one hand, not all high-quality products/technologies will necessarily win users/markets. For example, casual games, although much simpler to implement in terms of products/technologies compared to large-scale multiplayer online games like MMOs, have a considerable user base because they appeal to human nature. However, when we consider this possibility in the context of full-chain games/blockchain games, we quickly realize that Web3 wallets and the experience of depositing and withdrawing funds will deter most users.

On the other hand, from the perspective of being crypto-native, it is necessary to pursue extreme innovation in order to push the boundaries of blockchain to the maximum extent and win users through innovative incremental advancements in a way that disrupts the status quo. As the saying goes, it is never a better carriage that defeats the horse carriage.

In addition, we will find that regardless of the past, present, and future, there will always be some products that may not seem so innovative or intuitive, but may become extremely popular due to their appeal to human nature or specific emotions. This does not mean that innovation is not important, but rather it is precisely because of the lack of innovation that another kind of "internal competition" occurs.

免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。