Saving the Crypto Gaming World?

Prologue

The crypto gaming fund as presented as proposal is one of the most interesting things I have seen so far, and causing a big controversial at least in my head. Finally I can connect Reflections with Splinterlands.

The fund has a clear goal:

Bring those players whose games went bankrupt into the Splinterverse by incentives.

There are two main sides to this, one is the economical side (Does the proposal bring value to Splinterlands, or does it extract value?) and the other is the ethical side (Should we help those who invested in failed projects?).

They did a great fact-sheet this time, highlighting all the important information.

For nitty-gritty, you have to listen to the 1h20min town hall (I recommend 2x speed).

Let’s start with the economics as it is quite short.

Long post, so I took the time to "code" the content:

1. Economy & Marketing
   1.1. Remarks
2. Ethics
   2.1 Online games are and investment
   2.2 The importance of the Team
   2.3 Is it fair to current players?
   2.4 Is it fair to new players?
   2.5 What would Jesus and Confucius say?
3. Conclusion

1. Economics & Marketing

The proposal states that everyone who was playing and invested in Game X will receive Solidarity Tokens from Splinterlands, according to a key that will probably be based on how much they had spent on Game X. The more they had spent, the more likely they are to spend in SPL, so they get more incentives.

Dilution

The fund is meant to contain a total of 100,000 Rebellion packs (currently modern), with a current value of around $400,000 (more probably), and 30,000,000 SPS, currently around $300,000. This will go over a certain amount of years, so not every year. That's a dilution of of shareholders, so to speak. It will affect SPS and RB values, the question is if the counter-effect by more players will level that out (I think it will).

There are many checks and balances in play, I see the risk of abuse very small, and the potential of winning new engaged players for the game and the community quite high.

The marketing with this is amazing, putting us as the shiny knight trying to help the rest, pure, noble and selfless. Charity, as Dave says. I agree.

Remarks

Not just us.

Dave says something important in the stream: The idea is to have other projects to join the funding-program. It's not supposed to be only SPL, but we kick the boulder so it starts rolling.

Not much in percentages.

The first year is a trial. It's 2,000,000 out of more than 700,000,000 that the DAO has adn 5,000 packs out of 900,000 packs (according to Dave in the stream). If it turns out to be a bad idea, not much harm done.

What happens if Rebellion rotates out of modern?

It does not make much sense to to incentive people to play in Wild, as the purchasable card packs are usually modern.

Don't raffle.

Leave the fund open for more than 7 years, until it's empty. But don't raffle the leftovers on top of what we already gave to the new players. The idea is to help players from failed projects, so focus on that. And if you close the fund, put that stuff back into the vault. Don't dilute more than necessary.

Don't include the failed team.

Taking a snapshot of the blockchain will include the developers and such from the game, which usually have a big chunk of the assets – I honestly think that those should not get any participation in the fund.

Ethics

The ethical side starts at the townhall with Dave saying: “How would we feel if that happens to Splinterlands?” An empathetic approach, considering the situation that others are in on the emotional side, but leaving out some factual things, which I’ll get to later. I’m a big fan of both Jesus “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” which seems to be what the proposal derives from. I guess I’d feel better if someone offered me a hand after loosing something that I liked to spent time with, and presented me with an alternative plus incentives. Most would do, it’s free stuff, and who doesn’t like free stuff? The question is: Would I also be better?

Online games are an investment.

But when we put money into an online game, we do invest. It’s not only spending, because there is no way of separating the game from the business, the hobby from the money. The servers have to run. If you buy paper cards, you can still play with them if the company goes bankrupt – they just won’t bring out new editions. With online games, if the company goes bankrupt, the servers turn off and you’re left with nothing.

You have to approach it like the stock market:

1. Never use money that you will need in the future.
2. Pick very wisely what you pick to invest int.
3. Do your own research.

The importance of the Team

That’s what each game rises and falls with. Our team has learned a lot along the way, and they did an amazing job on the CA-Set, as you can see by BTs tier list – almost no D/F tier cards, more depth in the game, and then of course the money spent on cards for the set. But there is always the possibility that they get high on success or mad with power. That they feel invulnerable. Pride comes before the fall – I’ve been there, done that, it’s not fun, and it can happen to anyone. I don’t know everyone on the team, but a couple of treasurers who I do trust as I see that they really work for the community (I mean, they’re putting up with me, patiently, that should say enough). I trust their judgement, and I use my brain to learn and eventually judge myself.

I think we're good for now.

Is it fair to current players?

Is it fair towards us if the DAO gives out $100,000 a year (if it comes to it) to people who failed at picking a game that is sustainable? People who failed to create a supportive community? Who did not hold taps on the team and their decisions on what to do with the money?

The money comes from all of us. We invested. Some more, some less, but it’s the players that put a lot of money into Splinterlands, which then was used to create the whole Splinterverse. It didn’t appear out of thin air, and yes, the team and treasurers are heavily invested, too. But so are we, each one at their one scope. I, personally, have never spent so much money on a hobby. No regrets, if Splinterlands goes bankrupt tomorrow, I’ll just move on. And no, I don’t expect anyone to give me a hand. I did not get things for free. Okay, I won a few raffles 2 Rebellion packs and 6 CL packs.

BUT: I’m an adult, I make my decisions, and I take responsibility.

Is it fair to new players?

I’m a big fan of the social safety net for those people who just had bad luck. But there is too much of that, too. If you take away the incentive to take care of yourself because you know that someone else will pay for you if you screw up yet again, people will take more risk and screw up more often. It’s so much easier to spend somebody else’s money than putting your own. And again – we, the players, are putting in money to save those who failed to either choose or to make their project successful.

There is no safety net on the stock market, nor for companies (except big banks and such). You win or you lose. You make it or you don’t.

Let's get confuced.

Confucius put the Golden Rule the other way around: “Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself.”

There is a difference there. Jesus preaches the active approach, focusing on the good, but leaving out something important – the consideration of the other. What if I like to get punched in the face?

Confucius teaches the restraint: Think before you act. Consider before you act. Consider the other as a being, with its own set of values. Not everything I like is liked by others, but most things I do not like are not liked by others, either.

Empathy is great and important, but thinking many steps ahead, considering everything – do you help them with that? Will they learn something, will they improve on a personal level? Will they pick more wisely next time that they choose an investment in a hobby?

Conclusion

Enough writing. Sorry. In this case, I think the fund is a great idea, if the team manages to keep the checks and balances up and makes it as fair as possible to the players that are already here, now. Economically, the Splinterverse can profit a lot, and with that all of us.

Ethically, I believe that we should reach out the hand as we are in a strong position at the moment. But we have to be thorough that it will not be exploited and that those who come to us learn their lesson. Which shouldn’t be the problem, considering our community. And as soon as there are signs that it's hurting our community - shut it down. Don't risk Splinterlands for the sake of others.

It can happen to all of us! Don't forget that.

Yes, I know, this was not expected considering my argumentation. I’m really bad at writing essays.

Thank you very much for reading, I hope you enjoyed it at least as much as I enjoyed writing :-D If you have any comments or feedback - please let me know! And don't forget to leave your own posts for me to curate. Thank you very much!

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