Blockchain Gaming, Finance, and Capital Appreciation (PROFITS!)-Part 1

I've eagerly awaited the changes blockchain tech is going to make to gaming, as a hobby, but it's bringing ideas and concepts to my attention I never conceived. However, I'll rant about that stuff as we go along. First, the obligatory...

DISCLAIMER: I'm pretty sure there are dozens of games on various blockchains across the web. I have experience with exactly 2 of them. One of which I'm heavily invested in (in terms of my overall portfolio, and what I thought I'd ever spend on "a game"), and another I just discovered about a month ago that has been profitable, but I haven't really given it much attention yet, due to other projects that have taken priority. I'll be using both of them in examples, and as comparisons, but I'll do my best to contain my personal enthusiasm for any one in particular.

To begin, games on the blockchain don't even stand in the shadow of traditional games when it comes to graphics or variety, AT THE MOMENT. I haven't seen a game with graphics superior to the original Legend of Zelda, yet, even though I have seen one or two attempts, not only at that kind of player interaction/interface, but what was likely a similar story line.

Most games I've encountered are card games, although I've seen at least one dice game, too... not counting gambling or casino style games...

A brief side note on gambling:

I want to take a moment to specify none of the games I'll be talking about today involve gambling. I have no experience to speak of with blockchain gambling sites or games. I'm not opposed to discussing them here, but I'm not interested in exploring them, personally, so while I encourage anyone who is interested or knowledgeable on the topic to contribute, I won't be initiating those discussions.

Let's start with:

How Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are a revolutionary tool that is changing gaming from a hobby to an income and how to take advantage while it's still early'ish in the game.

I recommend checking the wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-fungible_token to get a cursory glance at what NFTs are, or check the resources there to dig in on your own so you can contribute when I get around to going into more detail about them, ;).

Here I want to scratch the surface of what they bring to the table from a user experience.

From the wiki:

[Non-fungible tokens are used to create verifiable digital scarcity, as well as digital ownership, and the possibility of asset interoperability across multiple platforms.[3] NFTs are used in several specific applications that require unique digital items like crypto art (rare art), crypto-collectibles and crypto-gaming.]

I'll also add it has uses in music distribution, as well, but that, too, is for another time.

Why is this important? Well, it means when you take possession of a digital asset like an NFT, it becomes your property, just like anything else you own and if you ever get tired of owning it you can give it away or SELL IT. Let's touch on that for a moment...

In traditional gaming, you buy a game and play it until you're tired of it, then sell the physical medium you bought it on at an abhorrently low price... unless you're the collector type who just lets them gather dust on a shelf. You may occasionally revisit them but usually not. Whatever you spent you spent, more or less, on a finite amount of return in value.

Move to more recent markets and you have to pay for every damn thing. You have to pay for the disc/download, then a subscription to play online because single player games only bite you in the wallet... not insert a permanent catheter for an ongoing drain, for nothing really new. You have to pay a fourth of the original price for every hour of extra content they release for the next 10 years instead of working on a better fucking game. It's the most outrageous business model to date and the sheer audacity of it drove me away from the market almost entirely (looking at you DARKSIDERS 3! !!DOUBLE MIDDLE FINGER!!)

Look to the future: You buy a game. You add value to the game by being a part of the community who plays it and makes it profitable. You earn financial kickbacks based on the quality of your participation.

Maybe you're just a player who earns a little from winning matches or tournaments.
Maybe you're an artisan who crafts in game equipment to sell on a truly open market.
Maybe you're a merchant who buys and resells those goods.
Maybe you're into commerce and want to organize and run small resource gathering/harvesting/refining operation to supply the crafters with materials to produce their goods.
Maybe you want to craft tools, that allow the crafting of better tools for specific tasks.
Maybe you don't want any of that. Maybe you just want to build the best collection anyone has and rent it out to someone else who wants to use it for anything or everything above. It's yours. Do whatever you want with it. You can even burn it for a set cash value.
What ever you do, you earn while doing it and you're earnings are a reflection of how much you've done of it. Did I say future, earlier? I meant now. That exists right now. Most are still very small in scale and leave something to be desired, but nonetheless, are catching up to modern games quickly. Within a few years the market will be riddled with them, and within a decade they'll be a source of a livable income for countless people. Most will end up with virtual economies that are owned and operated by the players and produce real world wealth.

I feel like this is a good stopping point for part one. I'll post some links below to give better explanations of NFTs and soon I'll follow up with a few titles, and explain how each rewards players, and what kinds of rewards players can expect. I'll also go into some more direct comparisons of how the current gaming model can't compete with the blockchain revolution that's coming and start to emphasize why it's a good time to find one you like and get in it early.

This is an in depth resource.
https://opensea.io/blog/guides/non-fungible-tokens/

This touches on how NFTs and yield farming can work together. More to come on yield farming!
https://cointelegraph.com/news/gamified-yield-farming-with-nonfungible-tokens