Hello,

I have been researching about blockchains and stuff and it all seems like a big scam. It’s not sustainable and can be replaced by a simple database.

is there any legitimate use cases of blockchains or it is all just a big scam?

  • papertowels@mander.xyz
    51·
    4 days ago

    Gods unchained is a digital TCG that is the only good use of NFTs (and thus Blockchain) that I can think of.

    The idea of NFTs is you have a specific instance of a thing that you can trade around. NFT art is stupid, because at the end of the day it’s a jpg. However, with a digital TCG, each NFT can represent a singular copy of a digital trading card. It brings back the “trading” aspect of a digital TCG, made more convenient than physical cards due to digital transfers.

    • golli@sopuli.xyz
      3·
      4 days ago

      Could you elaborate a bit how blockchain enables something unique here? I see that it enables trade between users, but if a single company controls the game and I assume supply of new cards, does the blockchain aspect for trading really matter?

      Trading itself is basic and doesn’t need a blockchain. I guess with it you have it implemented in a public and tamper proof way, but that second part doesn’t seem to matter to me if the source is centralized.

      So what exactly is gained from this approach over just your average ingame auction house?

      • BussyGyatt@feddit.orgEnglish
        8·
        4 days ago

        i feel like the only real ‘advantage’ here would be that the cards couldn’t be proxied which sounds like only an ‘advantage’ to the people on the rent-seeking end of the bargain.

          • papertowels@mander.xyz
            1·
            4 days ago

            If wotc closes down modo, you’re left SOL.

            Because transactions and ownership are not controlled by the hosting company, I believe there’s opportunity to keep the game going even after the company closes doors.

            Long shot, but it’s the first peek at “digital ownership” where you actually own something, independent of the company that gave it to you, they can easily be traded.

            • Brutticus@midwest.social
              1·
              3 days ago

              I know this is dodging your point, but WotC has already divested themselves of MODO and a third party now runs it. I know what you mean, a central server going down destroys access to the game you pay for. And indeed we see that happening with plenty of live service games, to the point that its starting to weigh down the entire industry, or at least that sector of it.

              But I ask, is it really that different? Various NFT projects have come and gone, and most of the NFTs people have paid for have succumbed to link rot already my guy. The average life span for a live service game is like, what? 2 years? And even the successful ones, what? Like 7? I haven’t played God’s Unchained, but I can’t imagine being a blockchain game will make any difference, especially because the games that do survive and are remembered have the following factors:

              Can easily be modded/ hacked Can be easily emulated Were cherished and beloved

              Deus Ex can be downloaded for free. Pokemon red and Sim Tower and Oregon Trail can be run in a browser. Breakout can be run in a search engine. As far as the comparison to MODO, those cards were fungible. When you completed a whole set, you could contact WotC to take them out of your account, and they would send you a copy of the whole set in paper. It’s why MTGOexchange was called that; before bitcoin, you could trade magic cards for drugs.

    • MotoAsh@lemmy.world
      1·
      4 days ago

      No way. There are many ways to introduce artificial scarcity to digital goods, and no it is not a new or good use of the tech… Artificial scarcity is a huge part of all of the world’s problems.