We have all played video games at least once. We were sitting in a living room or bedroom, playing with friends, living our game characters, feeding them, fighting along their side, conquering the imaginary enemies’ land, and celebrating victories. Over the years, the way of playing games has evolved just like we did. Back then, we used TVs and joysticks, then computers, and now – VR headsets. Besides the different gadgets we use now, the games we played developed and took a new direction. It’s noticeable how everything around us is changing. We are witnessing the rise of NFT characters we can design and use as our own in a video game or sell for a significant amount of money. Before we start with minting in-game NFT characters, we need to make it clear what NFT games are.
What are NFT games?
We mentioned how non-fungible tokens (NFTs) took part in video games. But, what part did they take? Why does the world go mad about this innovative and, for some, totally unknown thing? Let’s say this. NFTs are tokens generated on a blockchain to represent a digital asset, such as a piece of real estate, drawings, music, poems, in-game items, and videos. But how do they fit into games? Gaming is one area where NFTs are thought to impact growth significantly. They let skillful players make a profit by earning cryptocurrencies when playing games, and NFT creators commercialize their works. Owning virtual goods with actual monetary worth is not a novel idea. World of Warcraft and Eve are two examples of games where resources, goods, and assets have been valued in dollars and even exchanged for them. However, what makes NFT games unique is that all virtual assets are documented on blockchain that belongs to the creators and can be freely sold on marketplaces that give the objects a value. These games allow digital content developers to monetize their creations, while players can earn cryptocurrencies by interacting with the video game. Video games often offer a variety of objects that a play can gather. It might be armor pieces for a character in a battle, different skin, or an award for an accomplishment. Any in-game item with a distinctive feature and the player character can be represented using NFTs. From this, we can draw a conclusion that the “NFT Game” refers to a video game where NFTs are significant in portraying objects or other in-game elements.
How to Make Money in These Games?
In 2017, CryptoKitties, a game using NFT characters, was one of the first to go live on the Ethereum blockchain. Players may collect, breed, and sell digital cats in this game. Every cat represents a unique NFT. Their qualities and rarity determined their worth in the traded market. A small quantity of NFTs are released in a game like CryptoKitties, and as a result, they are only available on secondary marketplaces like their video games. Players make money by renting their in-game NFTs to other players or selling them on secondary marketplaces. On the other hand, we have NFT gaming platforms making money from transaction fees on NFT transactions conducted by players during the interaction. The popularity of play-to-earn NFT games is primarily due to their capacity to generate income. On the exchanges, users can swap their tokens into fiat money. People who play NFT games to make money might use it as a primary source of income. They are looking for a way to enter the blockchain market and break through the sphere of NFTs. Besides play-to-earn games, one modern paradigm offers even more value – the move-to-earn game. Basically, the goal is to make money as you work out. One of the earliest is a lifestyle app called StepN, which rewards players with NFTs for every step they make. This is an excellent app if you want to earn money while exercising.
What Are NFT Game Characters?
Since NFTs are unique and hold unparalleled value, it’s reasonable to say they occupy a particular part in NFT games as NFT characters. NFT in-game characters differ from characters in video games we are used to playing. How? Well, they bring a smart contract and a certificate of ownership. One party is willing to sell the NFT character and the other to buy it. All the details related to this transaction are stored on a decentralized blockchain network. Blockchain technology supports NFTs’ evolution because it’s expected to influence the further course of the gaming industry. Now, let’s talk about NFT game characters. They can be:
- Collectible
- Non-playable
- Controllable
Collectible NFT Characters
The purpose of collectible NFT game characters is to collect the in-game elements. You can collect items that are used in a battle, like weapons, clothes, etc. It allows you to customize the equipment you are using. For example, a piece of clothing enables the player’s character to follow the fashion, or creating a gun according to your own rules will make you unique and irreplaceable. Also, another trend that’s appeared recently is collecting living beings. In-game plants, non-aggressive creatures, enemies, or humans, can be a part of your NFT game collection.
Non-playable NFT Characters
On the other hand, we have non-playable characters (NPC). NPCs are characters we can’t control in a game. They are not supposed to behave like real people and are not regulated by the person playing a game or by any AI. Their purpose is primarily to entertain a real player. But, if NPC is transferred into NFTs, there must be a way to turn them into collectibles or use them to help trade in-game tokens.
Controllable NFT Characters
Last but not least – controllable NFT game characters. They are one of the most popular models used in NFT games because they enhance players’ engagement and encourage them to play games longer. Players have the possibility to sell a playable NFT character they no longer want and purchase or earn a new one. That’s something called “in-game transactions.” They refer to items or points available for selling or buying so they can use them in a virtual world to improve a character or enrich the playing experience.
How to Mint In-Game NFT Characters?
Unquestionably, a character that has been textured, skinned, animated, equipped, and implemented into a gaming system isn’t immediately seen as an NFT. First, NFT must be minted on a blockchain before being given to a 2D or 3D game character. Each NFT’s metadata contains the information that makes it unique. A digital ledger is there to confirm your ownership of a specific game asset. Why do you need to mint in-game NFT characters? If you don’t do that, your 3D NFT character will be nothing more than a wireframe displayed in a three-dimensional screen or virtual world. Because smart contracts and blockchain play a massive role in this venture, you must mint geometrical character into an NFT using a crypto wallet such as MetaMask, and a blockchain of your choice. It takes a few seconds to mint an NFT in-game character. Choose the right blockchain platform and activate a crypto wallet. In some cases, you will be asked to pay a gas fee which is a fee you pay for every transaction you make on a blockchain. The price of gas fees depends on the chosen blockchain network. For example, if you go for Ethereum, the gas fees can go up to $200, and they depend on the current demand for an asset. If the market is crowded, the price will be higher. If you want to learn how to mint your NFT with 0 Gas Fees, check out our tutorial! Still, if you want to save some money, choose the cheaper blockchain network like Polygon.
The Future of NFT games
The video gaming industry now has a brand-new, exciting revenue stream thanks to NFTs. The gaming experience will expand within and outside the game environment as more independent and big game developing companies are including NFT and blockchain interactions into their projects. The video game business will undoubtedly continue to be impacted by blockchain in general. There is a good chance that the globe will enter a new era of entertainment and games. What many wish for is being sucked up into the immense growth potential of this industry. The only thing people need to do is commit to their part in this game and make an effort to stand out from the crowd of others who are gradually conquering the world.
Conclusion
Why should you enter the NFT game world? Foremost, it’s exciting. It allows you to create your own NFT character, use it in a game or sell it when you get bored. It’s like making money from entertainment. And, you will gain an insight into a new perspective on the lives of people who are behind computer screens. Once you step into this amusing and creative vision of talent transferred to games, you’ll get a desire to stay there forever. Learn to follow all these powerful changes and embrace them as hard as you can.
