• Voroxpete
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    1 year ago

    What would this solve that a simple database couldn’t? If the currency can only be used to trade for in game items, what practical value does it gain from being a crypto currency as opposed to just WOW gold or whatever? It’s just some points that the game developer tallies up in a ledger somewhere, right?

    • explodicle@local106.com
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      1 year ago

      It’d only be useful if the game itself was decentralized too. Otherwise any problems will just find the weak point. So in 20 years when the company goes under, the whole thing would need to keep working without them.

    • sugar_in_your_tea
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      1 year ago

      The things you own could outlast the server. Let’s say WOW shuts down, but they allow private servers, you’d essentially need to start from scratch for each server you join unless they somehow got a dump of the official databases (not happening). Your stuff could live as long as enough peers exist to verify it.

      • CileTheSane@lemmy.ca
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        1 year ago

        All the more reason for companies not to do it. WOW has no interest in supporting your use of a private server.

        • sugar_in_your_tea
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          1 year ago

          I’m not saying WOW would, just that a game like WOW could be designed that supports private servers. So maybe they intend to make money from the initial sale and want players to keep things they earn or trade for in game.

          I think it would be a novel approach to an MP game.

    • woodgen@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      A database is centralized, can be shut down and is not public.

      • Voroxpete
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        1 year ago

        But you’re buying and selling in game items in the scenario the previous user described. So it’s already centralized.

        Like, say you’re using this to trade Diablo loot. If Blizzard shuts down the servers, it doesn’t matter if you still have a decentralized system where all your loot ownership is recorded, because there are no servers to use it on. So what have you gained?

        • woodgen@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          The whole point is that the certification of ownership will even surpass the death of the game. It still work in 3rd part apps and still can be traded.

          It’s simillar to a banned magic card. You can’t use it in tournament play, but you can sell it on the secondary market.

          Also someone can implement and host an alternative game client to the item ownership data.

          Obviously you should only play decentralized open source games to prevent the scenario of shutdown.

          • Voroxpete
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            1 year ago

            OK, so follow up question; say I’m Blizzard. What incentive do I have to implement this?

      • Socsa
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        1 year ago

        Databases can be public.

        • woodgen@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          You mean like things the YouTube API, where the centralized owner can decide to not show downvote data anymore?