Challenges in RPG game development on a blockchain

Gaming is going to be the next big thing in the crypto and blockchain world. Many game development companies have started exploring blockchain technology and have started seeing opportunities inside blockchain to integrate the game with the blockchain. There are many advantages we get in having a game built as a blockchain game. Some of the advantages include:

• Trading game assets
• Rewarding the players
• Onboarding made easy

People also think that when it comes to blockchain games, it is usually gambling but that is not true. There are several games with genuine fun elements and this tech is still in the initial stages and needs more maturity.

This article is going to talk about the challenges we have in building an RPG game on top of a blockchain. Many game developers have attempted this but they either end up giving up or keep the game separate from blockchain. Let's see what other challenges we have.

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Integrating the game scope with the blockchain

This is the most difficult part. Game development involves a game engine and most people prefer to have a good speed and experience when playing the game. But when it comes to blockchain games, we have to be dependent on the speed of the blockchain to process the transaction. This way a delay is created that can sometimes affect the experience of the users. One of the biggest challenges is to integrate the game with the blockchain and this involves thinking in multiple angles where we should utilize both the blockchain concept and at the same time we shouldn't give a bad user experience. More than challenging, I would even say that it is a bit tricky to keep the balance between both.

More development and designing

RPG games usually involve designing every screen by screen and sometimes it can be really hard to complete one considerable part of the game. Some games are easy to build with less development and still can be called a RPG game but usually, any role-playing game would require new things happening in the map otherwise it can become less interesting. There are games like Dota 2 that only requires fewer updates because the core concept is all built and ready. The interesting part and the RPG part is when one player interacts with either engine or with another player.

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Deciding on a database or blockchain

When we build such games the biggest question that comes to our mind is what to have in the blockchain and what should be in the database. Not all things can be stored on the blockchain because it would be like spamming the transaction capabilities on the chain. At the same time we cannot have many elements on the database level too because if we do so, it becomes an ordinary game and wouldn't be a blockchain game. This is a tricky decision and it is better to keep the elements in both places based on the querying needs.

Coordinating with multiple team members

During the development process, the biggest challenge would be coordinating with multiple team members. In international game development or if the team members are from different time zones, it would be hard to schedule meetings with them and push things forward. From the looks of it, the tasks might look easily achievable but there would be a need for a strong push towards completion and the motivation will always be either incentives or the targets or milestones we decide and the fun we get in working as a team. It can be even more challenging if the team members are not full-time employees but part-timers. Finding time to coordinate and complete something can be very challenging.

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