The previous article introduced the application of NFTs in digital goods and artworks. This article is about the brand new combination of NFTs and the game industry. Here, we use the blockchain sandbox game, The Sandbox, and the virtual treasure marketplace, Lootex, as our examples.
If you don’t know much about NFTs yet, you can give this article a read: “Introduction to NFTs (1)- Why use NFTs?”
People who like to play sandbox games may have heard of The Sandbox, a blockchain sandbox game. The purpose of this type of game is to allow players to create game content with a high degree of freedom. Since The Sandbox claims to be a blockchain sandbox game, there is naturally the flavor of “chains” embedded in all levels of the game. For example, the most important and limited resource in the game is “Land”, on which content is created. These “LAND”s are the NFTs of the ERC-721 agreement. The advantage of NFTs is that they can be traded. You can buy LAND on an NFT marketplace like Lootex, and of course you can also sell the LAND you own.
There is another kind of NFT in The Sandbox that uses the ERC-1155 protocol. It is the pixel assets in the game, such as characters, equipment… etc. Suppose a player creates a character in the game. In a traditional sandbox game, although the player created the character, the character still belongs to the game, not the player. The Sandbox has the blessing of blockchain technology, which can turn this creative character into an NFT, giving the player/creator actual ownership of this character and the right to sell it. The character you create can be placed in NFT marketplace for other players to buy, and after other players buy it, they can also take this character back to their game for their own use.
The aforementioned NFT marketplace, Lootex, has also listed many virtual treasures of different games. The virtual treasures are released in the form of NFTs, but what are the benefits for buyers? Whether it be virtual treasures of games or the digital goods mentioned in the previous article, many claim to have a global limit of xxxx copies, but how do customers know if there is an actual limit? If virtual treasures or digital works are sold as NFTs, the issued quantity will be written into the smart contracts, whose content can be viewed by everyone. Therefore, you would be able to check the limited number of copies of an NFT before purchasing to confirm its rarity.
The Sandbox and Lootex are both partners of MaiCoin Group. MAX Exchange listed The Sandbox’s platform token SAND at the end of last year. MaiCoin Group is also optimistic about the prospects of NFTs, and as a result, invested in Lootex. In the future, MaiCoin’s sister company, AMIS, will be launching a wallet that can be used to directly purchase NFTs using New Taiwan Dollars, setting the stage for the development of NFTs.
