NFT Innovations Are Integrating Unity And Unreal Game Engines To Feature More Immersive Experiences
Play-to-Earn (p2e) games have become the new trend in the gaming industry; this NFT-built ecosystem has attracted more people to blockchain innovations than ever before. Last year, NFT games accounted for close to half of the total on-chain activity, with notable mentions such as Axie Infinity recording billions in revenue.
Unlike the traditional gaming models, the p2e infrastructure is based on decentralized in-game economies. This means that players can purchase or sell in-game items to realize an external value in the form of other crypto assets or fiat. While still a nascent niche, the p2e gaming mechanics have proven to be quite lucrative.
Today, one can earn a passive income from playing NFT-oriented games that are built on various blockchain ecosystems. For instance, the Axie Infinity game which recently surpassed $4 billion in total sales is a source of livelihood for some natives in developing countries, including the Philippines, Indonesia and Venezuela.
Most notably, the NFT gaming environment is growing at a significant rate to feature more advanced integrations and building frameworks. Innovators in this field are now leveraging long-standing game engines such as Unity and Unreal to bring a more immersive experience to gaming enthusiasts.
That said, let’s take a deep dive into the ongoing integrations with Unreal and Unity game engines to get a better picture of how NFTs are shaping the future of gaming.
Unity Vs Unreal Game Engine
As far as gaming development goes, the Unreal and Unity game engines currently lead the pack. Both of these software development platforms support a wide range of games but differ to some extent in the underlying infrastructure. The next section will highlight the fundamentals of each ecosystem as we narrow down to their value proposition in the NFT space.
Unity
Launched in 2005, the Unity game engine is designed as a cross-platform, supporting over 25 operating systems (macOS, Windows, virtual reality platforms such as Oculus Rift and the PlayStation VR Xbox One). This specific framework allows developers to create 2D, 3D and VR gaming environments.
More importantly, Unity’s development platform uses C#, which is a faster programming language for games compared to Unreal’s C++. In addition, C# is more compatible with blockchain-based innovations, no wonder more NFT developers are flocking to Unity as the base layer for their upcoming games.
Unreal
The Unreal game engine was pioneered back in 1998 by the founder of Epic Games, Tim Seveeny. Similar to its counterpart (Unity), this gaming development software is compatible with several platforms, featuring a robust multi-player framework, particle simulation and VFX. The latest debut on the Unreal Engine is a combat-style game based on the Matrix movie.
The Matrix Awakens; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WU0gvPcc3jQ
Notably, Unreal has won a couple of awards from prominent gaming publications over the years. The software’s open-source code is another plus when it comes to gaming development in the decentralized economy. NFT innovators can leverage this software for free to build epic games whose basics are defined by the p2e model.
Advanced NFT Gaming Innovations
Before the integration with sophisticated game engines, most NFT games were designed as simple p2e platforms where the main goal is to collect digital collectibles. This has since changed in the new era; developers are now building more actionable on-chain games, enabling players to earn a passive income and experience more exciting gaming platforms.
So far, most of the development has taken place on the Unity game engine, which is no surprise given its compatibility with distributed frameworks. Some of the popular NFT games that have integrated this software include Battle Drones, Affyn and Mixmob.
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Battle Drones
Battle Drones is a Solana-based NFT game leveraging the Unity game engine to introduce a 3D isometric shooter game where players are incentivised via the platform’s native token $BATTLE. This gaming ecosystem features a play-to-earn model and Proof of Attendance Protocols (POAPs), allowing its users to engage in a player-vs-environment (PvE) and player-vs-player (PvP) game mode.
Designed for PCs, Battle Drones is accessible to anyone through its web URL. Players can choose to participate in drone racing or the shooter game depending on one’s favourite game-play. Additionally, this blockchain-built game has integrated a custom NFT in-game avatar that gives holders access to advanced perks such as staking, loaning and daily win rewards based on a leaderboard ranking.
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Affyn
Affyn is another Unity-designed NFT game hosted on the Polygon Layer-2 blockchain network. At the core, this game features a play-to-earn metaverse, combining the aspects of a virtual world and the real-world. Players can live an alternative reality in the Affyn gaming environment (Nexus World) as digital characters (Buddy). Simply put, Affyn is creating a metaverse gaming environment where participants can interact and have fun while earning a passive income.
Like most NFT innovations, this game is also supported by a native token $FYN which acts as the in-game transactional currency. This token enables players to purchase various digital assets, including Affyn’s virtual land parcels ‘Nexus Land’ and build structures that add value to their property. It is also noteworthy that Affyn is a free-to-play NFT game, making it more accessible to the larger gaming and crypto community.
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Mixmob
Last but not least is Mixmob, a play-to-earn gaming platform built on Solana. This NFT game also leverages the Unity software kit to feature a more exciting experience. Mixmob’s game-play is based on a futuristic setting where an AI has deleted the ‘culture’; it is the players’ task to recover this metadata by participating through a personalized avatar. In return, one is rewarded as they progress through the game.
The first phase of Mixmob’s gaming ecosystem features a strategy card game where players can engage in racing (training mixbots), mining (collecting NFTs) and Looting (hacking the invader AI). Meanwhile, the second phase is a fully-fledged MMO environment with several game modes. Mixmob gamers can increase the social influence of their virtual characters through factors such as one’s game-play, in-game NFT holdings and community participation.
Conclusion
While the NFTs boomed in 2021, most of the work has been under the hood since 2017 when Crypto Kitties made headlines. This fast-rising gaming niche is not only capturing the attention of crypto natives but stakeholders from other industries as well. The metaverse in particular has attracted prominent figures in Hollywood, including the likes of Paris Hilton and Snoop Dogg who are currently building virtual properties to host on-chain events.
Going by the current rate of adoption, NFTs and the metaverse will likely define the next phase of video gaming. It is no coincidence that even large game publishers and tech giants such as Ubisoft and Microsoft are gradually investing in the industry. Even better, the integration with traditional software game engines will further enhance the NFT gaming experience.
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