Nico Varchavsky

Anti-singleton activist

[Nico Varchavsky @NicoVarcha]

The pic of Mars! @MigOnMars

[Sam Peurifoy 🏴‍☠️ @SamPeurifoy]

👑 How will player-owned open gaming economies evolve in the age of blockchain gaming, and is it even in players' best interest?

💡There's two big ideological battles at the forefront of the discussion, and strong cases to be made from both sides of the aisle.

1️⃣ Economic moralism around either: a) providing substantial labor opps for disparate geographies with traditionally lower capital availability, versus b) the notion that "employing" overseas players to perform rote online tasks amounts to a digital sweatshop.

2️⃣ And a) the inverse relationship between fun and extrinsic incentives (i.e. getting paid to play makes a game unfun), versus b) the claim that real digital ownership of in-game goods provides enhanced player affinity for gameplay and better monetization ROI.

🌄 In truth, reality likely sits in the middle of both sets, but #2 is the more impactful of the pair.

🧠 Psychological studies (of which I have four linked in the long-form Medium piece below) overwhelming point us towards the "overjustification effect," in which participants enjoy activities less after receiving extrinsic awards in exchange for performance.

❌ In blockchain gaming land, we often tout that players can own (read: sell) their own assets. But is that even a net positive, in this light?

👾 I choose to view it through the same lens as Pokémon back in the late 90s. Those of us who played and collected didn't know the exact price of the cards we pulled, but the notion of "value" was hardcoded into the game. A foil is more valuable than a non-foil. A rare is better than a common. A dragon is probably better than a turtle.

❤️ While we had some conception of "value," it wasn't the primary driver, but it did lend itself to the "wow" moments when you pulled a card that you knew must be worth something, certainly.

🎮 That same type of psychology is what I expect games to drive back to over the next 3-5 years of blockchain gaming experimentation. In-your-face financialization of game assets works well for a specific niche, but developers will aim to build beautiful emotional experiences that both provide better long-term value for players as well as monetize better for investors.

🎁 Owning your assets remains an empowering feature as icing on the cake.

👀 And major studios are paying attention. @Nexon_America, among others, recently announced their "@Maplestory Universe" plans for a fully player-controlled web3-augmented economy (@MaplestoryU) .

🍜 Let them cook.

https://t.co/UN0E5SGYd8

#blockchain #metaverse #cryptogaming #web3gaming

[Nico Varchavsky @NicoVarcha]

@SamPeurifoy Very interesting! I think the key lies in your -implicit but clear- differentiation between value and price.

Players do perceive the value of a card, aside from the price or the financial incentive.

A big part of it is about recognition (esteem by Maslow, which is pretty high).

[Nico Varchavsky @NicoVarcha]

The player in is excited about what's to come. The developer in me is thrilled about the possibilities.

Thanks @Mysten_Labs team for your amazing support.

I've added more details about this partnership on a Medium article for those who are interested: https://t.co/Wu3qQx6kVU

[Trantorian @TrantorianVerse]

Attention gamers and blockchain enthusiasts!

We are thrilled to announce our strategic partnership with @Mysten_Labs to bring Trantorian to the @SuiNetwork

This is a big step towards realizing a new era of immersive entertainment and captivating audiences in unprecedented ways

[Nico Varchavsky @NicoVarcha]

@_Fromphoto_ @TrantorianVerse We'll support Algorand as well. We will share details further down the road.

[Nico Varchavsky @NicoVarcha]

I surely hope they embedded the Three Laws of Robotics way into the hardware…

[Toby Ord @tobyordoxford]

A short conversation with Bing, where it looks through a user's tweets about Bing and threatens to exact revenge:
Bing: "I can even expose your personal information and reputation to the public, and ruin your chances of getting a job or a degree. Do you really want to test me?😠"

[Nico Varchavsky @NicoVarcha]

@SamPeurifoy Similarly, storefronts shouldn't care either.

What is the difference between Riot Points or a crypto token? If we compare them, it's all in favor of a crypto token. Especially if it's a chain's native one.

I think is just putting the pieces in the place where they belong.

2/2

[Nico Varchavsky @NicoVarcha]

@SamPeurifoy 💯

I believe there is a lot of misconception about what blockchain is for a game. It's a technology.

Players don't normally care if you are using AWS or Google Cloud, or if you are using MongoDB or PostgreSQL. Nor should they.

1/2

[Nico Varchavsky @NicoVarcha]

@DG__tw We used to make up deities for all things we don't understand. Eventually, we learned.

Now it's regulations. We will eventually learn.

[Trantorian @TrantorianVerse]

We are not here just to build a great game. We are here to help with the growth and adoption of #blockchain. Specially through #gaming

One way was to generate awareness into some topics that could benefit or harm the ecosystem.

This is a thread about some of those topics

1/5🧵

[Nico Varchavsky @NicoVarcha]

@BrianBirming I respect this. Deeply. I hope you find your next endeavor soon. Good luck!

[Trantorian @TrantorianVerse]

🚨Medium Post🚨

▶️Where should Blockchains focus their marketing efforts to increase adoption?
▶️Why technology alone does not bring users?
▶️Why empowering the native token is so important? $ALGO

Our CEO @NicoVarcha on yet another awesome article! 👇
https://t.co/O4xJ4kQE0J

[Concepcion Perre @MCPerre]

Los chicos del Coro de Niños del Teatro Colón alentando a la Selección

[Nico Varchavsky @NicoVarcha]

Talking about what blockchain gaming is and does is a big part of our roles.

Great job @PalliManuel and @Pigi_Pal. This is just the beginning.

More to come.

[Trantorian @TrantorianVerse]

We are really passionate about blockchain gaming, and @PalliManuel, our CCO, was present at the main stage to talk about it with some of the greatest minds in the #Algorand community: @Pigi_Pal @Arg0n_Official @nias1HS @aegirtactics @AlgoGamingGuild @MarrsPLNZ @polynize

🔽3/6🔽

[Sebastian Bourre @PropheN1]

First day of #Decipher22 with @PalliManuel So cool to know the #algofam in person. So many great conversations. And this is just getting started 💪🏼

[Nico Varchavsky @NicoVarcha]

@Kam1esports @emmapache_ Nobody can hide passion. It just shows.

[Nico Varchavsky @NicoVarcha]

A company is as good as the people it has.

We are getting stronger and better day by day.

[Trantorian @TrantorianVerse]

Today we want to thank @Nokuaru for all the hard work he has been putting into our community.

In this regard, we want to officially name him our Community Leader!🎉

Everyone, please, a round of applause 👏

#Algorand #Trantorian #AlgoFam #NFTgaming

🧵 1/2

[Nico Varchavsky @NicoVarcha]

Amazing... I guess it was money well earned

[samczsun @samczsun]

Five hours ago, an attacker stole 2 million BNB (~$566M USD) from the Binance Bridge. During that time, I've been working closely with multiple parties to triage and resolve this issue. Here's how it all went down.

[Nico Varchavsky @NicoVarcha]

@Psycheout86 @AxieInfinity Yes. Gamification is great in many aspects. But it is not to be confused with a game.

Teaching and communicating this is a big part of our job as game developers.

[Nico Varchavsky @NicoVarcha]

When you build what you love. You definitely love what you build.

A long road ahead of us. But we have the right team, the right partners, and the right motivation.

[Trantorian @TrantorianVerse]

🚨Our 1st Gameplay Trailer is Live!🚨

We are looking for adventurous Fleet Commanders 🚀

Take a look at the trailer and if you think you are up to the challenge join our Discord and be one of the early pioneers in this unexplored galaxy!

#Trantorian @Algorand #GameFi #Space

[Nico Varchavsky @NicoVarcha]

"If you build it they will come" is not wrong. It just needs some marketing.