How to Build a Blockchain Game: Step-by-Step Guide

“What’s the point of spending hours on a game if everything you achieve can vanish when you quit?” That’s the complaint with old-school traditional video games; your achievements were never truly yours but belonged to the developer of the title.

Blockchain games are solving this very problem with absolute ownership, allowing players to use their assets across multiple games and earn potential while playing. Blockchain games have changed the gaming landscape with their play-to-earn model, and interoperability with NFTs is game-changing. 

If you have an idea and are interested in building a blockchain game, then you have landed on the right page. This blog will shed light on what it takes to make a successful game.

What is a Blockchain Game?

A blockchain game is any game that utilizes the power of blockchain to bring interoperability through NFTs, allowing players to truly own their achievements and providing them freedom to use in-game assets from one title to another, making for truly unique gameplay. 

This is vastly different from traditional video games, in which players do not truly own their in-game purchases, even after paying for them; those purchases remain under the intellectual property of the developer, and using them can result in a copyright infringement notice. 

Also read – The Future of Blockchain in Gaming: Opportunities and Challenges

Advantages of Blockchain Games

Blockchain games aren’t just changing the way people play; they are also transforming how developers build, monetize, and grow their projects. Below is a list of advantages offered by blockchain gaming:

• True Asset Ownership

In contrast to traditional games, where assets remain locked within the developer’s ecosystem, players truly own their in-game objects as NFTs.

• New Revenue Models

Developers can generate continuous revenue streams beyond one-time purchases by earning through transaction fees every time players trade assets.

• Decentralized Infrastructure

A single central server is not used in blockchain games, which increases security and transparency and prevents crashes or downtime.

• Stronger Player Engagement

Players feel more committed to the game since they can freely purchase, sell, and trade items, which increases player retention and develops stronger communities.

• Cross-Platform Interoperability

Blockchain allows in-game assets to be used across multiple titles, opening doors to creative collaborations and larger ecosystems.

• Lower Platform Dependence

Instead of giving a cut to hosting platforms like Xbox or PlayStation, developers keep more control over distribution and monetization.

Step-by-Step Instructions for Developing Blockchain Games

Let’s take a look at the steps that go into building a blockchain game from scratch:

• Define the Concept for Your Game

The first step in making your blockchain game is to come up with an idea that is both fun and interesting. Start by thinking about the kind of game you want to build, whether it is sports, action, adventure, simulation, puzzle, racing, survival, etc. 

Next, ensure that your game idea is distinct, unique, and will captivate players. Ask yourself and brainstorm: what will be the storyline? How will the players earn crypto by playing the game? Having a persuasive gaming concept will take you far in the game creation journey.

• Choose a Compatible Blockchain

Now that you have a compelling concept, it’s time to choose the right blockchain for your game to use. A blockchain network is what does all the magic, carrying out transactions securely and playing a vital role in enabling seamless in-game transactions and asset ownership.

Blockchain makes games better in every perspective, but with pros come their cons. The Ethereum blockchain, for example, can become extremely slow and expensive during peak hours when there are too many players online at once.

• Designing Game Mechanics

In this step, we will decide the mechanics and how the game will work, starting with how players interact with their surroundings and other players. Here, we will define all the rules for how players can interact with the game.

Pro Tip: Make sure that how to earn cryptocurrency is simple to understand so that players are easily engaged and excited to continue playing further.

• Creating Game Assets

The look and feel of your game is the first thing that players will see, so make sure you put extra effort into refining it. Keep making tweaks for the images, assets, and sounds until they fit your creative direction, as you had imagined.

Hire talented artists who can capture your imagination in illustrations and recreate those characters through Adobe Illustrator or Blender so they can be utilized inside the game. Pay close attention to the music and sound VFX, as they remarkably enhance the overall gaming experience.

• Developing Smart Contracts

Smart contracts are a special piece of automated code that is executed autonomously when a set of predefined conditions mentioned inside the code are met. This could be executing transactions based on some particular conditions, like unlocking a new level. 

Use a simple programming language like Solidity for Ethereum to make these contracts. Make sure that you thoroughly test your smart contracts in a sandbox environment before you deploy them onto the blockchain, because once deployed, they cannot be changed or modified.

• Building the Actual Game

Now you can actually start developing your game; you have your concept cleared, the blockchain network decided, game mechanics, smart contracts created, and assets ready.  To assist you in making your game, pick a gaming engine such as Unity or Unreal Engine.  

The blockchain functionality will be included during this phase, enabling participants to manage their assets and conduct transactions effortlessly. Monitor performance to ensure there are no lags or problems and the game works smoothly.

• Test your Game before Launching

Testing is the most crucial step before you launch your blockchain game. You need to vigorously test your game with the help of a team of developers and experienced gamers to get noteworthy feedback that is actually relevant for real gamers. 

Before the official launch, conduct alpha and beta testing and use the valuable feedback to make improvements. Addressing the issues that these players report will help polish the end product.

• Launching Your Game

The hardest part is over, and now all that we have to do is launch the game! Wisely choose a platform from which the players can get access to your game. Choose platforms like Steam, mobile app stores like Google Play Store and Apple App Store, or your trusted website.

Create a marketing campaign to promote your game, run ads all over social media, and promote it in the gaming community and to influencers to get the word out to the general public. Consider launching a special, limited-time-period offer for a select few players to generate hype around the game.

• Engage with the Community

The popularity of your game is a mirror reflection of how positively the community perceives it. There is no power for change greater than discovering what a community cares about, so building a community around your game is absolutely vital for its success.

Stay hyperactive on social media and gaming forums to build fan loyalty, and ask them to share their gaming experience and suggestions that they have. Host events, contests, or have live chats to keep the players hyped and engaged about your game.

• Providing Maintenance and Updates

It’s critical to maintain the newness of your game after it goes live. Continuously provide new features, content, and patches to the game in response to player input. Make adjustments that improve the gaming experience after collecting feedback from your community. You may learn new perspectives on what players like and what needs to be worked on just by examining player behaviour and interaction.

Cost of Developing a Blockchain Game

The cost of building a blockchain game varies vastly depending on the game’s intricate complexities, chosen features, target platform, and even the region from which you are choosing to hire developers. 

For example, the build cost between India, the USA, the UAE, Singapore, and other European countries can be more than double for the same feature deployment. So, it is advised to choose wisely the country where you want the game to be developed.

Let’s take a look at the cost breakdown of various game types, along with their estimated cost to build and the amount of time it would take to develop:

Cost Breakdown Table:

Game Kind	Estimated Cost	Time
Simple P2E Game	$20,000 to $40,000	2 – 4 months
Intermediate RPG or NFT Game	$50,000 to $100,000	4 – 6 Months
Advanced 3D Metaverse Games	$150,000	Half to full year

Conclusion

As we have seen in the blog, building a blockchain game involves multiple steps, from conceptualizing and designing to developing smart contracts and launching on the right platform. Each step requires careful consideration and focus to ensure that the final product aligns with the developer’s vision.

The cost and complexities of creating a blockchain game can feel overwhelming, especially for those new to the technology. Partnering with an experienced firm can help streamline the process. Technoloader, with its expertise in this field, can help you launch your idea with confidence.

Contact us today to turn your idea into a reality.