Dogecoin Games
Dogecoin was only a newborn pup six months ago. A big congratulations to the Dogecoin community. The coin has come far in this short time.
It seems like an eternity. Such is the skewed nature of crypto-time. The space develops at such breakneck speed. It really needs its own calendar. Blink and you’ll miss it.
At the time of Dogecoin’s birth I wrote a tongue-in cheek little piece detailing what Dogecoin would have to do to succeed. This was based on the assumption that Dogecoin would have to follow exactly in Bitcoin’s footsteps. In hindsight this was a little misguided.
Dogecoin decided to blaze its own trail. At the core of its success is the ability to carve out a space for itself in niches. Among these are charitable giving and tipping.
At the time I wrote that Dogecoin would benefit from a SatoshiDICE clone. On-chain games act to drill the network. They provide necessary mining fees and incentives to secure the network. The call was answered very early with a few clones.
More recently Dogecoin, driven by its clique of passionate ‘shibes’, is finding another niche in the gaming space. This consists of gambling style gaming and video games.
Most notably:
Being 6-months old, Dogecoin is a little thin on good betting games. The few that are available look more like malware than games.
It seems that good design still eludes the Dogecoin community. Perhaps they have been too restricted by all the ugly, bright-coloured comic sans. I try not to let my comic-sans phobia affect my love for Dogecoin. But, dear reader, it is difficult.
So it was with joy that I discovered Wheel of Doge recently. I have become quite obsessed. It’s a fun little betting game with a low house edge. Best of all, it’s pleasing to the eye and fun to play.
With an emphasis on minimalism and aesthetics I often end up playing all night.
At the same time it does still pay homage to all the things that the Dogecoin community has come to embrace. It’s the attention to detail that gets you: the fun sounds and subtle moonscape background.
It’s certainly a quantum leap in the Dogecoin gaming space to-date.
I know exactly who Notch is. I have a brother who lives and breathes Minecraft. My brother maintains emphatically that notch is ‘the chosen one’.
I’m always quick to point out that if there can only be one, then it must surely be Satoshi. Hell, I’ve even been to Minecon. It’s the only non-crypto conference I’ve attended in recent years. It was also equally thin on females…sigh.
When Notch announced his newest release, Cliffhorse, would be available in pre-release via Dogecoin payment, I was quick to notify my brother of this holy union.
Of course, as Notch notes: “The entire thing is a joke.” That includes the game, which he says is “…about two hours of work in Unity, using standard and free assets.” This works perfectly with Dogecoin, which also started life as a joke on Twitter.
As Notch notes, “maybe being a joke is ok?” Dogecoin certainly became something more. The future of Cliffhorse will be interesting. Especially considering Notche’s standing in the gaming community.
Considering both Notch and Satoshi are contenders for the title of ‘God’, this marriage of crypto and gaming makes perfect sense.
VoidSpace is set in a world called The Void. It is in the top-down style and you are playing with thousands of other players worldwide.
The game is very much in Alpha still, but upon release they aim to use Dogecoin transactions to pay players for goods and services. This means that players will be able to make real money by starting their own in-game businesses: a truly exciting paradigm.
The world of VoidSpace is vast and untouched, with nothing but raw natural resources. Like Minecraft, players will need to create their own infrastructure to survive. Exploring the world can yield valuable resources that are used to construct inventions that improve your lifestyle in the game. Banding up with other players offers benefits. Player created societies are a big part of VoidSpace.
(Note: The author advises organisations that make digital currency games).