Web3 Game Breakdown — Designing Sustainable Economies
Launching a project on the blockchain introduces a range of complexities that heavily influence your game design. It’s crucial to factor in real-world market cycles and understand how valuable in-game items can impact your game’s progression. A single wrong design decision can lead to the collapse of your game’s economy and undermine the playability you’ve worked so hard to create.
In this article, we share some tips and tricks that game designers can employ to foster a sustainable game economy. At Sunflower Land, we have successfully used these techniques for the past three years to create one of Web3’s most dominant and long-lasting games.
Rewarding Players for Complex Gameplay
When designing reward structures for native tokens or NFTs, ensure that you encourage positive behaviors within your game. These behaviors should focus on gameplay loops that require strategic planning and time to complete. For example, instead of simply selling a crop for a native token, players should be required to harvest multiple crops, cook a recipe, and deliver it to a character in the game for a token reward.
While low-level loops are frictionless, they can quickly lead to the inflation of a token. This encourages players to focus solely on accumulating tokens through the simplest means, potentially missing out on other key gameplay features. To mitigate this, reward players who engage in all aspects of your game.
In 2022, we adopted a delivery/task board system at Sunflower Land that encourages players to collect various resources and perform tasks. This idea, commonly seen in many mobile farming games, has since become a staple in Web3 games, appearing in top titles like Axie Infinity and Pixels.
However, there are some good use cases when you want a player to accumulate tokens and feel a sense of mastery. In gaming, this is often referred to as the snowball effect — the more you earn the easier it becomes to earn more. This is extremely satisfying for the player. In these cases we suggest you introduce an alternative off-chain currency which can be used for these low-level loops.
In April 2024, we introduced a new in-game currency, Coins, which are used to reward low-level actions such as selling crops. Our native token, SFL, is reserved for more complex gameplay loops.
Implementing Sinks
A common pitfall for gaming projects is launching a token with minimal or no utility, relying solely on hype to sustain the economy. This approach often leads to the project’s decline. Before launching a token, ensure there are significant and ongoing sinks for it — these shouldn’t be one-time events but scheduled and recurring activities in your game.
Examples of effective sinks include:
- Weekly NFT Drops: Offering limited-time NFTs can create demand and provide a continuous use for tokens.
- Seasonal Purchases: Introduce seasonal items or features that players can buy, encouraging periodic spending.
- Premium Actions: Charge tokens for premium in-game actions, such as special abilities or exclusive access.
- Fees: Implement fees on activities like trading or withdrawing tokens, which can consistently remove tokens from circulation and stabilize the economy.
Dynamic Balancing
Designing an economy is challenging due to emergent gameplay and unpredictable player behaviors. To maintain stability, incorporate mechanisms that adjust the burn and mint rates in real-time. When an excess amount of rewards has been minted, lower the rewards over the following days. Conversely, if a large number of tokens have been burnt, you can increase the rewards distributed.
At Sunflower Land, we use a dynamic system that adjusts rewards through our delivery and exchange system. During periods of high trading activity and significant SFL burns, the reward amounts are increased, promoting a deflationary token economy.
Conclusion
The biggest factor in the success of your game’s economy is the perceived value of your project, which is largely beyond your control. Market hype and speculation play significant roles. However, without a solid foundation, your project is destined to fade with the hype. By implementing these strategies, you can create a more resilient and engaging economy that sustains your game over the long term.