Blockchain technology is bringing major changes and updates in the gaming industry with Subgraphs. This blog explores several of the key areas where tech is significantly impacting the gaming landscape.
But first, what are Blockchain Subgraphs?
Blockchain Subgraphs are specialized servers that constantly extract relevant data from blockchains and smart contracts. Subgraphs then manipulate this data as they desire, based on the requirement of the DApp or the project. This can be for efficient indexing or querying data for retrieval or for up-to-date storage for apps that need fast updates.
Blockchain Subgraphs in the Gaming Industry
The key features of blockchain subgraphs and go hand in hand with the utilities required by games. Then why not cover both in a single section? Let’s do it.
Blockchain Data streams
Subgraphs enable an interesting aspect of data retrieval and processing in the form of data streams. This means an efficient environment for fetching, decoding, and computing all the data from the blockchain to your DApp. This ability gives rise to multiple crucial avenues for your project. Let’s check them out one by one.
Real-Time Data Monitoring with Blockchain Subgraphs
Depending on the type of game one is trying to build, this can be the most important technical requirement. Many games will cease to function without this because it allows for features like tracking player movements and updating game statistics. It can be an essential part of several games and it won’t be possible without a specialized infrastructure such as a subgraph.
Online multiplayer games require response time in milliseconds, this can be done in an efficient way with Subgraphs. Real-time data is a crucial demand for the gaming industry. In-game events, live operations, anti-cheat systems, location-based services, betting and trading, fraud detection, and many other use cases make it their first priority.
Decentralized Item Ownership with Blockchain Subgraphs
This is a feature of the Blockchain technology but it does wonders, especially in Games. Being decentralized, blockchain gives you transparent and secure ownership records. The rarity of an item in a game is transparent as well as the the record of your ownership. So a user is always aware of the value of an asset in the game. Immutability brought together with blockchain adds another layer of trust on top of this.
Decentralized Analytics Using Subgraphs
Subgraphs make it easier for developers to build analytics systems on top of Blockchain. By indexing and organizing the data developers can actively monitor the in-game activity, transactions, and user behavior without needing to rely on any centralized system.
Decentralized Identity and Reputation Management Systems in Games
The data processing enabled by subgraphs makes it easier to build identity and reputation systems for players. This can be used for things like user-specific discounts and punishments for bad behavior or monetization. Which itself is pretty easy with fungible and non-fungible tokens.
Blockchain Gaming & Scalability
All these features create very little value if the system cannot scale well. And Subgraphs by design are meant for scaling. Providing real-time data to millions of users, performing complex data manipulation and storage for future usage, and indexing the right aspects for fast information retrieval just ensures a smooth gaming experience. And that is in fact the goal. Making a system so easy and mindless that you don’t even realize you’re using it.
And that’s exactly what subgraphs do in the blockchain gaming infrastructure. And it’s not a distant utopia that one day will bring these benefits together. It’s already here and many projects are using it to their advantage.
Projects like Decentraland, Reboot gaming, Aavegotchi, Decentral Games DG, Axolittles, and Nifty League are currently working on Subgraphs for one or all of their operations.
And the list is growing continuously. So, if you’re trying to get into the gaming industry and wondering if Blockchain Subgraph is really the solution you’re looking for, you should learn more about it.