The International Game Developers Association, a group that includes game programmers and game developers from all over the world, has addressed the issue of NFTs (nonfungible tokens). According to the director of the group, the inclusion of these elements into gaming projects raises ethical issues and could lead to a socio-political explosion strong.
IGDA Takes on NFTs
The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) is the largest group of programmers and game developers. It has offered its opinion on including NFTs into games. This is something that some companies have begun to do in recent years. These elements could cause problems in the gaming industry, according to the International Game Developers Association (IGDA).
Jakin Vela, interim director of IGDA, stated that the organization plans to take steps to raise awareness about the potential problems NFT gaming may cause. Vela shared this information with Ars Technica.
[IGDA] is currently revising its stance in order to make it stronger, because NFTs can pose many ethical problems.
Another concern is the “pyramid scheme” element that some games pose to their participants. In other words, some games require a continuously growing userbase in order to sustain their self-sustained economies. This includes some play-to earn (P2E).
Vela says that gamers are also affected because of the NFT environment’s unregulated nature. Gamers can place their entire employment in unregulated ecosystems without any official protection. This and other aspects could lead to a “sociopolitical explosion.”
The Future Of Gaming
Some companies have addressed NFTs and the importance of play-to-earn gaming as an important aspect of the future of gaming. However, there has been a lot of backlash from gaming groups that oppose this new trend for many reasons. The IGDA was part of the opposition and issued a statement calling for action in July 2021. The organization stated:
NFTs shouldn’t be used if a simpler and cheaper database table can provide the same information and benefits.
The organization also stated that they recommend proof-ofstake (PoS-based) networks over proof-ofwork (PoW), blockchains, due to their energy efficiency. Other industry insiders believe that gamers are rejecting these concepts because they are not aware of the potential benefits of blockchain technology. This opinion is Nicolas Pouard, who oversees blockchain development at Ubisoft.
