Development of smart contracts for blockchain games

Games created on the basis of blockchain technology give gamers full control over their in-game assets, which they buy or receive as a reward for completing quests and tasks. In such projects, most of the digital loot is presented in the NFT format – non-fungible tokens, each of which is unique and can only belong to one person.

In recent years, the number of games created on the blockchain has increased by 2000%, which is about 52% of all blockchain activity. The growth in popularity of such projects is quite justified, since they give players the opportunity not only to play, but also to monetize their hobby.

There are several economic models that blockchain-based crypto games work on:

• Play-to-earn. In the process of passing the game and upon achieving certain successes, the player receives tokens that he can sell on specialized NFT marketplaces or use to increase his in-game earnings.
• Pay-to-earn. This model suggests that gamers buy collectible NFTs to start playing and then use them to earn money and receive other rewards. Over time, the value of tokens grows, after which a person can resell them on marketplaces for a large amount.
• Mystery Boxes. The model is in many ways similar to pay-to-earn, only in this case, the gamer does not buy specific tokens, but sets that, with a certain degree of probability, can contain NFTs of different values.

In many blockchain games, these models overlap and are used in combination to provide gamers with a unique user experience.

Since blockchain games are, by definition, decentralized projects, all financial transactions in them are carried out using smart contracts. These are self-executing computer algorithms that operate inside blockchain chains that work without intermediaries in the face of banks, guarantors and other third parties. The smart contract code contains all the necessary instructions and automatically executes transactions if the conditions programmed in it are met.

From a technical point of view, the logic of the smart contract is extremely simple, and comes down to a simple mechanism: “if – then”. That is, in other words, if the action provided in its code is performed, it automatically fires and starts the operation that should be performed in this case. For example, if a gamer reaches level 30 in a game, then he gets an NFT of a certain value.

Advantages of smart contracts in blockchain games:

• Transaction speed and commissions. Transactions within the blockchain chain are carried out almost instantly, without the need for additional control. In addition, they do not have a commission, as is the case with bank transfers.
• Transparency. Transactions within the blockchain are public and can be verified by any member of the network.
• Safety. The data inside the smart contract is encrypted using cryptography. This excludes any possibility of unauthorized access to the system by third parties.
• Reliability. In the blockchain, data on all transactions is stored on a variety of devices, which guarantees their 100% safety as long as the network exists.

The smart contract code contains all the logic of interaction between the parties to the transaction and must be reliably protected from possible hacking attempts. The implementation of such software is a complex process that involves a whole team of professional blockchain developers. At the same time, the production process itself consists of several stages.

Stage 1. Gathering information

At the first stage, experts determine what tasks the contract will perform within a particular blockchain game. To do this, the project is carefully analyzed, and an interview with the customer is also conducted.

Stage 2. Choosing a blockchain

Smart contracts can run on different blockchain networks. As of 2022, the leading position is occupied by Ethereum, which provides a complete infrastructure for the creation and development of decentralized solutions. However, developers have a fairly large choice among other networks, each of which has its own advantages: faster speeds, lower fees, better scalability, and more.

Here are some popular blockchains at the moment: BSC, Polygon, Solana, Polkadot, Hyperledger.

Stage 3. Selection of optimal technologies

An important role in the process of developing a smart contract is played by the technology stack on which it is written. The choice of specific tools depends not only on the chosen blockchain network, but also on the tasks that the project must solve after deployment.

The most commonly used programming languages ​​are Python, JavaScript, C/C++. Also in their work, AVADA MEDIA specialists use frameworks: Hardhat, Brownie, DappTools and blockchain test networks: Rinkeby, Umbra or Hyperledger.

Stage 4. Smart contract programming

The technical development of a smart contract

can be done completely from scratch, or using toolkits supplied by the blockchain networks themselves, which include various patterns and libraries that significantly speed up production.

Stage 5. Testing

Once deployed on the blockchain, a smart contract is almost impossible to change or destroy, so after the technical development is completed, you need to make sure that it works correctly. To do this, QA engineers place the software in test networks, where they undergo multi-level testing. This makes it possible to detect and eliminate all probable errors in a timely manner.

AVADA MEDIA has extensive experience in developing blockchain solutions of varying complexity, from smart contracts and crypto wallets to large NFT marketplaces and exchanges.

We have already formed teams of specialists who can start implementing your project in the near future.