Complete guide to 'Off The Grid' and How Blockchain is transforming gaming

Introduction to Off The Grid

The gaming world is changing rapidly, especially with the rise of blockchain technology. One of the most exciting new games is Off The Grid, a battle royale game on Avalanche that aims to change how players interact and engage.

Set in a futuristic dystopia, Off The Grid combines classic battle royale gameplay with extraction shooter elements, offering a unique experience. Players will not only compete against each other but also interact with non-playable characters (NPCs) and participate in a dynamic economy powered by blockchain.

Currently in early access, Off The Grid is available on PS5, Xbox, and PC. Players can expect thrilling gameplay with large 150-player lobbies and a campaign that lasts over 60 hours. The main goal is still to be the last player standing, but the game adds complexity with the ability to extract valuable loot and trade items in a blockchain-based marketplace.

This marketplace allows players to securely buy, sell, and trade items, ensuring transparency and true ownership of digital assets. This feature is increasingly important in gaming. The game’s crypto elements enhance competition, allowing players to explore blockchain technology while enjoying an immersive experience.

Understanding Blockchain and Cryptocurrency in Gaming

Off the Grid is set in a dystopian future where players compete to be the last one standing among 150 participants. The game merges traditional battle royale mechanics with extraction shooter elements, allowing players to collect valuable items and trade them in a blockchain-based marketplace.

This integration ensures transparency and security in transactions, enhancing player engagement and introducing a new economic model in gaming. Players can utilize cybernetic enhancements and various weapon combinations, making each match dynamic and strategic.

The incorporation of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) into Off the Grid allows players to truly own their in-game assets. Items collected during gameplay can be traded or sold on platforms like OpenSea, which recently added support for the game's GUNZ token.

This feature empowers players with ownership and opens new avenues for monetization and investment within the gaming ecosystem. Developers assure that while trading features are available, they are optional, allowing players to enjoy the game without pressure to engage in monetized elements.

Blockchain games use cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and the blockchain as part of a game’s architecture — accelerating the game development process & creating new revenue streams for developers, while also unlocking true digital ownership to players with open in-game economies.

For most people today, blockchain games are synonymous with “play-to-earn” models — which give blockchain-based games a reputation for being less immersive than traditional games, and more focused on the monetary aspect that comes with it.

This oversimplified version fails to capture both the value proposition of blockchain gaming, and the paradigm shift in the way gamers are engaging with and perceiving the games.

Integrating the blockchain into games unlocks many different things:

• NFTs allow for in-game assets to become interoperable — meaning they can have utility outside of the game & enabling players to trade them on open marketplaces.
• Wallets allow for users to authenticate & log into any game seamlessly. This allows them to use interoperable NFT assets in other games, buy & sell items with cryptocurrencies, and much more.
• A platform that can replace a game's traditional backend infrastructure — with built-in auth, payments, & database systems as blockchain primitives.

How to build a blockchain game.

The emergence of Off the Grid is set to revolutionize in-game transactions through its innovative web3 marketplace, integrating blockchain technology into the gaming experience.

Developers use blockchain for the majority of the backend that powers the blockchain games. By being a single source of truth, blockchain provides an immutable way of recording user interactions and offers proof of activity.

Blockchains also reduce the dependency on the central server-client model for the storage of data. And the inherent immutability of blockchains also takes care of security and disallows any bad actor to corrupt the gaming infrastructure.

Moreover, web3 wallets are the first step into embracing true ownership in blockchain gaming.

While building blockchain games, developers need to prioritize invisible blockchain — a concept of combining Account Abstraction and in-app wallets to provide a playing experience which is indistinguishable from a traditional game.

Building a blockchain-based game is a complicated process. Thankfull, thirdweb offers a suite of tools tailored to the unique needs of game studios. These tools not only address the technical challenges but also cater to the diverse requirements of various gaming communities.

1. Unity and Unreal SDK: thirdweb's Unity SDK and Unreal SDK stand out as best-in-class, client-side, cross-platform native SDKs specifically designed for game developers. It bridges the gap between blockchain technology and the gaming world, allowing seamless integration and a superior gaming experience. From onboarding, to authenticating, to interacting - your game will feel like a seamless web2 game, and you can focus on being the great game developers you aspire to be.
2. In-App Wallets: A groundbreaking solution for wallet generation, thirdweb's In-App wallets revolutionize the way private keys are managed. With sharded keys stored securely and gated by customizable authentication layers, these wallets serve as a reliable and persistent signer across different platforms, maintaining a non-custodial nature.
3. Smart Wallets (ERC4337): Addressing wallet management challenges, thirdweb's Smart Wallets enhance the functionality of Embedded Wallets or other EOAs. These wallets enable gasless interactions on behalf of the user and offer features like temporary access for other signers, ensuring a persistent, cross-platform, non-custodial, and deterministic wallet experience.
4. thirdweb Engine: thirdweb Engine simplifies blockchain interactions by providing a production-ready REST API for reading and writing data. It comes equipped with backend wallets, nonce management, and queuing features, making it ideal for more managed types of games.
5. Connect: thirdweb's Connect offers UI components that enable seamless onboarding and integration with all the above tools, ensuring a smooth user experience.

The future of gaming

As we look towards the future of gaming, Off The Grid stands out as a revolutionary title that merges traditional battle royale mechanics with innovative blockchain technology.

Moreover, the game’s peer-to-peer trading platform adds layers of strategy and personalization to each match. Off The Grid is not just another battle royale game; it represents a significant shift in how games can integrate technology to enhance player experience and ownership.