An Analysis of the Integration of Web3 Social and Gaming

1. The Essence of Decentralized Social Networking

Decentralized social is a new social system based on decentralized identity (DID). In this system, users have their own asset sovereignty, an open credit system, controllable data privacy, and rich identity profiles, allowing them to freely choose where to express their opinions and what permissions to open. These cannot be tampered with or influenced by others in the user's choices.

However, decentralized social is currently facing two major bottlenecks: traffic and scenarios.

1. Traffic issues:

• The cost of migrating from centralized platforms is high
• The user base for Web3 is small, making it difficult to form network effects.

2. Scenario Issues:

• Lack of obvious application scenarios
• A purely "profit" motive cannot sustain application scenarios.

2. The Intersection of Games and Socializing

Games are naturally suited for social scenarios, able to break through the limitations of time and space to establish connections. Living and activities in another world are also excellent social scenarios.

There have been many successful cases in traditional online games, such as World of Warcraft, Fortnite, etc. The decentralized game (GameFi) also hopes to solve the asset ownership issue through NFTs and Tokens.

The ultimate goal of most GameFi projects is the "metaverse", where all outputs within the game possess strong "interoperability". This requires a universal identity format - GameID, which records players' experiences, reputation, assets, and achievements across various games.

3. Current Fusion Products and Possible Futures

3.1 User Identity and Behavior: Gamer Profile

Representative projects: Carv, DeQuest, Arche, Soulbound, Lysto

These types of projects aggregate players' on-chain/off-chain game data to form GameID. Initially, they mainly served B-end game project parties and guilds.

3.2 Social Supplement Component of the Game: Cross-Platform Social

Representative projects: XMTP, Web3MQ, Swapchat, Beoble, MetaForo

These types of projects offer cross-platform social features, such as instant messaging, forums, etc.

3.3 Asset-based: NFT-integrated games

Representative projects: Arcade, Worldwide Webb, Big Brawl

This type of game allows players to import their NFT assets into the game as characters, increasing the utility of NFTs and extending social scenarios.

3.4 Unit of relationship: Social mini-games

Representative projects: Mask Extension Game Module, Non-Fungible Friend, Shil.me

These projects revolve around users' existing social relationships and stimulate sharing through lightweight games.

Virtual Relationships Centered Around AI 3.5

Representative projects: rct AI, Mirror World, GiroGiro, Soularis

These projects explore the social interactions between AI-driven virtual beings and users.

4. Summary

The combination of gaming and social interaction is expected to break through the current traffic bottleneck of Web3, becoming an important application scenario. In the future, more interesting and unique fusion projects may emerge, which are worth ongoing attention.