Incentives — The Play and Win Model

What is up, Bangers

If you haven’t heard about NFTs at this point, relax, you have nothing to worry about; we´ve got you covered. Here’s an article we wrote on the nature and definition of NFTs and their impact. https://bangergames.medium.com/new-possibilities-for-gamers-e16e4d33510a.

However, today we didn’t want to talk about what NFTs are and how they work. Today we wanted to take it a step further, or should we say, a step backward. Because the real game changer that tokens in general (not just NFTs) represent in the Web 3 space, and especially in crypto gaming, has to do as much with ownership (which we have covered on several occasions) as with INCENTIVES. The industry’s famous “REWARDS” are genuinely the centerpiece of the entire ecosystem.

To understand why, and especially where this comes from, we need to take a look at the origin of the word itself. The term “incentive “comes from the combination of two Latin words — “incantare,” meaning to charm or chant, and the adjective “incentivum, meaning something that incites or sets the tune. So rather than the current idea of incentives being directly related to rewards, prizes, and economic profits, perhaps they have more to do with what it is we say and do to make people want to join us in whatever it might be we are embarking on. To reference the Oxford dictionary, an Incentive is that which motivates or encourages someone to do something.

What incentives can we find in today’s Web 2 tools? Google might incentivize people through time optimization by choosing the fastest route or through the capacity of double checking facts thanks to its search engine. On the other hand, social media is different, where incentives are more related to belonging and recognition than socializing. What about gaming? It seems like the most significant incentive is entertainment, which, although more than enough for a long time, is starting to fall short, especially considering how much money is being made by many of the industry players.

It seems now more than ever that we have been “in chanted” to use certain apps or play certain games simply because everyone else does, and not because of the actual value they can deliver.

Web 3 has the tremendous potential to change the way we perceive incentives and the way we define them as well. What type of behaviour do we want to incentivize? This is not only a question for all of the creators within the Web 3 space but also for users, investors and gamers.

As a Web 3 gaming platform, Banger believes in building community together and exchanging value. Win-win scenarios for all players involved are the only thing we are after.

This might seem easy to sell, but it is incredibly challenging to plan and predict.

To create effective incentive systems where these win-win scenarios can be displayed, it is necessary to understand the tools used to incentivize, which are no other than tokens through a system called tokenomics.

There are many fungible tokens and non-fungible tokens, our famous NFTs. Both can be used to incentivize different types of behaviour within the platform.

The question is, what type of behaviour do we want to incentivize? First and foremost, the origin of gaming itself is having fun. We want to reward the use of our platform. Incentivizing the simple act of gaming, primarily through our free-to-play model, is in itself a game changer.

Furthermore, we want to incentivize the desire to make a career through gaming, whether it’s because of the desire to monetize the time spent gaming or perhaps even the aspiration of becoming a streaming or content creator.

However, incentives don’t only show up in the form of economic value. As mentioned previously, today’s social media incentivizes through recognition and virality. Incentivizing these types of behaviours has already proven dangerous. At Banger, similar to other Web 3 companies, incentives also mean participation or belonging, but not so much in a FOMO style encountered in today’s social media, but rather in a way that actually gives you ownership and governance.

As mentioned previously, Web 3 incentives are possible thanks to creating individual economic ecosystems within each company. Banger has its own tokenomics, which we will dive into deeper in future articles. However, as a general concept, the economic ecosystem is based upon the value Banger itself can develop. This, of course, will depend on the number of gamers and the overall success of the platform and its members.

By incentivizing with our different tokens, we are giving all of our gamers a piece of Banger and, therefore, the possibility of increasing its value by using and promoting it.

Creating these structures is not a simple task. There is no better proof than the Play-to-earn model, which collapsed due to weak and untested tokenomic systems. Creating these ecosystems carries responsibility. At Banger, we are constantly testing and auditing different scenarios to provide a sustainable and profitable ecosystem.

The result of all that work is the creation of a new model called Play & win, where earning rewards is only a result of the most crucial factor of all, having fun.

At Banger, you win by playing, improving your gaming skills, sharing your gaming knowledge, contributing to the community, creating content, competing, watching others compete… the list goes on. However, the concept behind it all is to incentivize not only the use of the platform but also the enjoyment of it.

How those incentives will work and what shape or form they will be delivered is a subject for another day. For now, just remember that a new model of gaming is on its way, one where rewards are a form of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to put the joy of gaming above all else.