Bitcraft Developer Isn’t Willing To Trade A Fun Game For NFT Profits, Despite "Bit" Being In The MMORPG's Name

If you’re a gamer – or anyone who just hangs out on the internet, at this point – you’re definitely aware of cryptocurrency and NFTs. This is particularly true of late as developer after developer either throws around the idea of getting on the NFT bandwagon or actually does get on it, despite the opinions of their players.

Sometimes, players even assume that a newer game will launch with some sort of crypto/NFT system based on things like the game’s name. One such case is Bitcraft, the community sandbox game from Clockwork Labs. (The whole sandbox thing probably lent credence to the idea as well.) But, as it turns out, the developer isn’t interested in joining other companies in their NFT frenzy. In fact, one of the game’s co-founders wrote a rather extensive post about NFTs and crypto, taking the time to not only explain what they are – because there’s still a lot of confusion about that – but also what they really feed off of and why it’s not great for games.

We’ve had a lot of “dumbed down” explanations on how crypto works and what it really is, but this post lays it out in a way that should make sense to everyone. For one thing, it dispenses with the sarcasm and gets down to basics – those basics being that crypto and NFTs are a very specific kind of spreadsheet with very set rules. People who own crypto or NFTs really just own a line on that spreadsheet. There are some differences between the two, but effectively that’s it. You own a line in a spreadsheet.

The other thing Clockwork wants people to understand is that what both these things really function on is fear of missing out. Either you’re an individual afraid of missing a chance to get rich or you’re a game developer afraid of missing out on that supposed audience that will – also – get you rich. The problem with this is that it manipulates people. The problem with it in the game development world is that it changes games from something that should be fun to something that’s kinda stressful…less “play” and more speculation. The developers of Bitcraft have been watching other companies do this and have spotted a pattern.

Developers announce they’re creating an NFT game. Players protest. Developers ignore players and do it anyway. People who don’t actually play games jump in and do all the NFT stuff. Players don’t actually play the game. Developers decide the game needs more NFT to attract players and the game suffocates.

The good news for potential Bitcraft fans is that they see this and see the results are counter to their actual goals. They want a game that will last a long time (and be fun) rather than what they get when you create a game that revolves around NFT speculation. So, if you’ve been eyeing Bitcraft but have been wary, you can relax a bit.

If you’re still concerned, I’d suggest reading the full post from Clockwork over on Medium. It’s an interesting read.