The other day I was sitting down at my computer getting ready to start my daily routine and I started to realize just how boring that routine had become. More specifically the gaming part of the routine.
Typically, I have no less than five tabs open in my browser that are dedicated to some form of blockchain gaming. On top of that I have at least another six tabs open dedicated specifically to Hive/Leo.
The Hive/Leo part I don't mind so much. I usually enjoy writing and the engagement that the platform offers. As I said though, the gaming side has started to become tedious.
When I joined Hive four years ago, play to earn wasn't really even a thing yet. Splinterlands was just a thought for the developers. Shortly after starting my Hive journey I joined the kickstarter that supplied the funds for it to be developed.
Fast forward three years later, I took some gains from my STEEM account, moved them into WAX, and went a bit crazy with this new P2E craze.
While some of them were winners, others have mostly just languished in mediocrity.
Here is a quick recap of all the "P2E" games that I am involved in:
Splinterlands
TribalBooks
RPlanet
Dark Country
Rising Star Game
Prospectors
Million on Mars Land Rush
XPansion
Animal World
Colonize Mars
Alien Worlds
Nine Chronicles Game
I am sure there are at least one or two more that I have missed, but you get the idea. Sadly, the majority of these games are simple miners that just require a little bit of clicking. You get a trickle of some in game token and you basically just sit around and wait for that token to get listed on Binance or something to boost the price.
In fact, the other day it finally dawned on me that many of these games are just newer incarnations of the faucets that were so common three to five years ago. Clicking once every hour or two to get smatterings of some crypto that you hope moons.
Don't get me wrong, some people did really well with faucets over the years. Likewise some people (including myself) have done pretty decent with these play to earn games.
The fact is though right now most of them are just glorified faucets. You stake some cards, then sit and wait to collect the returns.
Those of us on Hive are pretty lucky because Splinterlands is probably the most complete game among all of those I listed above right now.
Dark Country would likely come in as a hot second with Prospectors, Nine Chronicles Game, and Million on Mars a close third.
Even Rising Star Game is just a lot of clicking. Sure, I know there is crafting, but there is no real strategy to the game.
The funny thing is, we just can't seem to quit. As much as we wanted to stop being a slave to clicking the button with faucets every hour three years ago, we still sit here and click the "mine" or whatever button with these P2E games.
I know a handful of people who are talented enough to script some of the games, but doing that you run the risk of getting banned for botting. Then all of that clicking really was for nothing. Just about as bad as the in game token never getting listed and never gaining value.
Now, I know some of you are probably thinking...
"I just play "x" game because I enjoy it, I don't let the potential for profit motivate me".
And you know what, that is awesome. I applaud you for that. However, at the end of the day, it is called "Play to Earn", and that is the reason why probably about 90% of us are here. If it ends up being an enjoyable game too, then awesome, all the better!
If you only play a handful of blockchain games, then this post may not exactly land with you. If, like me, you play more than a handful, I am curious to know if you are feeling this same "P2E Fatigue" that I am currently dealing with.
I should point out, I understand we are very early into this space. Many teams are still working on their games and right now the mining piece was the quickest or easiest piece to get out. Ideally, in the future these games will start offering new aspects and features.
I can tell you though, from my point of view development is quite slow. I know of at least one game that has been promising more play options for over a year now and still haven't really delivered.
Right now there seems to be a bit of forgiveness for companies that release a game without any real game play. I have a feeling there is going to be a point where people simply don't put up with this anymore. I think we have already started to see that a little bit.
I know there have been at least two or three projects released in the last couple of days that didn't immediately sell out. That is a sharp change from three to six months ago when basically everything sold out in seconds.
Do you think this "glorified faucet" trend is going to stick, or do you see it as simply a speed bump on the road to mass adoption and P2E prosperity?
I look forward to hearing your thoughts in the comments.
