Web3 Gaming: 2022 and Beyond

Crypto Winter

According to the observations of GameFi in 2022, the ecosystem has already risen and fallen on the back of the 2021 NFT hype cycle. Early token rises and NFT mints were rewarded by the “NFT go up” mindset for games that were still in development and solely intended to provide players with an opportunity to earn money. 

Many P2E gaming projects that were released in the last 12 months include sustainable design rather than providing genuinely enjoyable play experiences. These games instead of holding the Ponzi schemes are controllable using WASD (The game controlling keys other than arrow keys).

As traditional equities and other assets saw a wider worldwide decline, the 2022 cryptocurrency market also had a severe correction. Investors have tightened their decisions to risk-on assets, such as cryptocurrencies, as a result of rising interest rates that are intended to fight inflation. With the exception of Web3 gaming, which is proving to be a significant factor in the global growth of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, venture capital funding in those industries has also somewhat decreased. Despite the weak market, blockchain gaming has been demonstrating its strength in these trying times. Blockchain games may receive over $10 billion in investments this year, more than tripling the US$4 billion raised in 2021, according to a report by market watcher DappRadar. To be precise, 2022 has been a significant year for growth, investment, and development in both web3 gaming and NFTs, indicating a fruitful crypto winter.

According to the Binance research, the situation at current leading Blockchains in Web3 gaming are:

Report: games on BNB Chain dominate GameFi industry in Q3

Moving forward let’s review some of the major topics and metrics that indicate the development of these markets in this 2022 Web3 Gaming report. Read below how these turning points handled the market slump and how things are shaping up for next year after a year of significant growth for cryptocurrency markets and increasing attention to the web3 gaming field in particular.

Web3 Gaming 

1. Gaming Model Switch

The gaming model transformation is partially a result of the game developers switching to concentrate on the game play aspect rather than the earning part. The phrase “play to earn” also establishes certain standards for the playerbase. In some regions of the world, playing Axie Infinity used to be a full-time job. However, their faltering economy made it clear that this was an unstable arrangement.

Developers started using the phrase “play AND earn” instead of “play to earn (P2E),” suggesting that you can make money while playing. Actually, this more closely reflects what true gamers desire. They prioritise enjoyable games. Additionally, if they manage to uncover a way to earn a little money while playing their games,

The problem gap arises when the small gaming startups embracing the new economic model and the profound AAA studios with high-calibre games devoted to a premium $60 price tag and paid subscriptions. But the twist comes as the AAA studios that are now converted to the wildly successful F2P(Free-to-Play) model. The difference between the rising P2E economic model and AAA game quality will eventually close.

Many studios and developers are working to create a Web3 game that is genuinely entertaining. Businesses are exercising a formula that is entertaining, equitable, and profitable for both the gamers and their creators of them.

Web3 gaming is not readily switching back to a free-to-play (F2P) model from a pay-to-earn (P2E) model, as both models can coexist in the web3 gaming space. However, there are a few reasons why some developers and players in the web3 gaming space are experimenting with F2P and other models such as play-to-play (P2P), Factory Models etc.:

Player engagement: F2P models give players the opportunity to earn rewards for their skill and effort, rather than just spending money. This can create a more engaging and satisfying experience for players.

Fairness: F2P models can be more inclusive and fair for players, as it allows everyone to access the game without spending money.

Revenue generation: F2P models can generate revenue through in-game purchases, while P2E models generate revenue through the sale of in-game assets or currency.

Community engagement: F2P models can build larger communities, as it’s more accessible to a wider range of players.

It’s worth noting that many developers and players are experimenting with different models to try and find the best balance between player engagement, revenue generation, and fairness.

2. Newly Launched Web3 Games in 2022

The top games with the most DAUs (Daily Active Users) in 2022 are listed by collective Research as follows:

3. 2022 As The Year of Alphas

An essential stage of development is the alpha release. In software development, reaching a working build that you’re ready to share with the public is a significant accomplishment. It’s encouraging to see so many alphas and betas released this year.

It is true that 2022 was the year of the alphas. Axes Metaverse, Mytheria, Everseed, Sunville Farms, Moonville Farms, Eternal Dragons, Big Time, Ancient Society, Phantom Galaxies, Star Atlas, Farsite, Spider Tanks, Mirandus, Legacy, Superior, War Park, Chicken Derby, Green Rabbit, Guild of Guardians, R-Planet: Conquest, Farming Tales, My Neighbor Alice, TreeVerse, Life Beyond, etc. are some examples of games that fall under the initial release category.

4. Web3 Gaming investments/Funding review

The Web3 gaming and metaverse sectors received a lot of investment from venture capital firms this year. But the overall amount of money invested in these sectors fell from $5.5 billion in 2021 to $3.7 billion in 2022. (Footprint Analytics).

Animoca Brands is the market leader as of the publication date of this study, having invested in 61 projects in the web3 gaming and Metaverse categories. They are followed by Shima Capital with 29 projects and Infinity Ventures Crypto with 30 projects (CoinMarketCap). Even if it is happening more slowly than in previous years, the number of Game-Fi projects is still increasing. Yat Siu, a co-founder of Animoca Brands, has also made plans to launch Animoca Capital, a $2 billion metaverse fund.

With a $50 million B round, indie gaming studio Theorycraft secured the largest investment of the month in September. The trend of well-known gaming firms and developers entering the Web3 area is evident, with the founding team including members of Blizzard, Riot Games, and Ubisoft (Cryptoslate).

In October, Ubisoft and Take-Two Interactive participated in a $40 million Series A fundraising round led by Horizon Blockchain Games, the company that created the video game Skyweaver (DappRadar). More recently, Web3 game producer Fenix Games secured $150 million in order to purchase, fund, and distribute blockchain games (DappRadar).

Despite the unpredictability and difficulty of the market in 2022, it is evident that investors are still upbeat about the future of the blockchain gaming sector. 

Number of GameFi Projects by Investor

5. Ecosystems and Web3 

Even if Axie Infinity and STEPN may have been the first projects to become widely popular, they are no longer the leading initiatives in the field. Alien Worlds and Splinterlands are the current leaders in terms of active users, with Alien Worlds claiming 131K average active users and Splinterlands closely trailing at 98K. Only the players of these two games account for almost 30% of all gamers on the web3 platform (Footprint Analytics).

The best performers in terms of transactions are WAX and Hive. The popularity of Alien Worlds and Splinterlands, which account for 54.55% and 99.85% of each platform’s overall users, respectively, is crucial to both of them as a blockchain technology (Footprint Analytics). BNB, the third-largest chain in terms of gamers and gaming transactions, hasn’t yet created a standout game in the genre.

Despite this, BNB Chain is still one of the gaming industry’s most resilient chains. With 299 new projects debuting on the platform in 2022 alone (excluding December) and a 37% market share in terms of web3 gaming protocols, BNB continues to dominate in terms of both new project launches and market share (Footprint Analytics). When it comes to new initiatives, Ethereum comes in second.

It is obvious that the world of cryptocurrency gaming is continuously changing, with new players appearing and established ones fading away. Although Splinterlands and Alien Worlds may currently be the dominant powers, the future is still uncertain.

6. Rise of Metaverse

The six basic elements that make up the Metaverse—blockchain, interactivity, games, AI, networks, and IoTs—are more popular than ever. According to Goldman Sachs, the potential Metaverse economy could represent an $8 trillion opportunity by 2022, according to Gartner, which recently designated the Metaverse one of the top five emerging trends and technologies for that year (Bitcoin.com). Due to the fact that gamers have long been participating in immersive virtual experiences and creating social ties, gaming is crucial to the growth of the Metaverse.

Ancient8 Web3 gaming analysis

Tokens

Sensational Projects In 2022

  1. Kiraverse: Built on Unreal Engine 5, is an online multiplayer game, which allows players from all over the world to participate, compete, and gain achievements to unlock or rent avatars, skins, weapons, and other items. Battle Royale and Elimination are the two game types that KIRAVERSE will debut with. To improve their gaming experience, players can acquire in-game achievements and own, buy, or rent characters, skins, weapons, and other items.
  2. Illuvium: A collectible 3D fantasy RPG game with 343k Twitter followers that has developed a substantial and devoted fan base. In addition to concluding a virtual land deal for over $72 million this year, Illuvium also just made the auto-battler game mode’s first private beta available. The game has received overwhelmingly positive reviews so far and has AAA visuals and gameplay.
  3. Shrapnel: The project has garnered a lot of interest from the public, particularly in the West. It is being developed by a team of seasoned developers that have won BAFTA and Emmy awards from series like HALO and Call of Duty. Shrapnel, which won “Most Anticipated Title” at the Polkastarter GAM3 Awards this year, is evidence that Web3 games’ quality will continue to rise.
  4. Big Time: A forthcoming multiplayer action role-playing game that is now in early access. This project’s aim of creating a “second-generation crypto game” in terms of its in-game economy has been obvious this year, among other things. Big Time recently unveiled full information on its token and economy, which aspires to build a player-driven circular economy.
  5. Tatsumeeko: A multi-chain MMORPG designed to “build communities and deepen worldly relationships” and based on the Tatsu.GG Gaming Bot in Discord. The Tatsumeeko proof-of-concept generated over $369K in microtransactions, surpassed 62K MAU, and over 4.7M virtual products sold. The well-known Discord communities of PewDiePie, Davie504, Moistcr1tikal, Mobile Legends, and Team Liquid, and the fan community of Kanye West, Ariana Grande, and Hololive Fan Server already have Tatsumeeko.

What’s in for 2023?

Cryptocurrency volatility is nothing new, and 2022 was a true rollercoaster for the entire sector. It also represents a remarkable chapter in the artifacts of crypto history. It will be a useful lesson to educate both experienced developers and beginners that cryptocurrency is still “a work in progress” while simultaneously highlighting how far it has come. Future developments in this quickly evolving industry will be shaped by innovators and visionaries who remain focused and persistent.

The two industries that are most likely to use blockchain technology to spread cryptocurrency are Web3 gaming and Metaverses. Following a bright start to 2022, economic and social unrest has had an impact on international markets, particularly tech.

Crypto and NFT advocates have had to deal with hacks, significant falls, and plummeting token prices. Web3 gaming and NFTs are still very much alive and moving forward in spite of all the FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt).

As the industry develops, there will be more obstacles and setbacks, but we also anticipate that market recovery, adoption by Web2 businesses, and significant technological advancements will serve as the catalysts for a number of innovative NFT and Web3 Gaming projects and trends in the coming year and for many years to come.

The blockchain sector may have been jolted by the bear market and other problems, but the web3 gaming alternatives are just becoming better. In 2023, It can be confidently expected that there will be even more advancements in blockchain gaming with good value returns. 

Metaverse Design: All you need to know

Remember when our parents complained about how we lived on the internet 24/7? Well, we will be proving them right soon enough! 🤣 How? Thanks to the Metaverse Technology. At this point, you must be questioning, what is a metaverse.

The metaverse is a virtual replica of our real-life world. First, let’s see how the creators of the metaverse explain it.

Mark Zuckerberg on Meta

“Today, I think we look at the internet, but I think in the future you’re going to be in the experiences” -Mark Zuckerberg

“With the Metaverse, we are transitioning from viewing a 2D world looking at the internet to living inside in a 3D world ” -Dave Water

“The Metaverse has become the newest macro-goal for many of the world’s tech giants.” -Matthew Ball 

Mathew Ball on Meta

Other than the Meta-makers, this is what the internet-people who are curious yet do not know much, have to say:

Metaverse design meme

And trust us, we are enjoying the creativity 😜

Metaverse design meme

So, is it actually all pile of nothing? Yes and No. 

Yes, because it exists virtually, and No because it is not about investing and dealing with imaginary stuff. Here is a proper explanation of the Metaverse:

What is the Metaverse?

The entire metaverse network is a decentralized platform meaning: shared by everyone, which may be continuous and in real-time, which is present in the post-internet era. The metaverse is not something you can physically own. 

It is an open 3D virtual world where everyone can take part. There are various metaverses made by various individuals or groups.

Something people often mistake the Meta for the entire Metaverse is the owner Mark Zuckerberg. The founder, chairman, and CEO of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, has shared his vision of the Metaverse’s future as well.

For investing, unlike The Mask movie, 🎭 you do not become a billionaire overnight. But investing in the metaverse is also not something imaginary as most people have perceived about.

Investing in the Metaverse entails buying stock in well-known companies, buying non-fungible tokens (NFTs), creating one’s own non-fungible tokens, and buying or renting real estate on virtual platforms. There are numerous choices, and they are all promising.

If the metaverse is widely used, there could be high profits. Investors have institutional backing, indicating a firm position in the market.

How to get into the Metaverse Design

To master some skills, we recommend experiencing them. That’s right, to be a metaverse designer you must fully experience it. Have a virtual tour of it, meet new people, buy real estate in the metaverse, get metaverse equipment, and so on.

This will not only give you a fun adventure in a new world but will also provide first-hand experience of what is up-to-date, which UX components are already available, what else can be done to enhance the usability of the system etc. 

We have curated a list of important features to guide you to become a Metaverse Designer and explore the possibilities of Metaverse as a UX designer. 

Design is everything

Metaverse design meme

Mandalorian is absolutely right. Metaverse is nothing without design. Metaverse requires compelling storytelling, Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), 3D animation, etc. Here designers play the most crucial role in getting the metaverse integration’s design component just right. After all, Design has to be something that makes it feel like users’ real-world space. The three core spaces where designers need to focus are:

The successful design would be to provide a truly immersive experience, aiming to “bring things to life” in the metaverse and make them seem tangible and as life-like as possible.

Mindset for the great metaverse UX

The metaverse designer needs to reform their mindset for the technology so that the user interacting with it is not just a mere user, but a player. To do this, UX designers will need to broaden their perspectives on skills and disciplines. Because these virtual worlds are comparable to societies with entirely different systems of ethics, economics, sociology, and psychology are all involved.

A critical component of effective design is accessibility. Since many other design elements, such as the motion sickness in VR, can negatively affect users, creating an accessible metaverse experience is definitely a challenge.

The early stages of metaverse design offer a great opportunity to incorporate accessible technologies right away rather than later trying to improve systems to be more inclusive. Designers will probably need to come up with brand-new, easy methods to encourage people to spend a lot of time in virtual environments.

It is not bad being a noob, noobs act as the bridge to create smoothness between the initial trial and mass adoption of any technology. 

In fact, it means creating such User Interfaces that are represented as walk-throughs and have the tendency to communicate with new users. It allows more opportunities to learn, explore, and interact with new technology. The metaverse itself is supposed to be the new, more interactive internet.

In the metaverse, data protection, security, and privacy should be included from the beginning as the top priority. It’s crucial to create environments that discourage cyberbullying. Users should be allowed to choose whether they want to be alone or with the firm, and individuals who negatively affected them should be removed from their connection. To design more safe and more user-friendly services, product designers will need to collaborate closely with data security experts and behavioral psychologists.

As the designers have to keep the critical factor of making learnability, findability and usability a priority they must also concentrate on the importance raised by the development side of these virtual universes. 

As a result, it will allow the players to not have to face any technical barriers throughout their interactions. Learnability and ease of understanding will assist the players to spend a good, satisfactory time in the virtual world. 

What is the required expertise?

Here comes the good part! Below is the concrete skills info that the designers need to pull in order to become the metaverse UX designer. 

Holograms sound cool, right? It is exactly the kind of technology that the matrix movie introduced to us to fantasize about the magical virtual world. 👩‍💻 Metaverse designers highly utilize extended reality in the virtual world to create smooth user experiences.

Designers use Extended reality which is a fusion of AR (Augmented Reality), VR(Virtual Reality), and MR (Mixed Reality). This Extended Reality helps the players to experience a life-like world in a virtual environment.  

Recognizing the user’s physical environment, User Perspective and depth are three important aspects of the physical world. In order to create experiences that keep users safe while they are in the virtual world, designers will be able to map the environment surrounding the user using sensors in VR headsets.

We are aware that non-verbal communication makes up a significant component of human connection. Face expressions can be used to convey emotions. As you connect with others, Avatar will be able to depict current human emotions. Standardization of head, hand, and body movements for gestures in virtual reality.

Standardization will enable the usage of traditional patterns, making it easier for people to learn how to use products created for the metaverse.

The next stage in the growth of the animation sector is a virtual world. Immersive virtual worlds can be made possible using NFT, or metaverse technology. As this technology gains in acceptance, interesting new prospects are emerging for all kinds of animation. 

The avatar can move, communicate, and carry out specific actions automatically for each player. These avatars are becoming more prevalent in online gaming communities like Second Life and Roblox. These are created using traditional as well as contemporary 3D animation.

Methods & Tools: 

Many designers are curious about the tools they can use to create a metaverse experience because the metaverse is still more like an early technology. We have summarized the majorly used tool for building genuinely immersive experiences in this section. 

Metaverse Engines

You may design virtual places where players can engage with each other using platforms and engines.

Tools for 3D modeling

Using 3D objects, the Metaverse’s virtual world will emerge as a real world. The ability to create 3D models will be a challenging one for metaverse creators.

Challenges in Metaverse Design:

1. Creating the UI

What is the primary interface distinction between the world as we perceive it and the Metaverse? In the actual world, the user can see and touch the interface since it is in front of them. In Metaverse the user is inside the interface in a virtual environment.

The fact that a static design is no longer essential but rather an addition to a more immersive design poses a dilemma. The task of creating environments and experiences in a virtual world then falls to someone with extensive architectural knowledge.

2. Heads-up display (HUD)

The panel that projects information onto the windscreen into the driver’s or pilot’s line of sight is known as a heads-up display. When it comes to gaming and user interface, the status bar is where information is displayed to the player or user.

A packed HUD seems only natural playing an important role in promoting the Metaverse. Consider it; it’s a brand-new world that only exists in your sight, and you’ll require assistance navigating it. You will need HUDs in the virtual world since they provide info panels, minimaps, inventories, colour filters, accessibility filters, and other features. Concise the info is then UX’s job.

3. Virtual Reality Sickness

Speaking of VR sets, while they may be your definitive route to travel and explore the Metaverses, they are also causing worry because they are uncomfortable. Cybersickness is a condition brought on by VR headsets that imitate the effects of motion sickness.

In essence, you are deceiving your brain into thinking something is moving when it isn’t. It is this separation that makes people sick of virtual reality.

4. Dislocation

It’s possible that this young technology may reach us in many years. However, users do not go from one static page to another in the virtual world rapidly by clicking or tapping, which is the basic foundation of contemporary UI and UX design. Instead, even in non-tangible spaces, users move from one spatial entity to another

The virtual space might be rather confusing for the user if there is no sense of continuity from one stage to the next. The connectivity of all the spaces inside the metaverse is a critical factor for the designers to keep in mind.

What is it like painting the infinite canvas?

Know what the video game players 🎮 first notice and enjoy the most? It is definitely the game plot and the design. The people who build the connection between users of technology and those who create its interfaces are mostly UX and UI designers. They “interpret” it for the players, removing obstacles and facilitating communication with devices and apps.

People can work, play, shop, interact and engage in other activities in the “metaverse,” which is a graphically rich virtual area with some resemblance to the real world (or, perhaps, more importantly, the internet).

To create experiences that become the gateway into other universes, UX designers will need to adapt their perspectives, skills, and processes. To do this, they must first stop considering those who use technology as “users.”

They should think of them as “players,” or individuals who exist, inhabit, and live in this virtual environment.

UX designers must develop an immersive design in order to give “players” excellent experiences. One that enables users to live in virtual environments not just visit them. To not achieve sustainable yet simple goals, designers are to be fully committed.

What Is The Mighty Ethereum Merge: How It Will Affect GameFi

What is The Ethereum Merge?

The Ethereum blockchain, as we know it, is the foundation of numerous Web3 applications, cryptocurrency, and NFT projects. The Ethereum Merge, also known as Ethereum ETH 2.0, is essentially an upgrade to the Ethereum blockchain that will lessen its environmental impact, boost network security, allow Ethereum developers to add new features, and improve the chain’s scalability. This is due to the converging of two independent chains “Beacon chain” & “Ethereum”. The latter one will integrate the consensus mechanism of the Beacon chain into it. Let’s dive deep into it below.

When will Ethereum Merge?

The existing Ethereum Mainnet and the Beacon Chain proof-of-stake network will soon converge, indicating that Ethereum will entirely switch to proof-of-stake, putting an end to the proof-of-work. The merge is expected to be in operation in Q3/Q4 of 2022, with the tentative deadline of September 15 this year. 

This will result in Ethereum’s 99.95% reduction in energy consumption. 

What is Proof-of-Work & Proof-of-Stake?

Algorithms that are used to validate cryptocurrencies on a blockchain network using proof of work and proof of stake. The key distinction is in the method used to select and qualify users for adding transactions.

The Proof of Work consensus algorithm involves challenging puzzles that must be solved by powerful computers used by miners. Trial and error are used to find solutions to the issues. The right to add new blocks to the blockchain for transactions is granted to the first miner to solve the puzzle or cryptographic equation.

In Proof of Stake, before confirming the transactions, miners promise an investment in digital currency. Miners need to put up a stake with their currencies to validate blocks. Miners also provide the duration of their transaction validation history. A weighted algorithm that is weighted based on the stake and validation experience determines at random who will validate each transaction.

Integrating the Mainnet

Since Ethereum’s inception, the Mainnet has used the proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism. The PoW holds each transaction, smart contract, and balance from 2015 till now. 

The Beacon Chain, however, was established on December 1, 2020, and it has functioned parallel to Mainnet as a separate blockchain. Beacon Chain has not done transactions on the mainnet, but it reaches consensus on its own by agreeing to active validators and their account balances. 

When the Beacon chain is integrated with the Mainnet, and then this composition is merged into Ethereum, the Beacon Chain will work as a consensus engine for all data, account balances, and execution layer processes.

The Merge Impact on Game-Fi

Now that we are fully equipped with the Ethereum merge, it can be simply put as a quick swap of the new engine for the old one of the jet mid-flight. Everything, including the games based on this blockchain, will be swapped and altered eventually in The Merge spell. The three pillars: transparency, immutability, and traceability are fulfilled via wallet, smart contract, and the game server in blockchain game architecture.  

gaming-architecture-flowchart

Games Security

Research shows 34,200 smart contracts in blockchain games are vulnerable to attacks. The causes of vulnerability are platforms and contract programming languages. Which opens up to Calls to the unknown, Gasless send, Exception disorders, Type casts, Re-entrancy, etc. 

The merge promises a better tomorrow with higher security for the game-fi industry. The upcoming updates will increase Ethereum’s security by requiring major ETH deposits from validators. In addition, the protocol has the authority to delete their ETH immediately in the event of attempted fraud.

Faster Transactions In Games

Currently, when the players make microtransactions in the games to buy any virtual assets or skins, it takes time due to the PoW consensus. The merge update, however, will not speed up the transactions. It is here to lay down the foundation for all the anticipated upgrades. The next updates planned in the Q4 of 2022 and Q1 of 2023 will bring high core speed to the chain.  

Less Gas Fee 

For those who wonder what is a Gas Fee? On the Ethereum network, the user must pay a set amount of gas for each transaction. So in essence, “Gas” serves as a unit of measurement for determining the costs associated with putting a transaction in the “blocks” that make up the ETH blockchain.

Since 2020, there has been a dramatic increase in Defi and NFT activity in the Game-Fi, which has greatly increased transaction volume and can also clog the network with raised gas fees during peak times. 

The merger won’t directly reduce gas prices. The Merge’s technical advancements have included nothing intended to minimise fees. However, activating PoS would be the first step in allowing sharding. 

Sharding is the division of a network into “shard chains” that distribute Ethereum’s load, relieving congestion and boosting transaction throughput. It is expected to start in 2023, which will allow the network to scale dramatically and eventually lower the gas fee to an exceptional level.

More Players at a Time

As discussed above, the merger will focus on security and reduce the energy consumption of the current transactions. But it will set the stage for all other areas that users have been waiting for so long. After the merge, sharding could hypothetically boost Ethereum’s transaction throughput to 100,000 transactions per second, outpacing all major credit card providers in speed and throughput. This allows more users to play games at once. Reducing the time consumption for data processing and transactions.

99.9% Reduced GPU Energy Consumption Cost 

There are glad tides on the way with merge for the gamers. Game Processing Units (GPUs), which are used for mining Ethereum, are becoming less expensive as the network gets ready to convert from a proof-of-work (PoW) mechanism to a proof-of-stake (PoS) one, which would make these gaming processing components essentially useless for Ethereum miners.

According to calculations made by Ethereum experts, the GPU models on eBay have decreased by 37% since May 2021, and more are expected to drop very soon after the merge. Much more GPUs will be pushed to the secondary market when Ethereum eventually switches to PoS, which will probably cause prices to rise even higher.

The fact that the price of Ethereum has been relatively low, as mining has become more challenging, adds to the downward pressure.

Reduced Costs and Increased Speed 

The major 2 upgrades after The Merge are the “Sharding update” and the “Shanghai update”. Both of the upgrades are anticipated in Quarter 1 of 2023, possibly in action by January. Sharding following the merge describes the division of the whole blockchain ecosystem into manageable units called Shards.

Sharding will assist the network in facilitating secure distribution of data storage requirements, as well as making transactions quicker and making nodes easier to operate at a reduced cost. Next, we will witness The Shanghai update. It will tackle 3 critical functionalities; EVM object format, Beacon Chain withdrawals, and L2 Fee reduction. 

We are fully aware that news can be trending on the internet and still be wrong. To tackle that for the upcoming Ethereum Merge, we have busted some of the myths that went viral below.

Myths about The Merge

Myth No. 1: “Gas fee will be reduced following the merge”

False. The merge won’t lower gas prices because it only modifies the consensus mechanism, not increases network capacity.

Myth No. 2: “After the merge, transactions will be quicker.”

False. On layer 1, transaction speed will mostly not change despite minor adjustments.

Myth No. 3: “Once the merge takes place, you can withdraw staked ETH.”

False. The merge does not yet support stake withdrawals. However, withdrawals from bets will be possible after the next Shanghai update.

Myth No. 4: “The chain will increase the downtime after the Merge.”

False. Merge will provide zero downtime, as the chain will switch to proof-of-stake.

Myth No. 5: “In the dissipation of merge, new tokens will be generated.”

False. Ether will continue to be the native asset of the Ethereum network when The Merge is finished. Therefore, there will not be new tokens created.

What is “Eth 2”?

There won’t be two separate Ethereum networks anymore; there will only be Ethereum after ‘Eth1’ and ‘Eth2’ have been combined into a single chain.

The eth developer community has changed these terminologies to avoid ambiguity:

These terminological changes solely affect naming standards; they have no impact on Ethereum’s objectives or development timeline. 

A decentralized network scaling strategy and a switch to proof-of-stake have long been on Ethereum’s roadmap. Researchers initially worked on these projects independently, but in 2018 they were brought together under a single roadmap for “Ethereum 2.0.” a term coined.

Conclusion:

The existing ethereum mainnet and the Beacon Chain proof-of-stake(PoS) network will soon converge. This will complete Ethereum’s shift to proof-of-stake and signal the end of proof-of-work. This curates the way for later scaling improvements like sharding. Ethereum’s energy use will be reduced by 99.95% due to the merge. It will also make the chain highly secure, a welcoming tide for all. 

The original Ethereum developers planned for sharding in the first phase, but since gamification holds 51% of the blockchain’s transaction operations, it was viable to make the chain scalable first. For the development and popularity of layer 2 technologies to scale transaction execution, the focus of the sharding plan was shifted to enable the rapid increase in network capacity. The developers realized that this would not have been possible without switching to proof-of-stake.

Upcoming developments after the merge would be focused on sharding, modifying the EVM functionality, and reducing the beacon withdrawal delay. This means there will be a threefold surge of players onboarding on the chains. This is nothing more than a piece of good news considering the almost negligible prices of GPU and reduced gas fees for microtransactions.

Finding The Best Web3 UX Process (Hint: There Isn’t One)

Technologies around the world are causing a transition from Web 2.0 to a trustless and permissionless Web3, causing the global technological environment to change quickly. This has compelled the conventional recognized software businesses to form Web3-specific teams and convert their typical web systems to web3.

But now Web3 is having trouble gaining widespread adoption due to a lack of knowledge and technological complexities. The sole reason for this is the lack of user diversification experience. As the technology itself is complicated, it should at least have a user-friendly interface that gives the user the impression that it has ease of use and a high user diversification experience. 

User diversification is a path to a productive and forward-thinking Web3 environment in the future. Mass adoption equals a fulfilling user experience. The more people who utilize these digital environments and tools, the more they resemble the real world. As with the current face of the internet and the web, it might happen as soon as some anticipate. 

At expedite, being the advocates of web3 design, we have concluded that design is the first and foremost interacting element that enhances the user experience. In this article, we will be discussing the categories of product launches and the processes of UX design that are the best fit for a product launch in the Web3 space. 

Types of Product Launches and their design strategies:

1. For Products that just want to jump into the market OR want to onboard investors by showcasing ideas.

These sorts of products are known as Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and can be introduced to commerce after quick steps. The term “minimum viable product,” or “MVP,” refers to a product with just enough features to draw in early adopters and validate a product concept. In the web and software domains, the MVP can assist the product team in gathering customer input as soon as possible so that they can iterate and enhance the product.

The MVP is essential to agile development since the agile process is centered on validating and refining products based on user feedback.

The UX design processes for the first product category are as follows:

  1. Understanding

The biggest chunk of the initiating design phase is in understanding the project and its requirements. What are the pain points of an end-user? What can be modified in the current product to enhance UX? and how to make the experience of an end user smooth and consistent? 

Before creating an MVP or prototype, a UX designer seeks to understand what drives a user and what validation they are looking for. The intersection of UX development and design occurs when the proper products are provided to create a user’s capacity and motivation to accomplish a task.

For understanding, we start by elicitation and requirements gathering.

Understanding the user’s perspective is essential to mastering the UX design process; however, working with actual users to conduct in-depth user research, which results from the many methods of requirements gathering, is the only way to discover what that perspective is. 

By doing this first, we will need to make fewer revisions in the future, saving us a lot of work, time, money, and resources. If we conducted research first and then design, we would need to make significant design adjustments to accommodate the needs of the customers we have spoken with.

This has the advantage of allowing consumers to interact with an existing system directly. Some of the techniques that can be used to collect requirements:

  1. Branding

Product branding is a strategic fusion of design, marketing, and experience that distinguishes one product from others in the same category. It includes every aspect of the product, including the name, graphic design, materials used, delivery method, and physical appearance of the packing.

Product brands have become increasingly sophisticated and specialized for each product. A product’s niche differentiation is the objective.

However, at the core of branding, UX is about knowing the users, establishing the brand’s tone, and then designing helpful products that promote great user experiences. Branding Includes the following elements of a company:

  1. Design

Formally, there are three main design elements that makeup product design: quality, functionality, ease of use, and appearance.

To build a successful, competitive product, you will need to carefully consider each of these three criteria: an appealing, contemporary design; a useful functionality that helps users deal with their problems, and ease of use can be stated as a user on a website accessing the homepage within 3 seconds of opening the link, and maximum availability, the design must enable high performance and security as well. 

To have an improved design process we must consider 3 things.

  1. Get to know your project purpose well enough. Carefully examine individuals for whom the product is meant to pinpoint the best possible course for future product design.
  2. Be not afraid of issues. Make it a task for your team to identify and resolve them, instead. You’ll probably need to redo the outcome if you consistently put off solving problems or entirely miss them in favor of focusing just on the tasks you excel at.
  3. Strategizing your budget in compliance with the design needs is also essential, as it can get both the client and designer in an indecisive spiral where the finances and requirements don’t go side by side.
  4. The elements in the design to produce or modify are:

The user flow guides users through a series of processes from their entry point to a successful conclusion and end action, such as end-users purchasing a product.

Low-Fidelity or Lo-Fi wireframing is a basic wireframe that describes the layout of web pages or app displays. They assist you in conveying the “main idea” of your product rather than the specifics.

A prototype is an early version of a product that has been produced to test functionality. System analysts and users typically utilize a prototype to assess a new design that aims to increase precision. In certain models of the design workflow, the stage between formalizing and evaluating an idea is the creation of a prototype. 

  1. Quick Evaluation

Quick Evaluation is important because it enables teams to determine whether their design is effective for their users. Since testing with high-fidelity designs yields more insightful feedback from end users, the evaluation phase typically begins after the high-fidelity design is complete. The team validates the product with end users and stakeholders through a series of user testing sessions. Evaluation is a crucial phase in the design process where designers would test the prototype. 

2. For products that require quick UI with detailed research on UX:

When the clients ask for enhancement of the user experiences based on real user data having thorough research of user experience to launch any product, in this type of product launch the focus is on the detailed research of UX for the product with a short launch window having a simple quick UI. This sort of product is studied and data is gathered using user feedback, reviews, surveys, and the normal initial procedures discussed above. Understanding, Branding, Design, Quick Evaluation, and designer’s testing prototype. 

The client can now onboard investors using this prototype OR enter the market. Meanwhile, the UX designers would begin gathering data in preparation for the launch of the next edition, which would have a better UX and be more user-centered. The continued procedures would include:

  1.  In-Depth Evaluation

In the deep evaluation method, the team runs usability testing, qualitative testing with moderated usability testing, and quantitative via data gathering through product usability interviews, social survey forms, product communities, testing groups from actual users etc. For testing a running piece of design there are multiple ways to achieve that. One is the Qualitative + Quantitative usability testing through Maze

  1. Research

If you are wondering about the research after launch then yes! We strongly abide by the rule of iteration. Iteration is the key to a brilliant UX enhancement.  

The product launch research process can be broken down into seven general steps: understanding the market and the competition, focusing on the customer, developing a distinctive value proposition, choosing a marketing strategy, testing the product and general strategy, launching the campaign, and monitoring the overall lifecycle. These steps include Competitive Analysis, User Interviews/Personas, focused groups, Affinity Mapping, Journey Mapping,  Information Architecture (Optional), and User Flows. 

  1. Design Refinements & Final Evaluation

Design refinement can be defined as the process of changing a concept to make it more useful/easy to use or aesthetically beautiful. Renovating a certain design element, such as a web page’s layout, to make it easier to view.

In design refinements, the design system, UI, and prototype are modified if requested by the client. In this final testing, the product’s usability is examined. Both comply with Qualitative and Quantitative separately and at once. 

This final evaluation helps to provide proof to the client about any change history, also maintains a log, and that the product is tested and verified, etc. 

3. For Products that have enough time to follow UX Processes and want to get into the market with a User-Centric Product.

The final product category in which the time is fully invested to follow the thorough UX processes on to the product, making it a user-centric product. These products are called user-centric because they follow User Centric Design (UCD) in which the user is the heart and soul of the product. The needs, goals, and feedback of the consumer when creating digital products are the top priority. 

This type of process follows the same initial procedure in understanding the business, gathering the requirements via surveys and forms then branding the product having a signature theme and consistent design. The design and Evaluation follow the same procedures as above. However, In the research phase, a few new options are involved. 

  1. Understanding
  1. Branding
  1. Research
  1. Design
  1. Evaluation

A heuristic evaluation can be used to determine how user-friendly a website is. In other words, it evaluates how usable the website is. In a heuristic evaluation, unlike user testing, where users assess the website (or prototype), the site is evaluated by usability specialists.

To conduct a heuristic evaluation, the experts perform Usability testing inclusive of

Summary:

User diversification experience is the common lacking point of most Web3 products. It is not an impossible approach to reach every category of the user, but the design can be made smooth, consistent, and attractive enough to get a massive percentage to adopt this young technology. The UX is said to be the heart and soul of any product-based business.

It has a 400% conversion rate of potential to convert one-time clients to your daily users. Brands need to focus on the User Experience as much as or rationally speaking more than other areas. The above processes are curated to help Web3 design companies follow a guide and produce compelling products with a high conversion rate and user concentration respective to their type of category of product. 

Expedite Live Design Supported Products

We take pride in successfully completing and deploying satisfied clients’ products. The experiences that we gained in the design processes are all part of our learning to make the processes more user-friendly in the future. You can check Unipilot and Metadot to see live results. Check out our work for more inspiration.