Web3 Gaming Returns Storytelling To Its Decentralized Roots

Storytelling has been an integral part of human culture since the dawn of civilization. A timeless discipline that transcends generations, cultures and technologies, storytelling – whether around a campfire, in a temple, on a screen or via the written word – is destined to exist as long as we do. Longer, in fact: even the demise of humankind wouldn't represent a final chapter. The story of the universe will continue ad infinitum, even if humans aren't around to chronicle it.

Needless to say, storytelling is an indispensable pillar of the entertainment business, including the gaming industry. Forget eye-catching visual effects and dazzling graphics, successful games depend on a compelling narrative, whether we're talking about a humble mobile release or an immersive MMORPG.

The emergence of Web3 gaming brings the next evolution of storytelling into focus because suddenly players themselves can take up the pen and help propel a plot forward. Blockchain's integration into gaming allows players to form their own distinctive decentralized communities, create and fund unique content, host events, manage treasuries, dispense rewards, launch their own games and much more.

Web3 Storytelling: Old Tradition, New Tech

Although this decentralized gaming model may seem like a revolutionary concept, it actually harks back to the early days of storytelling, which was decentralized and collaborative by nature. Better still, there was no walled garden; no publisher to act as arbiter of value, no right or wrong story to tell. 

O.G. raconteurs like Aesop, Homer and Herodotus were not reliant on centralized gatekeepers to dispense wisdom; they were independent, often wandering from one community to the next and captivating curious listeners with their oratory.

This natural approach made storytelling an engaging communal activity involving a great many people who could input and append their own interpretations, variations and twists before repeating the tale to those who hadn't heard it before. The evolution of clever, compelling narratives proceeded in a distributed fashion, the story simultaneously belonging to no-one and everyone.

Games built on blockchain represent a return to this historic mode of storytelling. Releases that incorporate Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs), smart contracts and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) give creators the chance to gain sovereignty over their words and work because, for the first time, players can do more than play: now they can organize, create, fund, earn, trade, and even influence the canon of their favorite game.

There are a number of ways in which blockchain technology empowers players, particularly from a storytelling perspective. Firstly, the existence of a public ledger cements the documentation and protection of players' digital assets, whether those distributed by a gaming platform or generated by players themselves (like a self-minted NFT). Tokenization on a public ledger gives creators provable ownership, something that simply wasn't part of the web2 model.

Decentralized gaming communities, meanwhile, have given rise to an avalanche of user-generated content. We see a perfect illustration of this in the community-driven Alien Worlds Metaverse, which is largely governed by six Planetary DAOs (known as Syndicates) made up of everyday players. Reflecting the oral tradition of storytelling, these Syndicates let members influence the game's direction, adding depth and complexity to the storytelling experience with their own characters, contests, lore, NFTs, utility tools, initiatives, strategies and gamified products.

A fast-growing sci-fi metaverse that anyone can contribute to, and where the community shapes how stories unfold, Alien Worlds attracts over 400,000 unique wallets every month and has already facilitated 370 million lifetime transactions. Ultimately, the game's powerful Planetary Syndicates help to enrich the ecosystem with their many diverse perspectives and initiatives, ensuring it evolves in a decentralized fashion not just from a managerial perspective but also from a storytelling one. 

In contrast to the web2 approach, wherein publishers reaped all of the profits, web3 games like Alien Worlds grant users the ability to self-custody assets, establish decentralized communities, and capture value by monetizing content (including stories and artwork) permissionlessly. There's even a grant program, Galactic Hubs, which helps bring players' creative ideas to life. Alien Worlds recently announced that it had recruited renowned sci-fi writer Kevin J. Anderson to produce a new Lore foundation upon which community members can add their own contributions. "Over time, we will see a community entirely responsible for maintaining the canon of the Alien Worlds Metaverse," predicts the game's CMO Kevin Rose.

We have come a long way since the days of stories being shared around campfires and within close-knit communities. But by embracing the principles of decentralization, web3 games set the scene for a renaissance of storytelling as oral tradition, taking us back to our pre-modern creative roots. Everyone can contribute to a story through participation in DAOs.

The combination of disintermediated storytelling and modern technology is a winning one, offering an innovative way for players to reclaim control over their content and tell the stories worth telling.

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