I've been given the task to create the perfect video game. I have an unlimited budget. I have full artistic freedom. There are no limitations to what my team can do. No matter what I want they can make it happen. It's up to me to decide what is perfect. What kind of game do I make?

A lot of online games these days are designed around addiction. They release battle passes that you have to complete within a given time. They release events that runs within a certain time window. They make these things limited to that you come back to the game because we don't want to miss out. You play the game because you have to finish your battle pass and not because you want to.

At the end of the month you sit there with your new skins and your new emotes. Items that doesn't really exist. You don't own them. You don't even own the account the items are on. You can't do anything with the items other than look slightly cooler than the next guy.

You feel dead inside but you can finally play the game without worrying about maximizing your efforts for battle pass exp. At least for a couple of days until the next battle pass launches and the cycle starts anew. Sound familiar?

These are things that wouldn't be a part of my perfect video game. In my perfect video game any item you acquire you would actually own. Every item would be an NFT that is minted to your account. An account that YOU own because it's on a blockchain. The blockchain is the game itself.

Some items will exist in infinite numbers, while some will be limited. Some might even be completely unique making it the one and only. I wonder what that will be worth on the market where you can but and sell items for real money and/or crypto.

The setting

Because I'm a huge fan of fantasy settings it's gonna be a fantasy game. I'm thinking high fantasy. Elves, dwarves, humans, orcs, trolls, ogres, goblins, kobolds and all sorts of creatures inhabit the vast world. You, the player, can choose to play as any existing humanoid race within the game.

The world will be littered with hamlets, settlements, citys, caves and other noteworthy locations. All of that standard stuff that you see in fantasy MMOs these days.

^{Adult Fantasy Genre Guide}

Gameplay & Mechanics

Gameplay wouldn't be so different from what we see in the standard MMO. I'm thinking something like the good old World of Warcraft or Black Desert Online. WoW is a little more chill and laid back in terms of combat while BDO is a little bit more hectic, to say the least. This is yet to be decided. No matter, just think standard MMO gameplay with quests and all that jazz.

I don't want to spend to much time on things like the setting and gameplay. I want to get back to the itemization and NFTs which is the corner stone of my game.

Itemization

Finding items won't be more complicated that it is in standard MMOs. You can quest for them, find them in dungeons, go exploring for them and you can craft them. To ensure item diversification and a limited supply of items the world will be a dynamic living place.

That farmer who has a boar problem on his farm won't have that problem forever. Once he's rid of the boars he won't be a quest giver anymore. At least not until the boars return to raid his farm. When that happens the quest rewards also stops. Those lucky adventurers who were adventuring in the area were the lucky winners. They now have some limited edition items! This also makes it rewarding for players to be out and about in the world and not just sit around in the cities.

Mine to much ore, the ore will be gone and you won't be able to craft. Need to find another spot until the ore gods grow them back. How long will that take? Only the gods know. Killed off all the deer in the area for their hides? To bad, now they're dead. Need to wait for them to migrate back into the area or find another habitat to kill more of them. Raided a dungeon to many times? The monsters who lived there moved out. Maybe they'll return if you leave it alone for a while.

Item Customization

Another important thing about the itemization is that all items will be customizable. It can be enhanced to make it better. Changed to have different attributes. It can even be visually enhanced to look better or worse. It will be the victim of wear and tear. Older mints of an item might become rusted and take on a ragged look over time. The item is now something different than it's base item and it could even be totally unique. You now own the only item of it's kind!

Say you become a famous player for some reason. Everyone knows who you are. You can engrave your sword with your initials or something, making it an unique item and giving proof that it was once yours. How much do you think that will be worth? There will be systems in place to make sure anyone just can't impersonate you and sell stuff in your name. Who doesn't want to own the sword of the fabled adventurer Pusen the Magnificent?

Staking

I want there to be some sort of staking possibilities to. I'm thinking with housing and shops and such. Say you stake some of your funds into a blacksmith. You now technically own a bit of the blacksmith and you can vote on what the blacksmith will do. Will it make armor or weapons? Will it make other stuff? You now also earn a bit of the blacksmiths earnings equal to the stake you have.

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I'm gonna leave it at that. The story and the other stuff isn't really that important for me as long as this item system is in place. I want it to be like that because I want players to get something in return for the time they invest in the game. Most games these days just give you rewards of achievements and happiness. It's just a release of endorfins for a while then you sit in your post-game blues and feel sad. That's great of course (or is it?), but why not get some real rewards as well? You won't ever feel like you're wasting your time playing video games again if every game had something like this.

Power to us, the players!