Wednesday, December 15th 2021

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 To Integrate NFTs, Offer a Winner the Chance to Become In-Game "Metahuman"

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Raevenlord
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GSC Gameworld is hard at work on S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2. As a highly awaited sequel to some of the most acclaimed games, the company is naturally looking to cash in on as much awareness for the game as possible. And since one of the hot buzzwords in the market are Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), the company has now announced that these will be present, in some forms, in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2. One such NFT will be particularly special: its holder will have the digitally-recognized, intamperable right (and that's what NFTs are mostly about, in theory) to become a "Metahuman" - an in-game character modeled after the actual NFT holder.

"The idea of the related NFT is to give the right to recreate its owner's identity within the game through one of the NPCs," clarified GSC. "The person will need to come to our studio for a detailed scanning procedure and after that, we will have everything to make this person appear in the game world as one of the characters." The feat is being pulled with the help of NFT platform DMarket. DMarket will be holding an NFT auction dubbed the "STALKER Metaverse" in January 2022 through its partnership with GSC; there, users will be able to bid for an NFT offering that prize. Like any NFT, it can then be traded - up until a deadline specified by GSC, which will lock the prize to whoever has blockchain-verifiable possession of the NFT at the time.
GSC also said that more NFT offerings will be added to the game besides the pinnacle "Metahuman" one, and said in a press release that its NFT drops "won't influence the gameplay itself or give in-game advantages over other players." With NFTs being so easily translatable into the world of videogames, rest assured - this is only one of the ways in which NFTs and other blockchain-based technologies can become assets to both gamers - and companies. We just have to find the right ways to go about this integration first.
Source: WCCFTech

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67 Comments on S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 To Integrate NFTs, Offer a Winner the Chance to Become In-Game "Metahuman"

#51
droopyRO
If it is a single player or co-op experience. I could not care less about NFT's or microtransations as long as the game is good, at least a Metro type experience.
Posted on Reply
#52
Valantar
SteevoNFTs are a way to support an artist, but since I place no value on their art
True, except for the minor detail that most "art" NFTs are generic, machine-generated shovelware with zero artistic merit or value, and the scant few actual artists trying their hands at selling NFTs are typically either a) already successful and well off, b) stepping into a sh*tshow they had no idea about and losing as much support as they are gaining, or c) crypto converts that really just want their work to appreciate through being a sought-after form of gambling token.
Posted on Reply
#53
Selaya
Valantara) Devs focus on creating "new" "content" NFTs for people to pay for rather than fixing bugs or otherwise improving the game, creating expansions, etc.
b) Introducing a way of "earning" (even through investment) in game adds a secondary motivation that is entirely removed from the motivation of wanting to play a game, and potentially undermines the enjoyment of the latter
c) from the previous point, players are essentially transformed into a labor force, expected to perform work within the game to support the NFT economy (even if there are no in-game activities that earn NFTs or anything similar, maintaining the player community and keeping the game's servers running now becomes a for-profit endeavor for players). Again, this fundamentally transforms the relationship between players and games.
d) It's likely to attract NFT/crypto bros that have little to no interest in the game beyond its opportunities as a playground for investments and profit, diluting and skewing the player community in directions that are likely not healthy for it

There's plenty more where that came from too.
but all of that's already the case w/ mmo(rpgs) tho, just w/o NFTs
Posted on Reply
#54
Franzen4Real
neatfeatguyOn a side note, if I do get this game and I find out the NPC that someone gets scanned and put into the game, I will make it my job to track them down and kill them in every imaginable way possible that the game provides.
See?? It has already successfully added UGC apart from the main story! :D

/s
Posted on Reply
#55
Vayra86
robot zombieIt's an argument from passion, mostly. But also not one completely divorced from reality, sadly. I don't want to be a downer about potentially good things. I just want that potential to not get usurped by greedy actors every single time. And unfortunately I also understand that the greed is systemic in large chunks of the global society of today. Some are cynical enough to chalk it up to human nature, but if that truly is the case, then it is our natural reaction to the surroundings we ourselves built, that many people now argue against changing, for whatever reason. So long as business is shaped how it is and economies are run how they are, it's always gonna be this same story.
You hit the nail on the head.

We need to change systems, and redefine what value really is.

Good luck :)
Posted on Reply
#56
Mussels
Freshwater Moderator
CrAsHnBuRnXpI dont understand the point of an NFT or really what it is. Can someone explain?
Think of a QR code that only you, legally, are allowed to use
Mix with blockchain (the math behind bitcoin) to make it a little harder to pirate in this specific example
Posted on Reply
#57
AlwaysHope
MusselsDo you want the devs focused on fixing the game, or on the NFTs?

Look how micro transactions changed, and partially ruined the competitive FPS scene... mmm yay fortnite, where everything is an attempt to get you addicted to slot machines loot boxes
I have never participated in a game with micro transactions. I'm fussy with what I play & have never nor plan to venture into those realms like fortnite etc. So I don't care either way what the devs do or don't do.
Posted on Reply
#58
Valantar
Selayabut all of that's already the case w/ mmo(rpgs) tho, just w/o NFTs
To some degree, yes. But in many ways not at all - the forms of labor performed in mmos are typically explicitly not-for-profit and community oriented, as an example. Also, the other similarities are typically not officially supported, and there's often player backlash when they are - remember the Diablo III auction house debacle? The main change here is that this now becomes a core element of the game, rather than a (typically, mostly) unintended byproduct of other systems.
Posted on Reply
#60
Selaya
ValantarTo some degree, yes. But in many ways not at all - the forms of labor performed in mmos are typically explicitly not-for-profit and community oriented, as an example. Also, the other similarities are typically not officially supported, and there's often player backlash when they are - remember the Diablo III auction house debacle? The main change here is that this now becomes a core element of the game, rather than a (typically, mostly) unintended byproduct of other systems.
nothing can stop the black-/greymarket and the flow of currency
tbh, the way i see it as long as the economic side of a game's not a (major) deterrent to enjoyment for those not interested, you're basically set because games like those are just fundamentally unfair (a game is either zero-sum or unfair, basically) so
Posted on Reply
#61
big_glasses
I don't get it, why is this an NFT?
As in this case, the NFT is the ownership of being added to the game, right? Did a CEO get some sponsorship by some crypto-stock, and say "Add NFT"!

I've also not seen why and how NFT will add something 'unique' to a game, Ubisoft ploy for NFT is the same as Steam Market already does, so nothing new there, and in this case it's not (directly) connected to the game ether

Edit:
seems they've backed out already...
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1471620399997886472
Posted on Reply
#62
MentalAcetylide
UpgrayeddI've been waiting for something like this for a while. Always thought call of duty would do it first. Scan yourself as a character.

Idk how I feel about the nft. If it was limited to only the first purchaser then that's cool but it sounds like it will just be another scalped thing until an expiration date.
Yeah, and judging by some of the names individuals use in games, if they ever start allowing players to scan something for their character, I would imagine there will be plenty of scanned crotches & butts running around as a result. :shadedshu:
Posted on Reply
#63
Vayra86
big_glassesI don't get it, why is this an NFT?
As in this case, the NFT is the ownership of being added to the game, right? Did a CEO get some sponsorship by some crypto-stock, and say "Add NFT"!

I've also not seen why and how NFT will add something 'unique' to a game, Ubisoft ploy for NFT is the same as Steam Market already does, so nothing new there, and in this case it's not (directly) connected to the game ether

Edit:
seems they've backed out already...
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1471620399997886472
Oh GSC... keep ramming that PR-button.

Nobody cares, just deliver a proper game. The first STALKERs weren't exactly pearls of perfection. Your road to this one is... questionable.

"If you care, we care too"

Posted on Reply
#64
Chomiq
This:

Makes it sound like they needed NFT's to make actual money on the game, which is utter BS.
Posted on Reply
#65
Valantar
ChomiqThis:

Makes it sound like they needed NFT's to make actual money on the game, which is utter BS.
It's a """subtle""" dig at the people calling them out on their profiteering nonsense, working quite hard at shifting the blame for this crap.
Selayanothing can stop the black-/greymarket and the flow of currency
I'm not saying anything can, but is this somehow improved by the companies involved embracing it? Not whatsoever - it's far more likely to make the problems far, far worse.
Selayatbh, the way i see it as long as the economic side of a game's not a (major) deterrent to enjoyment for those not interested, you're basically set because games like those are just fundamentally unfair (a game is either zero-sum or unfair, basically) so
But that's the thing: there is no way of ensuring that it won't be a deterrent, that it won't somehow alter the feel of the game and the player culture surroundin the game. I would argue that it is inevitable that this happens. It might not turn all players off the game, but it will turn the game from a game into a weird quasi stock market combined with a workplace, which ... isn't a game, and certainly doesn't sound like a pleasurable leisure activity. Not that all games are "pleasurable" (though that can be a lot of different things to different people) or leisure activity, but in some way, the vast majority are.
big_glassesI don't get it, why is this an NFT?
As in this case, the NFT is the ownership of being added to the game, right? Did a CEO get some sponsorship by some crypto-stock, and say "Add NFT"!

I've also not seen why and how NFT will add something 'unique' to a game, Ubisoft ploy for NFT is the same as Steam Market already does, so nothing new there, and in this case it's not (directly) connected to the game ether
I think you've stumbled onto the core of both NFTs and crypto in general here: none of them do anything new. Period. This is also why the vast majority of real-world blockchain projects are shuttered - the same things are mostly already done more easily and (crucially) efficiently with traditional means, with the purported benefits of crypto never really materializing, and the drawbacks (from non-reversibility of erroneous transactions, to wild instability, to tons of cumulative transfer fees) being massive.
Posted on Reply
#66
CrAsHnBuRnXp
MusselsThink of a QR code that only you, legally, are allowed to use
Mix with blockchain (the math behind bitcoin) to make it a little harder to pirate in this specific example
Seems dumb.
Posted on Reply
#67
LabRat 891
Glad they're not going the NFT route any longer, but the fact they were willing to delve into NFTs at all has shown poorly on them. Clearly, more than ever before, we can see these are not the same Devs or attitude(s) of the OG STALKER games.

NFTs may have a benevolent place in society (I could see something NFT-related making both companies and consumers happy in the RtR arena.) but I'm not at all on-board for the prevailing commercialization attempt(s).
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