Whitepapers... Are They Necessary in Blockchain Games? & How Hive Solves That - Rising Star Meme #24

You probably have heard the name Whitepaper so many times by now and chances are that you know what they are... But are they really needed for every project??

First, let's take a step back and make sure we are all on the same page...

What Are Whitepapers??

Google says:

"A whitepaper is a document released by developers that explains the technology and purpose of the project they are working on. It tells prospective investors how the cryptocurrency was conceived and highlights its purpose."

In short, it is just a project's written list of "goals" and "problems it aims to solve". Whitepapers are usually released with the purpose of catching investors' attention and gathering the necessary funds for the project - everything works better with a couple of extra bucks, eh?

Now, with the definition outta the way, let's get back to the question...

Are Whitepapers Needed in Blockchain Games?

One might say: "Of course, they are needed!" and that is very true.
Transparency and trust are key factors everywhere - especially where things of value are involved. Stating what you are gonna do with the funds you are to gather helps investors better decide how to treat your project, establishes trust, and etc... but that is not always the case.

NOTE: There are lots of scammy and rugpull projects out there with whitepapers, so even having a well-written whitepaper doesn't guarantee the safety of your capital.

Back to the topic:

Take the Case of Regular, Non-Blockchain Games:

• Do they have whitepapers? Nah.
• Can they scam people? Heck yea!
• Do you trust them and make that in-app purchase? Probably - and many DO!!

That said, I don't see any reason against the idea of investing in a project where you are to own your assets, can sell them and move out of position. (which is not the case in MANY, if not all, non-blockchain games)

The Miracle Called "HIVE"

Fortunately, due to Hive's nature of being a community-driven platform, these scams have become less prominent and trust has been somewhat more widespread - You see a person discussing a project, you can really dive into their account and blog feed to see what they have done, who they are and assert the legitimacy of their words...

NOTE #2: Hive has this thing called "Decentralized Hive Fund" (DHF for short) that lets everyone have a chance of funding their idea/project into reality provided they have a decent whitepaper prepared and have a detailed list of costs PLUS their project benefitting Hive's future.

Final Thoughts

I think the main reason whitepapers have become the norm is the fact that blockchain itself is something new and a kind of mystery to most.
No need to mention that many scammers running amok and making the whole idea of blockchain less trustworthy. So these kinda "explanations" are somewhat necessary to clear things up, but Hive, as I've explained previously, has more interesting approaches to these kinda problems.

What Triggered This Post?

I see many people on the Discord, jumping in and out of the chat and ask where they can see the game's whitepaper only to find out that there isn't actually one. This time I decided to take the initiative and answer that in advance for future references and such.

Well, this was supposed to be a simple announcement and documentation of what the Dev thinks on the game's future, but it turned out to be a whole observation on my part. Will be happy to hear more ideas by you folks on this matter.

Cheers~