A bitcoin game.

[Anonymous]

I got this idea from another thread I replied in.I am thinking aloud here so bear with me.

Could you port a version of bitcoin to a facebook game such as farmville ?If you think about it the proof of work could be considered the same as growing your crops and the coin generation is when the crops are harvested.You then have cash to spend on improving your farm and progressing in the game.Your friends can send you virtual presents which is no different than sending someone bitcoins.

How would you build such a game using the bitcoin principles?Are there other games that this could work on?

[Quantumplation]

I was just thinking about an MMORPG (I know it was mentioned elsewhere, but I was further elaborating on it in my mind) based around a bitcoin-like economy (not connected to the actual economy, so as not to screw with things).  It would take some of the load off the server, allowing people to transfer coins peer to peer.  The coin generation could just be incorporated into your next loot or quest reward or something.

[Quantumplation]

davidonpda: Not only that, but have the javascript running low level bitcoin generation and sending the bitcoins to you... Then, you're getting money from the people who pay, AND the people who play for free.

[RHorning]

Could you port a version of bitcoin to a facebook game such as farmville ?If you think about it the proof of work could be considered the same as growing your crops and the coin generation is when the crops are harvested.You then have cash to spend on improving your farm and progressing in the game.Your friends can send you virtual presents which is no different than sending someone bitcoins.

Farmville as a bitcoin game.  Interesting stuff here.

Games like Farmville are oriented towards recruitment, and that is something I don't know if it could transfer effectively toward bitcoins, as multipliers for having "friends" participating simply wouldn't or couldn't happen with a proof or work environment.  Yes, you could "share" your crops and other resources in some manner but having a 5x multiplier simply because you have a bunch of friends doesn't seem like it would work in terms of generating more bitcoins (or equivalents).  This is also part of what makes Farmville so much fun.

You certainly could come up with some sort of mechanism that would have a "proof of work" in terms of a user interface to plant some crops and over time those crops start to grow.... when the "proof of work" is completed the crops would be ready to harvest.  Unfortunately here too it wouldn't work like Farmville where having a larger farm giving you more crops wouldn't equate to a proof of work, as it would have to be the same amount of work for each item grown.  In other words, a larger farm wouldn't give you any sort of benefit other than perhaps having the crops "grow" one by one while you are not actively playing.

On the other hand, if you were to set up something like Farmville where you would be receiving bitcoins as payment like the other virtual currencies on similar games, that could have some benefit and might even be interesting to implement on Facebook.  Setting up a Facebook game that would give "special advantages" to people who spend Bitcoins to buy features in the game might simplify the whole microtransaction aspect, and you wouldn't have to deal with credit cards and other sorts of ways to earn money to support the game.  The game itself not built around bitcoins but using bitcoins to further yourself in the game instead of the other silly virtual currencies used in facebook games could be a huge advantage.  There certainly would be a lot less overhead for those who wanted to accept payments in only Bitcoins.

[Anonymous]

I like the idea... but maybe morph it a little. I've developed two games on facebook (pm me for their names and you can check them out)

You don't need proof of work to make plants grow. You can control that with a cron job server side.

BUT... the biggest thing about FB games is how to profit from them. FB users are immune to ads. The virtual currencies are over saturated. Payment via bitcoins... now there is an idea that could be integrated. Accept BC's for extra points, faster cron generation of a commodity. Users could share them.

1.Generate payments from your facebook game using bitcoins
2.Spend bitcoins on giftcards,gold and other physical items

profit!!

 

With the right game it could go viral as people install the bitcoin client and generate coins to get further in their virtual world.You could add a small game reward for doing so,like what happens when you earn gold for inviting your friends and other actions.

I didnt think of the potential of using bitcoins to pay for advancements and in game purchases however now that everyone pointed it out to me the idea is pretty amazing.

It is way better than having to sign up to a spam site to earn extra powers - send 50 bitcoins to this address to earn a gold cabbage lmao.Bitcoins would be unique among virtual currencies in that you can spend them outside of the game environment.You cant spend zynga dollars or facebook bucks this way.

With the right games the amount of installed bitcoin nodes would skyrocket.Imagine the government trying to amass more cpu power than the userbase of facebook .If zynga started accepting bitcoins? _Game Over_

[RHorning]

With the right games the amount of installed bitcoin nodes would skyrocket.Imagine the government trying to amass more cpu power than the userbase of facebook .If zynga started accepting bitcoins? _Game Over_

If Zynga accepted Bitcoins, expect to see a HUGE increase in Bitcoin users and the exchanges getting flooded with monetary transfer requests (from both directions.... Zynga would want to cash out too).  It would be game over for those thinking they have a slight advantage on Facebook and for amature developers, but it would be a big win for Bitcoins in general.

BTW, creating a Facebook game isn't all that hard, and the API is very well documented for those wanting to get into the act.  The largest problem is the marketing of whatever game you have created and to make something novel enough that others will be willing to play the thing in the first place.

[Anonymous]

davidonpda: Not only that, but have the javascript running low level bitcoin generation and sending the bitcoins to you... Then, you're getting money from the people who pay, AND the people who play for free.

Of course those people could also have their own bitcoin client...so its not like they wont also benefit .I like the way youre thinking though...how many khash's would a low level javascript bitcoin generator be able to run?

[mizerydearia]

moosecrumpted and I recently have been thinking about an idea that may be worthwhile to pursue.

<Kiba> hmm
<Kiba> becoming rich is so hard.
<Dark_Ghost> yeah, otherwise everyone wold be rich
<necrodearia> Perhaps some of us could team up together, form a kind of formal organization/group and develop something amazing, such as a game for Facebook that uses bitcoins as currency.
<moosecrumpet> i was actually thinking that about 10 mins ago
<moosecrumpet> weird
<necrodearia> I wonder if it will be possible to implement splitting up profits amongs the devs that design it
<Dark_Ghost> i can do graphics (3d mostly through maya), and i've got a little background in game development
<necrodearia> I think that would be amazing to accomplish!
<necrodearia> I, for  one, would love to participate
<Dark_Ghost> if we get a good idea, and can form a business plan, i know where to go for funding
<moosecrumpet> im a flash and c# developer , own unity pro + iphone + android licenses
<moosecrumpet> could do a 3d farm sim game

If anyone's interested, come to freenode/#bitcoin-gamedev

[Anonymous]

moosecrumpted and I recently have been thinking about an idea that may be worthwhile to pursue.

<Kiba> hmm
<Kiba> becoming rich is so hard.
<Dark_Ghost> yeah, otherwise everyone wold be rich
<necrodearia> Perhaps some of us could team up together, form a kind of formal organization/group and develop something amazing, such as a game for Facebook that uses bitcoins as currency.
<moosecrumpet> i was actually thinking that about 10 mins ago
<moosecrumpet> weird
<necrodearia> I wonder if it will be possible to implement splitting up profits amongs the devs that design it
<Dark_Ghost> i can do graphics (3d mostly through maya), and i've got a little background in game development
<necrodearia> I think that would be amazing to accomplish!
<necrodearia> I, for  one, would love to participate
<Dark_Ghost> if we get a good idea, and can form a business plan, i know where to go for funding
<moosecrumpet> im a flash and c# developer , own unity pro + iphone + android licenses
<moosecrumpet> could do a 3d farm sim game

If anyone's interested, come to freenode/#bitcoin-gamedev

You could get some funding through http://www.kickstarter.com/ .

[Anonymous]

With the right games the amount of installed bitcoin nodes would skyrocket.Imagine the government trying to amass more cpu power than the userbase of facebook .If zynga started accepting bitcoins? _Game Over_

If Zynga accepted Bitcoins, expect to see a HUGE increase in Bitcoin users and the exchanges getting flooded with monetary transfer requests (from both directions.... Zynga would want to cash out too).  It would be game over for those thinking they have a slight advantage on Facebook and for amature developers, but it would be a big win for Bitcoins in general.

BTW, creating a Facebook game isn't all that hard, and the API is very well documented for those wanting to get into the act.  The largest problem is the marketing of whatever game you have created and to make something novel enough that others will be willing to play the thing in the first place.

Maybe someone could contact them with a proposal.It would be the shortest route from a to b...

[mizerydearia]

Maybe someone could contact them with a proposal.It would be the shortest route from a to b...

Write up a proposal and let peers review it?

[kiba]

Wiki is up.

http://bitcoin-gamedev.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Rabbit_Doubt

I already wrote the first game proposal called Rabbit Doubt, a sinister murder mystery game.

[mizerydearia]

http://gpwiki.org/index.php/Game_Ideas is interesting site

[martin]

Wiki is up.

http://bitcoin-gamedev.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Rabbit_Doubt

I already wrote the first game proposal called Rabbit Doubt, a sinister murder mystery game.

Do you want to start a new thread on that? I've played the wolf game with people on forums, and a facebook version of the game seems like a genuinely good idea, I might get involved with developing that

[mizerydearia]

Wiki is up.

http://bitcoin-gamedev.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Rabbit_Doubt

I already wrote the first game proposal called Rabbit Doubt, a sinister murder mystery game.

Do you want to start a new thread on that? I've played the wolf game with people on forums, and a facebook version of the game seems like a genuinely good idea, I might get involved with developing that

We're sleeping (me too, can't ya tell?) right now, but come hang out in freenode/#bitcoin-gamedev if you're interested in participating.

[Anonymous]

Maybe someone could contact them with a proposal.It would be the shortest route from a to b...

Write up a proposal and let peers review it?

yes.It would be better coming from an actual game dev.

[Anonymous]

Maybe someone could contact them with a proposal.It would be the shortest route from a to b...

Write up a proposal and let peers review it?

Yes.It would be better coming from an actual game dev with a demo of a working game.Even better if its already on facebook.Davidonpda said he has two games already developed.Maybe it just needs bitcoin integration to show the profit potential.Its not really about the game its about the potential of bitcoin to change the market. 

This is the mob wars game screen which allows you to purchase extra stuff.Bitcoin could be there quite easily.

[Quantumplation]

Of course those people could also have their own bitcoin client...so its not like they wont also benefit .I like the way youre thinking though...how many khash's would a low level javascript bitcoin generator be able to run?

Probably not very many, but even .1k/hash on a decently popular game, with the userbase of facebook, would be quite a bit.

[Quantumplation]

If speed is the issue (Oy, I'm stuck in limerick mode and almost rhymed here >.<), just lower the k/hashes.  Focus on even 10 hashes a second, and get the game viral.  Wouldn't make MUCH money off of it, but it'd be some, which you could augment with in game micropayments.  The key is that you're making (some) money off BOTH your userbases: free and paying.

On a semi-related note, the bitcoin generation thing would also work for a desktop game, and probably more effectively.  Develop an awesome game that people can play, and in the background run k/hashing.  Then, give the game out for free.  People love a free/super cheap game (Portal, Plants vs Zombies, Alien Swarm), the problem is making said games profitable.

Make the game an iPhone/android/PC title, and you've got hundreds of thousands of people generating bitcoins for your bank account, and the bitcoin network just became that much more impervious to people like nenalod or whatever his name is.

[Bimmerhead]

I like the idea... but maybe morph it a little. I've developed two games on facebook (pm me for their names and you can check them out)

PM sent...