How Web3 Is Redefining What Means To Create, Own A Digital Avatar

That said, all through the 80s (up until the early 90s), arcade gaming was all the rage; however, as soon as 3D modeling entered the fray, role-playing games (RPGs) gained a lot of traction. This trend, in turn, helped birth the concept of digital avatars — virtual representations of individual users within games  — something that has now become a staple within the entertainment industry.

Within the realm of traditional (Web2) gaming, franchises like World of Warcraft and Fortnite (among others) have enabled players to create their very own avatars, subsequently participating in a variety of different captivating experiences. As part of their journeys, players are allowed to level up their avatars, unlock new skins, acquire novel weapons, and much more. 

While these activities are undoubtedly fun to engage in, when it comes to the monetization side of things, these avatars cannot be leveraged by their owners for any financial gain — unless an individual sells their account via a secondary market, which can again be quite a risky gambit.

Enter Web3

When it comes to harnessing the power of digital avatars, the power of Web3 really shines through. This is because this burgeoning paradigm is largely decentralized, giving players complete control over their in-game assets (including their skins, items, etc.) For example, there are several Web3 games today that allow players to mint their avatars in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as well as own all of the attributes associated with these tokens.

These tokens can be stored, nurtured, maintained, or traded/sold later via various decentralized marketplaces, allowing users to accrue real-world value. In this regard, projects like Banksters allow users to gain a host of in-game advantages as and when players level up their digital avatars.

To elaborate, Banksters can be described as an EduTech simulator that puts players’ digital avatars in the shoes of crypto traders who are faced with dynamic market conditions — ranging from daily price swings to short-term pumps to rug pulls. In response, players need to utilize strategies that are rooted in core financial concepts pervading the digital asset market, thus allowing them to become more crypto-literate.

As players are faced with engaging digital trading experiences (based on real-world market data), they are required to make decisions in real time, thereby maximizing their gains and minimizing their losses. These actions result in their digital avatars leveling up and gaining certain attributes that give players an edge in terms of earning assets, especially in comparison to other players.

A single player can own multiple avatars, which can then be leased out to other users, Not only that, participants can get paid to help others create new avatars for themselves. Lastly, players in possession of multiple avatars have the option of minting new NFTs, subsequently selling them via a marketplace or deploying them for in-game activities.

A closer look at the facts and figures!

While initially relegated to the realm of digital collectibles, NFTs have come a long way since making their market debut. To this point, the past 24 months alone have seen these novel assets make their way into a number of markets, including real estate, physical art, digital identification, and even ticketing and event management. 

In the context of digital avatars, there is enough data to suggest that NFTs can redefine this yet nascent sector, allowing it to become a multi-billion dollar industry over the coming decade. For example, in late 2022, avatars of Reddit users, a community-centric social platform, sold for as much as $40k. To elaborate, avatars with higher Karma points (Reddit’s version of loyalty points) sold for more than others since older, more experienced users are given an edge over their newer counterparts when it comes to up/downvoting comments, promoting threads, etc.

Finally, with more people beginning to grasp the immense social and monetary proposition put forth by NFTs, there is ample reason to believe that this market will flourish immensely over the coming few years. In fact, studies suggest that the industry will be worth $342.54 billion by the end of 2032. Therefore, it will be interesting to see how NFTs continue to intersect with the digital avatar market — with projects like Banksters leading the way.