Axie Infinity 联合创始人 Aleksander Larsen 仍然相信区块链游戏将为数亿人创造就业机会

尽管获得了数百万美元的风险投资，但大预算 AAA 游戏的加密版本却未能实现。

Despite the fanfare surrounding blockchain games and the millions in venture funding poured into the space, crypto versions of big-budget AAA games have failed to materialise.

尽管区块链游戏大肆宣传，数百万风险投资涌入该领域，但大预算 AAA 游戏的加密版本却未能实现。

But Aleksander Larsen, co-founder of Axie Infinity creator Sky Mavis, still believes in the potential of crypto games.

但 Axie Infinity 创作者 Sky Mavis 的联合创始人 Aleksander Larsen 仍然相信加密游戏的潜力。

In fact, he told DL News in an interview that the best days for crypto games are yet to come.

事实上，他在接受 DL News 采访时表示，加密游戏最好的日子尚未到来。

“The potential for blockchain games is actually to be a provider of jobs for hundreds of millions of people around the world,” Larsen said. “It will create GDP for the world in a way that we have never even thought about.”

“区块链游戏的潜力实际上是为全球数亿人提供就业机会，”拉森说。 “它将以我们从未想过的方式为世界创造GDP。”

“That is actually not dystopian to me,” he added.

“这对我来说实际上并不是反乌托邦，”他补充道。

Larsen’s enthusiasm may come as a surprise, especially considering the fate of Axie Infinity, which was once a crypto phenomenon.

拉森的热情可能会让人感到惊讶，尤其是考虑到 Axie Infinity 的命运，它曾经是一种加密现象。

In 2021, it was the most popular game in crypto and its token soared to a $10 billion market value as Bitcoin hit all-time highs.

2021 年，它是加密货币领域最受欢迎的游戏，随着比特币创下历史新高，其代币市值飙升至 100 亿美元。

But the game quickly lost its appeal. Many players fled as the game’s AXS token crashed by 96%. Some critics even likened the way the game functioned to a pyramid scheme.

但这款游戏很快就失去了吸引力。由于游戏的 AXS 代币暴跌 96%，许多玩家纷纷逃离。一些评论家甚至将游戏的运作方式比作传销。

Many players, however, are still nostalgic for the days when they could make thousands of dollars a month playing the game, Larsen said.

然而，许多玩家仍然怀念玩游戏每月可以赚数千美元的日子，拉森说。

“They love the connection that they had with their guild mates,” he said.

“他们喜欢与公会伙伴之间的联系，”他说。

It’s this camaraderie and community building, Larsen said, that could propel crypto games to new heights.

拉森说，正是这种友情和社区建设可以将加密游戏推向新的高度。

But there’s also a darker side to the hyper financial world of crypto gaming that the industry may find difficult to reconcile.

但加密货币游戏的超级金融世界也有其阴暗面，业界可能会发现难以调和。

Defining ‘Fun’

定义“乐趣”

One common criticism of blockchain games is that they aren’t fun in the same way more conventional games are.

对区块链游戏的一种常见批评是，它们不像传统游戏那样有趣。

Players have described Axie Infinity as boring and stressful, and admitted they only played it because they could make money doing so.

玩家们将《Axie Infinity》形容为无聊且压力很大，并承认他们玩这款游戏只是因为这样可以赚钱。

Larsen argues that the definition of fun is broader.

拉森认为，乐趣的定义更广泛。

“I think games are entertaining,” he said. “I’m a competitive gamer. When I play games, I want to win. I want to crush someone. I’m not smiling when I’m playing a game. To me, it’s not necessarily fun — It’s entertaining.”

“我认为游戏很有趣，”他说。 “我是一名竞技游戏玩家。当我玩游戏时，我想赢。我想压垮一个人。我玩游戏的时候不会笑。对我来说，这不一定很有趣——而是很有趣。”

But in Axie Infinity, winning or losing isn’t just about one’s prestige in the game — it determines how much money players make.

但在《Axie Infinity》中，输赢不仅仅关系到玩家在游戏中的声望，还决定了玩家能赚多少钱。

Axie isn’t the first time video games and finance have intersected.

Axie 并不是视频游戏和金融第一次交叉。

Players earning in-game currency and selling it to other players for cash is an enduring phenomenon in popular multiplayer role-playing games, despite the practice usually being against the rules.

在流行的多人角色扮演游戏中，玩家赚取游戏内货币并将其出售给其他玩家换取现金是一种持久的现象，尽管这种做法通常违反规则。

However, in those games, participating in their shadow economies is optional. Most players don’t view their in-game items as having an explicit dollar value.

然而，在这些游戏中，参与影子经济是可选的。大多数玩家并不认为他们的游戏内物品具有明确的美元价值。

But in Axie Infinity, the financialisation is ingrained.

但在《Axie Infinity》中，金融化是根深蒂固的。

It’s this feature that has created the most problems, but also potentially allows the game to create jobs and wealth as Larsen envisions.

正是这个功能造成了最多的问题，但也有可能让游戏创造就业机会和财富，正如拉森所设想的那样。

Luring New Players

吸引新玩家

At its peak, Axie Infinity boasted some 2.7 million monthly active users. That’s dropped to just 325,000 over the past 30 days.

在巅峰时期，Axie Infinity 拥有约 270 万月活跃用户。过去 30 天内这一数字已降至 325,000。

Sky Mavis is exploring new ways to get more people playing.

Sky Mavis 正在探索让更多人参与游戏的新方法。

“We always look for distribution platforms — how can we get users who are not into blockchain through different channels,” Larsen said.

“我们一直在寻找分发平台——如何通过不同的渠道吸引那些没有进入区块链的用户，”拉森说。

Telegram, and the tap-to-earn games on its associated TON blockchain, are of great interest. These simple mobile games centre around players taping their screens to progress. One game, called Catizen, claims to have over 3.3 million daily players.

Telegram 及其关联的 TON 区块链上的点击赚钱游戏引起了人们的极大兴趣。这些简单的手机游戏以玩家点击屏幕来取得进展为中心。一款名为 Catizen 的游戏声称每天有超过 330 万玩家。

But there are reasons to be sceptical. Such tap-based games lack depth. Many players are only there because of the promise of a token airdrop.

但我们有理由对此表示怀疑。这种基于点击的游戏缺乏深度。许多玩家只是因为代币空投的承诺而来到这里。

Larsen wants to make better use of the opportunity.

拉森希望更好地利用这个机会。

He said Sky Mavis is in the process of launching its first games inside Telegram using its in-house crypto wallet called Ronin.

他表示，Sky Mavis 正在使用其名为 Ronin 的内部加密钱包在 Telegram 内推出首款游戏。

“It’s actually not about the games themselves,” he said. “It’s about the access to the users on the network.”

“这实际上与游戏本身无关，”他说。 “这与网络上用户的访问有关。”

Saddled With Debt

背负债务

But even with a good distribution network, Axie Infinity needs to be compelling.

但即使拥有良好的分销网络，Axie Infinity 也需要引人注目。

At the heart of the game’s previous success was its ability to make players rich.

该游戏之前成功的核心在于它能够让玩家致富。

Players earn valuable tokens through the game. But to participate, they need those tokens to create Axies, the cute Pokemon-like creatures key to Axie Infinity’s gameplay.

玩家通过游戏赚取有价值的代币。但要参与其中，他们需要这些代币来创建 Axies，这是 Axie Infinity 游戏玩法中关键的可爱的类似 Pokemon 的生物。

As more people saw the money they could make playing the game, demand for Axies — and the tokens needed to create them — exploded.

随着越来越多的人看到玩游戏可以赚到钱，对 Axies 以及创建它们所需的代币的需求激增。

By mid-2021, rich western players, tired of grinding the game themselves, were outsourcing the job to those in developing countries like the Philippines, a practice known as providing scholarships.

到 2021 年中期，富有的西方玩家厌倦了自己磨练游戏，将这项工作外包给菲律宾等发展中国家的玩家，这种做法被称为提供奖学金。

Many players in the Philippines profited from

菲律宾不少玩家从中获利