At the London Blockchain Conference, Jerry Chan, founder of Endymion Ltd and FROBOTS, tells attendees how his game aims to make educational gaming an esport and how it will teach players essential skills for the future in an entertaining and engaging way.
What is FROBOTS, and what is its purpose?
Chan explains that FROBOTS is gamified learning, a game with education as its purpose. He shares a quote from the late Steve Jobs hinting at what FROBOTS will teach players.
Everybody should learn how to program a computer because it teaches you how to think. – Steve Jobs
As well as teaching players how to program, FROBOTS solves a few other problems.
First, Chan says the monetization models of games are changing. He has witnessed them evolve from ad-driven to subscription, and now micropayments are becoming a viable alternative. He says that game monetization models are anti-player. Whereas you used to pay once and play forever, subscription models now mean you must keep playing. Furthermore, developers are driven to exploit players by making in-game purchases beneficial. This means players with more money can win more easily, such as by buying gems to power up, etc.
Second, Chan points out that we are on the cusp of a major societal shift with the rise of AI. In this era, learning software development will be increasingly important, and FROBOTS teaches that in an engaging and fun way. Chan points out that this fun element is important; most good programmers find it entertaining, and making it even more so through gamification will benefit everyone.
How does FROBOTS work?
In FROBOTS, players create programs and let them compete against other players’ programs gladiator style in a battle arena.
It’s extremely easy for players to write code using blocks. FROBOTS uses the LUA programming language, which is widespread throughout the gaming industry.
Chan tells us that players will develop and improve FROBOTS, build and trade upgrades, enter and win tournaments, and play to (l)earn. There will be three levels of engagement. Beginners will learn, compete, and improve. Movies will forge, upgrade, and well. Experts will manage, contract, and trade. He sees the experts as being like football managers.
Web 3.0—Is it just a buzzword?
Chan points out that, in many cases, Web 3.0 is indeed just a buzzword. However, he thinks it’s more than that, at least by the interpretation held by people at the London Blockchain Conference who are focused on utility.
In Chan’s view, Web 3.0 is the conversion of data into assets. Whereas Web2 platforms like Facebook own your data, in a Web3 world, you’ll own it. NFTs will play a key role in how this works, but they must be transferable between platforms for the dream to be realized.
Wrapping up, Chan says FROBOTS wants to create a game that is fun while it engages people to learn essential skills; computer programming and critical thinking. The different levels will act as a real economy; beginners will slowly advance to higher echelons.
Most importantly, the data will remain in the hands of players. If you create it and it’s valuable, it’s yours. In summary, FROBOTS will be a fair environment where people can challenge each other.
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