Scholten, Oliver James, Hughes, Nathan Gerard Jayy, Deterding, Christoph Sebastian orcid.org/0000-0003-0033-2104 et al. (3 more authors) (Accepted: 2019) Ethereum Crypto-Games:Mechanics, Prevalence and Gambling Similarities. In: CHI PLAY 2019. ACM (In Press)
Abstract
Ethereum crypto-games are a booming and relatively unexplored area of the games industry. While there is no consensus definition yet, ‘crypto-games’ commonly denotes games that store tokens, e.g. in-game items, on a distributed ledger atop a cryptocurrency network. This enables the trading of game items for cryptocurrency, which can then be exchanged for regular currency. Together with their chance-based mechanics, this makes crypto-games part of the recent convergence of digital gaming and gambling. In a first effort to scope the field, this paper surveys popular crypto-games, which use the Ethereum cryptocurrency, to tease out characteristic technical properties and gameplay. It then compares the games’ features with criteria found in current legal and psychological definitions of gambling. We find that the popular crypto-games selected meet a combined legal and psychological definition of gambling, and conclude with ramifications for future research.
Metadata
Item Type: | Proceedings Paper |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | Copyright ©2019 is held by the owner/author(s). This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. Further copying may not be permitted; contact the publisher for details. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Computer Science (York) The University of York > Faculty of Arts and Humanities (York) > Theatre, Film, TV and Interactive Media (York) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number EPSRC EP/M023265/1 EPSRC EP/L015846/1 |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 28 Aug 2019 10:30 |
Last Modified: | 27 Nov 2024 00:14 |
Status: | In Press |
Publisher: | ACM |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:150151 |