With seemingly endless funding, public appeal, and a fantastic development environment, the world of Web 3 is booming. While 2022 has been a terrible year for cryptocurrency, the tech layoffs and fall in market prices have actually led to an opportune environment for developing Web 3 projects.
More than ever before, blockchain businesses are innovating the space, pushing the boat out even further on what can be achieved within these ecosystems. From advances in virtual environments, innovations in bridging Web 2 and Web 3, and the reformation of NFT architecture, there are many projects changing the face of Web 3.
In this article, we’ll dive into three examples of companies that are ahead of the curve, looking at specific case studies that have impressed the community over the past few months. We’ll be covering the following:
- Decentral Games
- Sweat Economy
- Looking Glass Labs
Let’s get right into it.
Decentral Games and Metaverse Gaming
Gaming has always been the area of blockchain which has seen the most consistent success. While NFTs and cryptocurrency have seen the most rapid increases (and decreases), play-2-earn gaming has continued at a steady pace. The ease with which gamers transfer into new Web 3 systems is a reflection of their tech-forward nature.
Decentral Games focuses directly on this community, providing an intuitive Metaverse gaming experience. In hopes of onboarding as many people as possible, Decentral Games has started with one of the most popular games in the world, poker. Users are able to play ICE Poker, join a virtual table, and play with others from all around the world.
The main draw of this project is how interactive the experience is. While online poker is already a leading part of the gambling industry, it lacks the reality of a face-to-face experience. Decentral Games aims to fix that, providing a virtual Metaverse where you can sit next to other players and interact as if they were with you in the room.
Beyond just being able to play poker, Decentral Games has included a range of other Web 3 elements within their ecosystem. Users are able to equip their avatars with a range of Ice Poker NFTs, changing how they look and the clothes that they wear.
This instantly creates an incentive for players to start to find and collect more NFTs. You’re even able to lend out NFTs to other players, creating a thriving in-game marketplace with valuable NFT assets.
As a project governed by a DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization), Decentral Games takes a community approach to Web 3 infrastructure. Players from the community are able to use governance tokens in order to adjust game settings, suggest and implement new game features, and make core decisions that will shape the game going forward.
Web 3 is all about community access and international support. Decentral Games takes these qualities and runs with them, creating a holistic system where users can play poker while also actively contributing to a flawless Metaverse system.
Sweat Economy and the Move-to-Earn Economy
One of the most comprehensive Web 3 companies currently operating is a perfect example of transitioning between Web 2 and Web 3. Sweat Economy started out as a highly successful Web 2 mobile application. Its premise was simple yet effective, rewarding people with in-app tokens for every 1 km of steps that they walked in a day.
These tokens could then be used within the app to trade for items, cashed out for gift cards, or even put towards subscription services or Amazon. By downloading the mobile application, people would automatically begin to accumulate these in-app tokens, giving them a passive way of paying for things.
Their so-called economy of movement rapidly took off, rising through the ranks to secure a top spot in the Health and Fitness category on the App and Android stores. Sweat Economy built up its presence online, accumulating over 120,000,000 users across the globe. People were hooked on the idea of getting a financial reward for staying fit.
For those that didn’t like to exercise, this motivation gave them a little extra push to get started. And, for those that already walked every day, this was just an extra treat on top of their normal activities. In short, this system was a total win-win for everyone.
Sweat Economy’s Movement to Web 3
The Web 2 system that Sweat Economy operated with was already one that closely resembled Web 3 architecture. By converting the in-app token into an actual cryptocurrency, Sweat Economy was able to upgrade their infrastructure and architecture from Web 2 to Web 3. They also allowed people to create a digital wallet with their app Sweat Wallet.
From there, people that had already been using Sweat Economy as a Web 2 app were able to easily onboard themselves into this new digital world of Web 3. The system worked in exactly the same way, with people earning cryptocurrency for moving throughout the day. The only difference is that the transition to Web 3 allowed Sweat Economy to include a range of new features.
For example, users can now stake their accumulated SWEAT, turning their previous currency into a way of earning passive income. This system was so effective that over 13,000,000 people have already made the leap to Web 3 by using Sweat Economy. This figure is nothing short of miraculous, especially considering the lack of uptake within Web 3 across many other user groups.
Sweat Economy is a fantastic example of a Web 2 company that has seized the opportunity that Web 3 presents. Instead of stagnating their own growth, they’ve used Web 3 infrastructure to propel themselves forward, cementing the company as a perfect bridge and balancing act between these two iterations of digital culture.
Looking Glass Labs and NFT Architecture
Looking Glass Labs, also known by the acronym LGL, is Web 3’s leading blockchain system that’s leading the development of the Metaverse. As a digital agency, they specialize in NFT architecture, P2E tokenization, and virtual assets that all integrate into Metaverse environments.
Their leading offering is within NFT architecture and 3D assets. Its leading brand, HoK (House of Kibaa), allows assets to exist across different NFT blockchain environments simultaneously. As we move to a more interoperable future, this flexibility is exactly what digital assets need.
LGL partners with world-leading NFT collections, providing them with alternative options when looking to generate income from NFTs. Instead of just selling, LGL allows creators to gain royalties from their digital assets from secondary-market re-sales. Converting NFTs into a potential system for gaining passive income radically improves the usability of NFT collections as a whole.
The lack of functionality to NFTs was one of the leading criticisms. By imbuing them with a new function, LGL rapidly increases the inherent value of the NFT collection. Instead of just collector’s items, they become usable assets that can generate wealth for the holder. This application of NFT architecture is cutting-edge, with many seeing LGL as a leader in the NFT market.
Another point of promise that Looking Glass Labs shows is their forecasted approach to the Metaverse. Instead of replicating current Metaverse engines that are being used by companies like the Sandbox or Meta, LGL is going to create a hyper-realistic Metaverse. By using the Unreal Engine, they’re going to design a top-notch Metaverse space, allowing people to access a more realistic online world.
Many people currently see the Metaverse as a gimmick, not only in part due to the low-level graphics which have become synonymous with Meta’s published examples. When people make large comments about how we will one day live in the Metaverse, many people roll their eyes, knowing that no one will want to live in a system that’s currently on the market.
By crafting a hyper-realistic space, LGL once again demonstrates that they’re on the cutting edge of Web 3. We can’t wait to see where they go next.
Final Thoughts
Across these three projects, we have a taste of some of the excellent work that is currently being conducted by Web 3 businesses. Driven by community support, engagement, and innovation, these projects are the very best of what’s currently on the Web 3 market. Instead of repeating old ideas, each of these projects reformulates what we know about Web 3, the Metaverse, or onboarding.
As Web 3 continues to become an active part of the internet, the developments that projects like these put forward will further drive this new iteration to be the best it can possibly be. From Sweat Economy’s revolutionary Move-to-Earn economy to LGL’s new NFT architecture and even Decentral Games’ innovative Metaverse gaming experience, Web 3 companies are pushing us further toward a digital future.