Social Relationships in NFT P2E Games

Good day Manager! Exploring Relationships and Perceptions Towards Adoption of NFT-based Play-to-Earn Games

Play-to-earn (P2E) crypto-games recently emerged as a gig opportunity despite the absence of regulations. To protect vulnerable stakeholders, there is a need to understand the interactions involved as these platforms continue to grow. This paper describes how an unintended social dynamic became a strategy guiding players to navigate an unregulated space. First, we inquired through surveys (N=69) and interviews (N=9) to understand stakeholder motivations and practices in this space. Second, we analyzed data and then conceptualized 8 themes (e.g., Management, Social, Gaming). Then, we uncovered 4 types of relationships (e.g., Manager-Scholar, Manager-Investor-Scholar, Coach-Mentee, Scholar-Turned-Manager) that shaped the behaviours of the different users on the platform. Lastly, we present design implications and recommendations to guide the design of P2E crypto-games and the gig-focused communities that thrive around them. Overall, our results contribute to ongoing discussions in designing digital gig economies and crypto-based games.

Update! Our paper was conditionally-accepted and was presented in the recent CHI 2023 conference!. Open access PDF can be found here.

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