Interview with Former President of Polygon Labs Games will be a key factor in driving the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies

Interview with Former President of Polygon Labs Games driving mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies

Organized & compiled by: Deep Tide TechFlow

Ryan Wyatt, former head of YouTube Gaming and current President of Polygon Labs, is a master in the fields of business development, strategy, and product.

In this episode, Ryan explains why crypto games will continue to exist, his experience at YouTube, the path to Web3, and the content unlocked by cryptocurrency in games.

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Hosts: Mert & Garrett

Speaker: Ryan Wyatt, former head of YouTube Gaming and current President of Polygon Labs

Podcast Source: Lightspeed

Original Title: “Web3 Gaming: A False Hope or Crypto’s LianGuaith to Mass Adoption?”

Episode: Link

Air Date: September 21st

Ryan’s Early Gaming Career

Ryan’s career began at Major League Gaming (MLG), where he was mainly responsible for organizing competitions and serving as a referee. He later chose to join Machinima, a company dedicated to building the first game video network on YouTube, providing gamers with online video content.

During Ryan’s tenure, Machinima received investment from Google Ventures, which led to a close relationship between Ryan and Google. Ryan’s experiences at Machinima and MLG gave him a deep understanding of the gaming video industry. He often sent lengthy emails to YouTube and Google, pointing out their shortcomings and how these shortcomings negatively impacted companies like Machinima.

After Susan Wojcicki became the CEO of YouTube, she noticed the emails Ryan had sent. Susan believed that YouTube needed someone who understood video games, and after several interviews, Ryan was successfully selected as the head of YouTube’s gaming division.

Ryan mentioned that although he was very familiar with YouTube’s products and had strong friendships with many creators, he was relatively young in the YouTube team. He needed to learn from senior members of the team how to become a better leader, how to lead a team, and how to think from a larger strategic perspective.

Ryan initially collaborated with Polygon as an advisor, primarily providing guidance and advice to the company from a gaming perspective. Through conversations with Polygon’s co-founder Sandeep Nailwal, Ryan developed a deeper interest and passion for Polygon and the entire crypto space.

Ryan felt that if he missed the opportunity to join Polygon and delve into the crypto space, it would be like missing the early opportunities in YouTube and the gaming video field. This feeling prompted him to seriously consider immersing himself in the cryptocurrency field. After careful consideration, Ryan decided to join Polygon full-time. He believed it was a field full of infinite possibilities and opportunities, worthy of his time and energy to explore and develop.

Ryan joined Polygon as the CEO of Polygon Studios, responsible for hiring and building the team for Polygon Studios, a department focused on NFTs, gaming, and the metaverse. He began building his own team and hired the current CEO of Polygon Labs to work together to drive Polygon’s development.

The Potential and Challenges of Cryptocurrency and Blockchain in Gaming

Ryan believes that virtual world and metaverse-type games are ideal choices for integrating cryptocurrency. These games provide an immersive and evolving virtual environment where players can interact, trade, and build communities. In these virtual worlds, cryptocurrency can be used to purchase, trade, and manage digital assets.

Ryan states that he wants to know the history of his game items, including who has owned them in the past and whether they have been used in specific game events. This information can increase the value and attractiveness of the items. He mentions third-party websites like Skinport and CS:GO Float, which act as intermediaries for digital items and allow players to trade items outside of the game. However, these systems are still imperfect as they are centralized and controlled by game developers.

Ryan believes that blockchain and cryptocurrency can bring about better ownership and control of digital assets. He hopes to see a system where players can store their items from all games in one wallet, which can be circulated between games.

He emphasizes that the current systems are controlled by game developers who are unwilling to share data and control. Blockchain and cryptocurrency can change this dynamic and create a more balanced power relationship between players and developers. Through blockchain technology, players can truly own their digital assets, and game developers cannot arbitrarily change them. This not only increases the value of the assets but also enhances players’ control over their assets.

Ryan acknowledges that there are currently no high-quality Web3 games, and in order for players to embrace these new technologies, attractive games need to be developed. He mentions that a significant amount of capital is being invested in the development of Web3 games, but many games may revert to Web2 as they first need to ensure the quality of the games.

How Encryption Technology Enhances Game Development and Player Experience

As the market becomes saturated with high-quality games, it becomes increasingly challenging to attract players away from their current favorite games. Ryan emphasizes that people’s time is limited, so the quality and attractiveness of a game are crucial to attract their time and energy.

User experience (UX) plays a critical role in attracting and retaining players. Ryan believes that even if the current UX has some issues and inconveniences, these problems can be overcome if the game itself is outstanding. Creating an excellent game is key, and the quality and gameplay will determine whether it can attract and retain players.

Ryan believes that generative AI will become a powerful tool in creating richer and more complex content. Humans will continue to enter other professional fields and use AI as a tool to enhance their abilities. He does not believe that AI will completely replace humans but envisions a future where humans and AI work together to drive innovation and development.

The host mentioned that the Unity game engine is facing problems because it cannot effectively track and obtain fees for its engine usage. This challenge involves how to accurately and fairly calculate and collect fees for using the Unity engine to develop games.

Ryan believes that cryptocurrency and blockchain technology may provide a solution to this problem. Through blockchain, game usage and circulation can be tracked more accurately and transparently, thereby helping Unity and other game developers simplify payments and usage tracking.

Through cryptocurrency and blockchain, payments and transactions can become simpler and faster. This can not only help solve Unity’s usage fee problem but also provide more convenient payment and transaction methods for game developers and players.

Reasons and Solutions for Players’ Resistance to NFTs

Ryan mentioned that players’ resistance to NFTs mainly stems from a lack of understanding and trust in this new technology. Many players lack knowledge about the working principles, security, and reliability of NFTs and blockchain technology. Negative news and information about NFTs in the media also influence players’ perceptions, and irresponsible behavior and scams have led players to be skeptical of NFTs.

Some people believe that NFTs may lead to a “pay-to-win” situation, affecting the competitiveness and enjoyment of games. Players are concerned that NFTs will affect the balance and fairness of games. Because NFTs introduce a new economic model and change the way players acquire and trade in-game items, some players feel uncomfortable and dissatisfied with this change.

Ryan believes that to address players’ resistance to NFTs, it is necessary to increase players’ understanding and trust in this new technology through education and communication. Game developers and NFT project teams need to consider players’ concerns and ensure that NFTs do not affect the balance and fairness of games while also protecting players’ interests and rights.

He emphasizes that NFTs and blockchain technology have tremendous potential to change the game industry and provide players with more ownership and control. However, this requires time and effort to achieve. Game developers, NFT project teams, and players need to work together to explore and establish a fair, transparent, and sustainable NFT and gaming ecosystem.

The Future Outlook for the Cryptocurrency Field and Games

Ryan believes that the cryptocurrency industry is in an interesting stage of development. He sees the immense potential and future opportunities in this industry, although there are also challenges and uncertainties. He believes that the cryptocurrency field and blockchain technology will take years to fully realize their potential.

Ryan believes that games can be the savior of cryptocurrencies. He sees a close connection between games and cryptocurrencies and believes that games will be a key factor in driving the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies. Games can not only make cryptocurrencies more attractive but also provide practical use cases and value for players.

Ryan emphasized the importance of DeFi in games. Liquidity is crucial for the success of games, and DeFi can provide the necessary liquidity and financial tools for games.

Ryan predicts that the crypto industry and games will undergo a series of transformations in the coming years. Technological advancements and increased capital investment will be key factors driving the development in this field.

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