Are you a video-game player? If your answer is a definite yes, here comes another question - Are you a gamer?

Yes, but not that sure this time.

What differentiates a gamer from a player?

Lexico.com defines a video-game player as "a person who plays a computer game or games", and the word "play" indicates very limited and restricted participation - players can enjoy their time in games, but in the way settled by the owners and under the rules established by someone else.

But a true gamer should be able to do much more than that. Except for the fun brought by accomplishing missions and taking battles, gamers can also earn a sense of achievement and ownership via being an active member of the game community - rules can be negotiated by all gamers, and gamers can monitor each other to ensure that the rules are well followed and that all props used in the game are owned by the individual gamers themselves - gamers are not only "playing" the games, but literally "playing a role" in the games.

Then, what stops us from being true gamers?

Unfortunately, the internet does. Full ownership is especially difficult in the current gaming industry, where large game companies typically make decisions for games as central authorities instead of the original developers, not to mention the players. But the situation is expected to change in the world of Web3.

Powered by the power of blockchain technology, the next growth phase of the gaming industry is approaching. In Web3, blockchain games are expected to replace traditional games and gradually become an irreplaceable part of the industry. By adopting DAO (Decentralised Autonomous Organizations) management tools, blockchain games are becoming more open and independent, which also means more freedom and opportunities for gamers.

Although they are still at very primitive stages, it is worth a try to explore decision-making processes and incentive mechanisms to unlock the potential of a decentralized organization and achieve things that a single company could never replicate.