Background

Finite games are played for the purpose of winning; infinite games, on the other hand, are played for the purpose of continuing to play. — James Carse, Finite and Infinite Games

• 1986: James Carse publishes his book Finite and Infinite Games. In this book, he proposes the theory of finite and infinite games, which later has a profound impact on the development of blockchain games.
• 2021 July: Aya Miyaguchi, of the Ethereum Foundation, first introduces the concept of the “Infinite Garden” in her talk “Growing the Infinite Garden – Ethereum“. She views Ethereum as an infinite garden, emphasizing the openness and collaboration of the community.
• 2022 August: 0xPARC first introduces the concept of Autonomous Worlds in their blog post “0xPARC: Autonomous Worlds (Part 1)“. They define the characteristics and goals of such worlds that run entirely on blockchain.

Blockchain Perspective: From Infinite Games to Autonomous Worlds

1.1 Infinite Games: Seeds of Thought

In the field of blockchain and Web3.0 games, Infinite Games have also given us many insights. It helps us to think about how to design more fair, open, and fun games, and it also makes us understand that in the new game world, we are not only players, but also creators.

The concept of the “Infinite Garden” is deeply inspired by James Carse’s book ,”Finite and Infinite Games”, and was first quoted by the Ethereum Foundation in July 2021.

The Ethereum Foundation sees Ethereum as an “Infinite Garden”, not just a technical platform, but a community and ecosystem of innovation and collaboration full of infinite possibilities.

The core tenets of the “Infinite Garden” concept have three important factors:

• Game Goals Sustainability, no end. This means that the goal of the game is not to reach a certain end point, but to create an environment that can be played infinitely.
• Game Rules Keep evolving. The rules are not fixed, but can evolve over time and with changes in participants.
• Game Players Free to join and exit. Players are not restricted, and can freely join or exit the game, and enjoy the fun and challenge of the game.

In Aya Miyaguchi’s talk “Growing the Infinite Garden – Ethereum“, she explains the concept of the “Infinite Garden” in detail, and emphasizes the openness and collaborative spirit of the Ethereum community, which allows anyone to participate and contribute their strength. She also talks about the Ethereum Foundation’s efforts to be a catalyst and steward of the “Infinite Garden”, rather than a controller.

The concept of the “Infinite Garden” opens up a new perspective on how to view and understand games, communities, and value creation. This perspective goes beyond traditional zero-sum games of winners-take-all, and emphasizes the value of participation, collaboration, innovation, and infinite possibilities.

When blockchain and crypto are combined with the Infinite Games philosophy, developers are looking for new game experiences and design patterns to leverage the characteristics of blockchain and crypto, and a new form of game is born: Fully On-chain Games.

1.2 Fully On-chain Games: A New Form of Game

First, let’s clarify these three concepts: GameFi, Fully On-chain Games, and DeGame.

• GameFi. It is a portmanteau of Game,NFT and DeFi. In GameFi, game elements are combined with NFT, allowing players to earn tokens through participation in games and make financial transactions in the game. These games may not be fully on-chain, but their financial elements (such as tokenomics, trading, and other DeFi operations) must be based on the blockchain.
• Fully On-chain Game. It refers to games that are completely on-chain. All game data, rules, and logic are stored and executed on the blockchain, which gives the game transparency, immutability, and sustainability.
• DeGame.This concept is relatively new, and represents decentralized games (Decentralized Game). A key feature of this type of game is that it transfers power and ownership from game developers to players. In DeGame, players own their in-game assets (such as virtual items and characters), and can trade these assets on markets outside of the game. In addition, DeGame typically uses blockchain to provide transparency and ensure immutability.

GameFi, Fully On-chain Games, and DeGame are all blockchain-based games that give players more power and ownership, and to some extent have

1.3 Autonomous Worlds: A Brave New World

The concept of Autonomous Worlds comes from 0xPARC and refers to worlds that run entirely on blockchain, such as games, communities, and spaces. They are unique in that their rules and state are fully stored on the blockchain and run independently of any central servers or entities. This gives Autonomous Worlds the characteristics of openness, sustainability, and immutability. Their goal is typically to create a sustainable, ecosystem-like space where participants can interact, create, and share value.

In some cases, Autonomous Worlds can be seen as Infinite Games, as they both have the goal of creating a sustainable, self-evolving environment.

Autonomous Worlds are not just a world with economic transactions. It can also refer to any form of self-organized, autonomous community or space, including games. For example, developers can use blockchain to create a new game world where players can not only interact with each other, but also create, own, and trade in-game assets.

The difference between Autonomous Worlds, Infinite Games, and Fully On-chain Games lies in their scope and focus. Fully On-chain Games are about the technical challenges of implementing games entirely on blockchain, while Infinite Games focus more on the philosophical aspects of games. Autonomous Worlds is a broader concept that encompasses both and is more concerned with how to create a sustainable, self-evolving environment on blockchain.

AI Game Perspective: The Revolution of Games

In addition to blockchain, Advanced AI is also essential for building Autonomous Worlds.

Generative AI (GenAI) and reinforcement learning (RL) are two important cutting-edge research directions in the field of AI, and they have great potential for application in games and Autonomous Worlds.

1.1 GenAI

GenAI refers to AI that can complete any task that a human can do. In games and Autonomous Worlds, GenAI can be used to simulate more complex and realistic environments, characters, and interactions. For example, GenAI can be used to simulate characters with real emotions and free will, or to design complex and challenging tasks and events.

1.2 Reinforcement Learning (RL)

Reinforcement learning is a method of learning to optimize decisions through interaction and trial and error. In games and Autonomous Worlds, RL can be used to train AI characters to adapt to complex environments and contexts, or to optimize the rules and mechanics of the game.

By combining GenAI and RL, we can design more intelligent and automated Autonomous Worlds:

• Dynamic Environment: GenAI and RL can make the game environment change dynamically according to the player’s actions and choices, providing players with a richer and more unpredictable gaming experience.
• Smart Characters: GenAI and RL can be used to create AI characters with autonomy and learning ability, which can learn and optimize themselves according to the environment and player’s behavior.
• Dynamic Rules: With RL, the game rules can become more flexible and dynamic, no longer static or decided by a single player. Smart contracts can achieve automatic rule execution, and RL can adjust and optimize the rules by learning the player’s behavior and feedback, making the game more fair, fun, and challenging.
• Deep Player Interaction: GenAI and RL can simulate various interactions and contexts in the real world, such as economic transactions, political games, and team cooperation. Players can not only interact deeply with AI characters, but also learn and influence the operation of the game world through AI.
• Sustainable Development: GenAI and RL enable Autonomous Worlds to evolve and optimize over the long term, creating a sustainable, ever-evolving game world. The behavior of each player can affect the development direction of the game world, and each decision can potentially change the future of the game.
• III. Fusion Perspective

A New Digital World Powered by AW

When we combine the perspectives of blockchain and AI, we can imagine an Autonomous Worlds that is driven by AI and runs on blockchain. In this world, every element and every action can be permanently recorded and verified, and every character can learn and evolve on its own. This is a real and living virtual world that will open a new era of gaming.

This world is not just a game world, it is also a social world and an economic world. In this world, people can socialize through games, create value through games, and even change the world through games. This world is not just a game world, it is also a social world and an economic world. In this world, everyone is a creator, a participant, and a decision-maker. This is the charm of Autonomous Worlds, which elevates games to a whole new level.

However, the realization of Autonomous Worlds is not an easy task. It requires us to solve many technical problems, such as how to ensure the security of blockchain, how to improve the intelligence level of AI, and how to process a large amount of data. However, with the continuous development of blockchain and AI technology, we have reason to believe that the realization of Autonomous Worlds is not out of reach.

In general, Autonomous Worlds is a new world full of infinite possibilities. It will change our perception of games and our lives. We look forward to the arrival of this new world, and we look forward to experiencing unprecedented fun, realizing our dreams, and creating our value in this new world. This is Autonomous Worlds, a new world that belongs to all of us.

ZenFox Labs will continue to track this open and potentially significant segment. In addition to continuously producing in-depth research and analytical reports, it will also participate in the construction of this field and propose an architectural blueprint to promote the development of this field in an open and collaborative mode.