Developer behind MMO-disguised spreadsheet simulator EVE Online teases more information about its blockchain-powered survival game - without saying much

gamesradar.com:

EVE Online developer CCP Games has revealed more details about its upcoming "survival experience," Project Awakening, which has a playtest on the way soon. It's on the whole still very mysterious, with no in-game screenshots to indicate what it's actually meant to look like, but we do at least know a little bit more about its setting and concept.

Project Awakening has been described as "a single-shard survival experience" which is "set in the dark expanse of space where civilization has decayed in the ruin of its own ambition. Players will explore a hostile and dangerous cosmos as they fight to survive against what remains and attempt to rebuild a broken world." In itself, that sounds pretty neat, and the game's universe is said to "evolve from the actions and efforts of its players."

The next closed playtest, dubbed "Phase 3," is set to begin on May 21, and will include an "online hackathon" which will "provide ambitious builders with an opportunity to unleash their creativity." It adds: "We will provide you with the guides and tools to realize your ingenuity, experimenting and building new features and functionality."

While in theory it sounds interesting, there are some big questions over the technology behind it. According to the latest information, Project Awakening is powered by the open source Carbon Development Platform, as well as Lattice's MUD. It will create "a persistent world bound by digital physics, where composability and programmability will enable players to build and collaborate on top, outside of and within the emergent game environment – unlocking boundless creativity for third-party development via blockchain technology and cryptography." There's a lot to unpack there, but the word that sticks out loud and clear amongst the lot is "blockchain."

The use of blockchain technology in games continues to be highly controversial for a number of reasons. For one, its enormous environmental impact is impossible to ignore, which makes some uneasy about