Games People Play
summary
Argues that onchain games suffer from limited expressivity and block-time lag and proposes a play-first verify-after architecture using handwritten ZK circuits with circom so game engines stay expressive while state is provable. Implements physics-based prototypes at Trifle: a three‑body asteroids model that generates proofs under a minute at 25 fps, and a released game where levels produce 1–10s proofs per level, batching to chain and effectively reaching 22,000 tx/s equivalent at about $0.20 per game with a fallback prover.
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chapters (8)
- 0:00Blockchain games and gambling
- 1:11Autonomous worlds
- 2:35Onchain game struggles
- 3:58Validium games and ZK proofs
- 6:24Circom for ZK games
- 7:28Speedruns and longevity
- 8:31Provable onchain physics
- 9:56Trifle’s Anybody problem demo
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