Freedom and Restraint in Dark Forest: A Peek at the Metaverse Through a Blockchain Game

Abstract

Dark forest (DF) is the first successful decentralized real-time strategy (RTS) game. Based on smart contracts, the game explores the application possibilities of new technologies, and prefigures the operation of the social system in the metaverse era. In this study, we collect on-chain data from DF, map player behavior, and discuss players’ game asset management, combat strategies in extreme mode, and the game’s exit mechanism. We believe that blockchain games, such as DF, can be viewed as a new technological space with metaverse characteristics, in which individuals art free to challenge centralized social structures using decentralized technology while subjected to more secret postmodern social surveillance.