Our inaugural GAM3 Awards features over 30 members on its jury to help recognize the best "gam3s" in each of the 16 categories. The event takes place on December 15, and will be livestreamed across all our socials. It is time to get everyone familiar with each member of our jury. We got the opportunity to sit down with each of them to ask them a set questions to help you get to know them more personally, their favorite gaming moment growing up, what pushed them to make the jump into web3 gaming, and their outlook on the future of blockchain gaming.

We touched upon the role of VCs within web3 gaming previously when we introduced Jamie Wallace from BITKRAFT, and how they can be a double-edged sword for game developers and players alike. However, the ones impacting the industry positively deserve the recognition for the work they put in to support exciting games that will help push the entire space forward and gradually remove any lines that differentiate web3 and normal games. Today's Meet the Jury puts the spotlight on Ken from Mechanism Capital, a web3 enthusiast with tons of passion towards blockchain gaming and solving its persistent issues.

Ken shared with us his favorite gaming moment growing up, and turns out he was a Widowmaker main on Overwatch so that tells a lot about him already. He elaborated more on how Mechanism Capital plans to position itself within the web3 gaming industry's future and what would be the major milestone that instantly pushes blockchain gaming's adoption ten folds.

What is your proudest gaming moment?

Playing Widow in Overwatch - toss up between first time hitting a double kill hook shot & multiple close quarter 180 flicks on a Tracer I was dueling. Nothing hits like flawlessly executing a perfect read.

What pushed you to transition into work in web3 and choose gaming as your sector of choice?

My initial introduction to web3 was via an old cofounder who pushed me to look into Ethereum, the mix of “internet computer” and global access made the industry seem like a no-brainer to enter, understanding financial/data composability later on only strengthened that view. 

Gaming eventually became my focus because open economies have been something gamers have been dreaming about for decades - now there is enough of a shift in culture, spending behavior, and business models to catch the attention of the powers that be and open the field for experimentation. Plus we’ve had a decade of gradually stagnating innovation and getting shafted by short-term profit maxis, I’m ready to see some disruption.

What excites you the most about the current state of web3 gaming?

With the bear market largely wiping out speculation/bandwagoning, I am excited about what is a clearly visible buildup in momentum across all aspects of gaming. Technological adoption, economy/gameplay innovation, quality of talent. Every week there are incrementals gains. I think it’s a matter of time before we see a web3 breakout hit, and we’ll get a cambrian explosion off that foundation.

Where do you see Mechanism Capital’s role in the future of web3 gaming?

I think it’s a little early in the life of the web3 gaming industry to presume to know what the structure of its participants will look like. The first thing that needs to happen is for a banger of a game to rise and from there we’ll better understand how to help the space slam on the gas pedal.

For now the primary goal is to enable great products by committed founders. Our team’s foundation is built upon understanding supply and demand flows, and informs a lot of our decision making both in primary and secondary markets. We hope to be able to help founders understand this framework and in doing so develop an edge in figuring out how to innovate and where to do so.

If you could name one major milestone yet to happen to push web3 gaming adoption forward, what would it be?

Games that truly have their mechanics enhanced by blockchain tech. So far we’ve mostly gotten web2 games with NFTs or tokens slapped on, or web3 defi farms with gaming artwork slapped on. The former tends to be middling games that were never going to work anyway and the latter tend not to be sustainable games. Would like to see more creativity around genres/modes/actions that are made possible because of this new medium/tech - similar to what faster internet and touchscreens did for PC and mobile games respectively.

Do you agree with Ken's thoughts on the current state of web3 gaming? Share this article and tag us on any of our socials to let us know.

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