- 1 day ago
Is Web3 gaming really limited by scalability and fees? Or is the real challenge something deeper, trust, familiarity, and user experience?
In this insightful AMA, Dr. Ravi Chamria (Co-founder & CEO, Zeeve) sits down with Mark (Business Development Lead, ZK Candy) to unpack why gaming adoption in Web3 hasn’t hit mainstream scale, and what it truly takes to power the next generation of on-chain games without players even realizing they’re on-chain.
ZKCandy is a ZK Rollup purpose-built for Web3 gaming, focused on invisible blockchain infrastructure, seamless onboarding, and cross-game interoperability.
In this insightful AMA, Dr. Ravi Chamria (Co-founder & CEO, Zeeve) sits down with Mark (Business Development Lead, ZK Candy) to unpack why gaming adoption in Web3 hasn’t hit mainstream scale, and what it truly takes to power the next generation of on-chain games without players even realizing they’re on-chain.
ZKCandy is a ZK Rollup purpose-built for Web3 gaming, focused on invisible blockchain infrastructure, seamless onboarding, and cross-game interoperability.
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TechTranscript
00:00Hi everyone, my name is Ravi. I'm the co-founder and CEO of Zeef.
00:03And first of all, I would like to welcome everyone to today's AMA.
00:09On today's AMA, we are going to dive into one of the most misunderstood narratives in Web3,
00:17that gaming adoption is a technology problem.
00:21But I believe that the real issue isn't scaling or throughput or even fees,
00:26but something deeper, trust or familiarity or user experience.
00:32And today we have a very exciting guest, Mark from ZK Candy.
00:37And ZK Candy is a ZK Roller purpose-built for Web3 gaming.
00:41And on today's AMA, we'll unpack what it really takes to power the next generation of on-chain games
00:49without players even realizing that they are on-chain.
00:52So first of all, I would like to welcome Mark.
00:56Mark, we would love to know about yourselves, about your journey in the Web3 so far
01:03and your motivation to start ZK Candy.
01:09Sure. Thanks, Dr. Ravi.
01:12So hi everyone.
01:14I'm Mark.
01:15I lead business development for ZK Candy.
01:19So just a very quick background about myself.
01:22I started my career in traditional banking.
01:25So my background is more tailored to structured finance and risk management.
01:31And over time, I became more interested in infrastructure, how systems are designed,
01:35who controls them, or how incentives are aligned.
01:40How I started crypto is like my eighth year now.
01:44Blockchain felt like a space where we're not just improving like O-system, but redesigning them from scratch.
01:54It's less predictable, but it's also more transparent.
01:57And I guess that's what really drew me in and kept me here.
02:02That's great, Mark.
02:04I think you probably have seen multiple cycles in a DeFi summer, NFTs, and Gamification, Gamify 1.0.
02:13So any learning that you can share what these cycles taught you, especially in terms of what not to do
02:22in gaming?
02:23So any lesson or learning that you would like to share with us?
02:27Not really.
02:28Just don't trade on leverage, I guess.
02:31Absolutely.
02:32So Mark, you know, Web3 Gaming has long been promised true ownership.
02:39Yet I think we have seen that adoption is still way behind.
02:45So from your perspective, what are some of the core reasons which is holding Web3 Gaming back?
02:53Honestly, I think it hasn't been technology.
02:56It's always has been like the user experience and expectations out of Web3 Gaming.
03:02So for years, Web3 Gaming is very much focused on financial mechanics.
03:07Like if you don't get rich overnight, the game will go past very fast.
03:14Obviously, there's been like tokens, NFTs, yields, and not enough on gameplay equality, right?
03:21So gamers don't lock in to manage wallets.
03:24They lock in to have fun.
03:26If the experience feels complicated and transactional, they will definitely leave.
03:32So adoption lag, not because ownership is a bad idea, but because the user experience wasn't smooth enough.
03:40Absolutely.
03:40I think, as you rightly said, the real challenge wasn't the technology, but, you know, having a solid user experience.
03:51And this is something that we see.
03:52You know, I'm sure a lot of folks who have joined the AMA today must have played games, both Web2
04:01and Web3.
04:01And I think the difference has been clear.
04:04So once we bring that kind of experience to Web3, I think it will become no-brainer because the core
04:11value advantage of using blockchain is very clear, but it should not be at the cost of user experience, right?
04:18So, like, can you provide some more details as to what Web3 games require, like, you know, more on the
04:28user experience and other asks that the users have to have a massive adoption?
04:35Yeah, sorry, can you repeat that again?
04:37So I'm saying that, you know, there are a lot of recognisable brands or familiar game mechanics.
04:44So what do we require to, let's say, onboard next 100 million users?
04:49I almost thought, like, IP intellectual property for gaming is very important, especially for mainstream gamers.
04:58So most players, they don't care whether something is built on CK or optimistic roll-up.
05:05They care about a few things, like, is it fun?
05:09Do I recognize the brand?
05:10Does it feel safe?
05:12So a very familiar and big IP does reduces friction.
05:17It gives emotional context.
05:21Blockchain should enhance ownership and progression, but it shouldn't be the headline, right?
05:26In gaming especially.
05:27So trust usually comes from brand and experience first and not from technical architecture.
05:35Absolutely.
05:36I can't agree more.
05:38So definitely trust and familiarity and I believe in the trust.
05:45I think we all are emotionally connected with brands and we know that the kind of games a certain brand
05:53is going to launch will be very exciting to even test out with.
05:57And that's how the journey starts.
05:59So apart from this, you know, I know that ZK Candy's mission is to make the blockchain completely invisible to
06:08players, right?
06:10And that is, I think, the ideal implementation of blockchain, where the users don't even know that they are on
06:16-chain or they use the value or the benefits of blockchain.
06:21So what does it look like in practice for someone playing their first ZK Candy game?
06:27I almost felt like a player shouldn't need to think about wallet, gas fee, or even bridging from chain A
06:36to chain B, so on and so forth, to be particular in practice.
06:41It should look like a very seamless onboarding experience, transaction happening in the background without the gamers knowing it, or
06:52maybe even account extraction handling the wallet, right?
06:59That being said, like, if someone plays their first ZK Candy game, ideally, they don't even need to realize that
07:09they are interacting with the blockchain, right?
07:13So what they really see is just a smooth gaming experience.
07:18That's what I really feel about it.
07:20That's something pretty awesome.
07:22I think I'm sure users here who are listening to this EMA must be very excited about this.
07:27The way you have approached Web3 gaming and your mission is to provide the Web2 kind of experience, yet at
07:37the same time, bring a lot of trust and familiarity to the Web3 games.
07:42So one other piece that, you know, the Candy Passport and interoperability.
07:49So Candy Passport today enables a single identity across games, assets, and achievements.
07:55And this, I think, has been a problem in Web2 also, where it was solved using some of the common
08:02identities.
08:03So how important is cross-game interoperability in building long-term player engagement?
08:10It is very important for long-term engagement, that's for sure, right?
08:14Because in traditional gaming, your achievements, they are locked into a single title.
08:19In Web3, we need to be innovative.
08:21So with what we have here with Candy Passport, players are able to...
08:31Your identity and progress, right?
08:33They can extend across multiple game titles.
08:37So this creates continuity, right?
08:40People are there to farm and keep playing the games.
08:43So when your assets, achievements, and reputation move with you, it will increase the emotional attachment and, obviously, the player's
08:52retention over the long-term horizon.
08:55So it kind of turns isolated games into an ecosystem.
09:02Got it.
09:03No, I think this is a very interesting point, because I thought it is identity, like access to the platform.
09:09But what you mentioned is that it's not just about the identity, but it includes the reputation, the achievements, and
09:15the assets.
09:16Everything becomes portable, and that creates a lot of credibility, especially, you know, we know gamers invest thousands of hours
09:22building identity in one platform.
09:28So that is pretty exciting.
09:31So markup, running a high-performance gaming L2 isn't trivial.
09:37So what kind of challenges did you face while, you know, creating the network, and you have massive plans to
09:46scale the network in 2026?
09:49So a bit about, you know, how you have tackled this, and then, of course, you know, how we at
09:55Zeef are very excited to partner with you.
09:58So our role being an infrastructure partner.
10:01So honestly, we are good at building games, but not so much on the infra.
10:09So to say, like running a gaming L2 means you simply can't tolerate instability, right, because you're running a chain.
10:17So some of the biggest challenges here are RPC reliability under very heavy load, indexing the performance, geographic latency, as
10:29well as a very consistent uptime.
10:32You can't have downtime when you're running a L2.
10:35Gaming traffic is very different from DeFi.
10:39If it's super demanding, as per se, it's real-time.
10:45If something lags during your gameplay, users will feel it immediately.
10:50It's very, very different from Decentralized Finance, or even RWA, whatever you call it.
10:56So developers, they also need predictability.
11:00If the infra is inconsistent, they spend more time debugging it rather than building games.
11:07So I guess this is where Zeef comes in.
11:10You guys who run the RAS, a role-up as a service, focusing on building the infra so we can
11:17be more focused on building games.
11:19Because building games is what we are good at.
11:23Yeah, so instead of splitting the tension between infra as well as products, we partner with you guys to ensure
11:31the network runs smoothly.
11:34So, yeah.
11:36Oh, great, Mark.
11:37I think you have mentioned a very strong point.
11:40Like in DeFi, of course, there also the transaction throughput and scalability becomes super important.
11:48But at least we have atomic transactions.
11:50If something fails, then it can be reverted back.
11:53But in the case of gaming, we don't have that luxury.
11:56You know, it has to be continuous.
11:58The user experience cannot be hampered by breaks, whether, you know, transactions are failing or RPC is not accessible.
12:07And I believe that, you know, gaming will onboard more users than DeFi.
12:12I see the massive area, which currently has not happened, but I believe that gaming can bring in massive mass
12:20adoption in the Web3 space.
12:23Yeah, let's hope so.
12:25Gaming is a bit slow now, but I strongly believe gaming is one of the very good angles to bring
12:32on massive user base to our ecosystem.
12:36So, you know, absolutely.
12:38So, let's talk a bit about, you know, Candy, you know, the platform, especially the Candy token model.
12:47So, today the Candy token enables staking, governance, and node operations.
12:53So, from a community standpoint, how does this model empower the community beyond just the gameplay?
12:59Yeah, we don't really see Candy token as just a reward token.
13:05Through staking, governance, and even node operations, right, it gives the community participation in the network itself.
13:13So, to say, like, users, they can state, they can participate in governance, they can even support node operations as
13:20well.
13:20So, they are not only just consuming games or playing games, but with Candy token, they are also contributing to
13:26the infralayer.
13:27So, this kind of shifts the relationship from player to stakeholder as well.
13:33Right. No, absolutely.
13:35I think earlier we have seen the early gaming projects, the tokens were typically inflationary reward systems, right?
13:44But now I think the token economics that you have designed is something highly futuristic and something which is required.
13:51Because the whole idea of decentralized network is that how each and every stakeholder can contribute to the network and
14:00generate value and then get value out of it.
14:04Yeah.
14:04Absolutely.
14:05So, I think we are coming almost at the end of the AMA.
14:08Okay. So, just to, you know, what are ZK Candy's plans for 2026?
14:14What we are going to see as the next phase of growth and what community can expect from ZK Candy?
14:20The next phase is very much focused on ecosystem growth.
14:25That means, like, expanding quality games partnership, strengthening the infrasibility, improving, like, onboarding experience or gamers in particular.
14:37They don't really want to use Mechamask wallet, you know, and phantom wallet, so on and so forth.
14:45And we want to focus on building Candy Passport as well.
14:48We want sustainable, we want a very sustainable growth, that's for sure.
14:53More developers building on us, more players staying, and a stronger info behind everything.
15:00I mean, in a nutshell, the goal is very simple, making blockchain gaming feel normal.
15:07Got it. Got it.
15:08Now, I think that that's super, super exciting for the community.
15:13So, as we wrap up today's discussion, one thing is clear that Web3 gaming was never limited by technology.
15:22The infrastructure has evolved.
15:24ZK rollups are there, which are highly scalable.
15:27The cost of ZK rollups or ZK proving has gone down.
15:31Performance is getting better.
15:34So, the real unlock lies in trust, familiarity, and seamless experience as not mentioned.
15:40So, if players don't feel like they're using blockchain, they are doing something on-chain, then I think it solves
15:48the purpose.
15:48And especially, I was very intrigued by the whole interoperability piece, you know, having a Candy Passport, making assets and
15:59reputation, you know, portable across games.
16:03This is something very exciting.
16:05So, I think ZK Candy is taking a very bold step in that direction by combining performance, invisible infrastructure, superior
16:16user experience, and community-driven participation through their excellent token economics.
16:23So, to everyone listening, I think the next wave of adoption won't be coming from DeFi.
16:30DeFi is definitely growing.
16:32It will, but it will come from, you know, building solid experiences.
16:37And I think there's a lot to learn from what Mark mentioned, how ZK Candy is approaching the whole user
16:43experience piece in the Web3.
16:44So, thanks a ton, Mark, for your insights.
16:49I think we learned a lot.
16:51And we are very, very excited about the ZK Candy project.
16:54And thanks to everyone, to the community for joining us today.
16:58With that, keep building, keep smiling.
17:00Thank you for having me here.
17:01You guys have a great day.
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