Update 11/07/22: Mark Venturelli got in touch to clarify that the event organizers "are not the enemy", and he has a "good relationship with BIG overall". The organizers were made aware of the talk's nature prior to him taking the stage, and the report has been updated to reflect this.

BIG, Brazil's answer to E3, just hosted a talk "Why NFTs are a Nightmare". The speech was initially advertised as being on the subject of the "future of game design", before actually discussing the negative aspects of blockchain systems. Despite the slight subterfuge, the audience totally agreed with him, as he was reportedly met with applause when he revealed this.

Game developer Mark Venturelli took to the BIG stage yesterday, revealing that he would be speaking against blockchain implementation in games shortly before it began. This comes as dozens of gaming companies go all-in on NFTs, despite a crashing crypto market, little developer interest, and the NFT scene itself being rife with scamming and theft.

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"I fooled you guys. The name of my talk is not 'The Future of Game Design'", opened Venturelli, according to an attendee (as spotted by Resetera). "I had to change it or they wouldn't approve. The name is 'NFTs are a nightmare."

The eyewitness, journalist Rique Sampaio, also says that Venturelli was met with a standing ovation, perhaps suggesting that his fellow game devs aren't so keen on the going influence of web3 technologies in the industry. Sampaio also notes that the room was full of promos for BIG's sponsor, Ripio - a cryptocurrency company. With such a heavy crypto presence at BIG this year, it's unsurprising that Venturelli took the opportunity to talk about its impact on the gaming industry.

As the speech wrapped up, Venturelli clarified: "I actually didn't fool you about my talk - we're talking about the Future of Game Design". He then spoke on how the future of gaming should be sustainable and based on trust, something that he feels is contradicted by blockchain implementation.

A recording of the talk hasn't been shared on the event's webpage, but it has been shared in the replies to the above tweet. Additionally, the description on the event's page keeps it vague enough to not explicitly call out NFTs: "Many are trying to sell their ideas of what would be the 'future' of our field. Is this future well-founded or is it just smoke and mirrors?"

BIG kicked off last Thursday, and will run until tomorrow.

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