Accounts: Implementing Smart Contract Wallets
Managing user accounts in your Beam application involves more than just tracking game progress. By incorporating smart contract wallets, or 'account abstraction' (following EIP-4337 (opens in a new tab)), you can offer your users a more interactive and richer gaming experience.
In the Beam network, we utilize smart contracts from Openfort (opens in a new tab), which provide you with the tools to offer your users greater flexibility and security with their accounts. Here's how you can implement different levels of control and autonomy over users' gaming assets:
Fully Managed Experience
For users who want a seamless gaming experience without dealing with any blockchain complexities, you can fully manage their in-game wallets. They just enjoy the game while the backend operations, including asset management, are handled by you, the developer.
Integrated Community Engagement
For users who are actively involved in the community, you can provide an option to link their game accounts with the Beam Companion app. This way, they can stay engaged with the game community, keep up with game news, and manage their assets even when not actively playing the game.
Co-managed Ownership
Some users may seek both ownership and assurance. You can offer them an option to share their backup key with you and Merit Circle. Using techniques such as key fragmentation or multi-signature approach, you can provide a balance of control and security to these users.
Social Recovery Feature
For users who prefer to trust their friends for account recovery, you can implement a social recovery feature. This feature requires the user to designate a minimum of three friends who can assist in account recovery if needed.
User-Owned Accounts
For the crypto-savvy users who want total control, you can offer the ability to link an Externally Owned Account (EOA) to their game account. While this may result in them signing many transactions, it provides total ownership. Another option is for users to move their assets into their Beam account, covering the initial gas fee, while you agree to handle the gas costs when they move them out, ensuring a smoother in-game experience while maintaining user control.
In this way, user accounts in your Beam application serve as more than just player profiles; they're gateways to an immersive blockchain gaming experience. From gameplay to asset management, implement the level of control that best suits your user's needs, and bring them into the future of gaming with Beam.