Wizard Wednesday Recap, 2023-06-07
Elf starts the meeting by saying that there are quite a few questions from the community that might take up a large portion of the show. Before the team gets started with questions, Elf gives a reminder that the next Wizard Wednesday will be the show's 100th episode.
Cult Questions
The First Wizard Wednesday & Wizard Contests
Bearsnake then shares an anecdote from the very first Wizard Wednesday which was hosted with Elf from Bear's bedroom. They speak about giveaways they used to run on the show, and on the topic of prizes, Elf shares the first question, which concerns intra-Cult contests.
Elf asks Dotta if he remembers running trivia contests in the Secret Tower early in the project's life. The team agrees that these contests were a great source of fun, and while they don't have any contests currently planned, they say it's worth consideration.
Apple Vision Pro
Before Elf gets into the next question, the conversation turns to Apple's new Vision Pro AR set. Bearsnake says it's giving him flashbacks to his old VR company. He feels that the prohibitive price and lack of user-oriented apps could be detrimental for the device.
Dotta says he's heard positive things from early users, but believes it could be the last push for VR this decade if it doesn't appeal to the market. He mentions complaints of the windowed UI and speaks about the processes of finding UI patterns for new technology.
Canadian Wildfire Smoke
The next question concerns the smoke in the Northeast US resulting from Canadian wildfires, asking why don't the Wizards move the smoke elsewhere. Elf says with the wildfires, alien appearances, and imminent ASI, there has never been a better time to put your Rune on the door.
He asks Bear and Dotta if they have any response. Bearsnake says not to get them started on aliens, and that they may need a separate Space for that.
3D Wizards Update
The next set of questions regards the 3D Wizards — if there will be plans for 3D objects and if 3D Undesirables will be bipedal.
3D Props
Elf notes that the team has just finished modeling and texturing all of the Wizards' props. He says he isn't sure if 3D Wizards will launch with props or not yet.
Bipedal Beasts
Elf also mentions that Souls are still in the modeling process and now Beasts are in their 3D concept phase. Elf says that the Beasts will be in humanoid form, and he thinks that there will be some fun lore around the reason why the Beasts will appear this way. Bear and Dotta agree that the Beasts already look amazing, and Elf gives a shoutout to Molly, who has led the concept designs. Elf says the Ouroboros concept was recently finished and that it looks insane in humanoid form.
Scooting Undesirables & 3D Website Construction
He also says the Souls Undesirables will not be in humanoid form and gives the example of Piles of Bones and Coffins "scooting around" in the metaverse. Dotta says that the team is still working on the website for 3D and mentions the work the Magus Wazir and Frogeater have done. He says the site is the "main blocker" for 3D launch, but he views it as a way to reintroduce the Forgotten Runes collection to the NFT market. He notes that the team only gets to launch this once, so it needs to be right when it's released. Dotta also notes the 3D launch will not happen next week and dispels rumors that it will be announced during the 100th episode.
Wizard Wednesday Episode 100 Athenaeum Airdrop
On the topic of the 100th episode, Dotta reveals that there is a new set of Athenaeum items that will be airdropped to attendees of the show as memorabilia.
- Wallets will be collected in Discord during the show.
- The airdrop is for FRWC holders only with one drop per wallet.
Dotta says this is going to be a fun way to get more storytelling items into the world.
Bear says he wishes Episode 100 was in a few more weeks as there is some more news that is "just missing the mark" and notes there's big information coming in the next 2 months. Dotta also notes that the team will work with global holders who may not be able to attend due to the EST timeslot. Elf asks if the team should host a 2-hour Wizard Wednesday for the 100th episode. They all agree that if not 2 hours, the show will still run long.
The Powers of the Runiverse
The following question is about the most powerful being and the most magical place in the Runiverse. Elf say when he thinks of magical systems, he doesn't view it so much as a hierarchy, but more of a rock-paper-scissors dynamic. However, he does name the Ouroboros, the Beasts, Merlin, and the Key Master as legendary and powerful Characters. He then says that developing Characters into legendary beings with compelling lore (as Madotsuki has with Magus Devon) also translates into awesome power.
Dotta mentions that some of the antagonism in the Runiverse comes to play in the tradeoff of strengths and weaknesses of Magic and Technology. He says there are areas of the world where one is stronger than the other. Dotta notes that affinity also plays a part in power.
Elf replies that someone asked the Loracle this same question, and it responded that Magic is the most powerful force in the Runiverse, which he says is also a good answer. He says that Magic takes many forms in our world — Art and the power of Creation is a form of Magic. Along these lines, he says that Technology can also be seen as a kind of Magic in our own world, and notes that the word was used many times even during Apple's Vision Pro presentation.
"Technology also gives societies all over the the world a degree of anxiety...that is almost esoteric and not totally understandable...If you want to think about what Magic is in the Runiverse, think about the effect that technology is having on our civilization."
Major Events of the Runiverse
A question arises about the potential of reflections in the Runiverse that mirror large-scale events of our own present's future, giving the example of a great flood inspiring the story of Noah's Ark. Elf notes that the flood myth is repeated time and again throughout history. He says that there are similar events repeated in different cultures and stories and notes that there are also these types of events in the Runiverse, because the Runiverse is a perpetuation of the Collective Unconscious. Elf says that the Day of Summoning, Great Burning, and Technological Singularity are all also major events in the Runiverse, though there are many more. He prompts the audience to ask the Loracle about other major events in the Runiverse's timeline.
Battle For Goblin Town Update
Then, Dotta provides an update about Battle For Goblin Town, but before that, he gives an overview of the game, as Bearsnake notes there are likely some new listeners who are not familiar with the game or its mechanics. Dotta speaks about the progression of the game and the evolution of its undertaking into something greater than originally planned but notes that he would be hesitant to release it in the current market even if it was already complete.
While Dotta says the launch date is being left undefined, Bear says that he believes that the game itself has the potential to create its own meta, and Elf says that he agrees. Dotta says he isn't sure the target demographic is ready for it yet, but it will come back around.
What's Next For Magic Machine?
For the last question, the team is asked what Magic Machine will release next. Dotta says, "We're not going to tell you."
Elf urges to keep writing in the Book of Lore and creating. Dotta agrees and notes everything forthcoming, bar Goblin Town, is rooted in the Book of Lore.
On this subject, Dotta also mentions that his core belief of the project is that there can be a decentralized world where all of its participants can also participate in its value accrual. He says they are navigating the mechanics of this, but that's the focus for the next year.
Forgotten Runes Comic & Speaking to A Wider Audience
Following this, Bear speaks about the Forgotten Runes Comic and how Magic Machine can use the comics to bring those readers further into the world of the Runiverse by including codes to the Runiverse game or using the Epic Fortnite Editor, expressing the idea: "Read comic, play comic."
He speaks about the difficulty of Web3 projects breaking out of their "moated islands" and describes the comic as a perfectly-pruned olive branch. He talks about his excitement for the comic, because it's Forgotten Runes' first chance to speak to the outside world. Elf agrees and speaks to his own excitement about the comic as a proof-of-concept for using stories from the Book of Lore in larger media expressions.
A Magical First Digital Asset
Dotta theorizes the comic could be a way to bring people to the digital realm without creating a wallet and paying ETH L1 gas. He would like a lower barrier to entry that lets people experience their first digital asset and notes the team is working through possibilities.
Game Changers
Then, Bearsnake talks about his new Web3 Gaming-oriented Space, Game Changers, with Bored Elon. Bear also speaks about having giveahoot as a guest to talk about RunesTCG with Parallel and Final Form. He says they're planning more amazing guests over the next 8 - 9 weeks.
Ordinals
BRC-20 Tokens
After the Game Changers conversation, Dotta speaks about Brennen.eth's project Sqordinals, which leads into a longer dialogue about Ordinals and the BRC-20 token. Dotta says these tokens are text files that describe the token itself, and they're "implemented in the dumbest way." He says, as often happens with software, the dumbest thing that could work, works because it's easy to understand.
Ordinals' Market Maturation
Dotta says that the Ordinals market is actually moving and there was a recent day when the volume on Ordinals was nearly equivalent to the volume on OpenSea. He also notes that he is beginning to see collectors value the art over the inscription number, and mentions the project Abstraordinals. He says that he believes this is indicative of a maturation of the Ordinals market and the medium finding its stability.
Elf's Andy Warhol Dollars
Elf gives the analogy of Ordinal-inscribed satoshis to a street artist drawing a picture on a dollar bill versus Andy Warhol drawing a picture on a dollar bill. He asks if it's possible to spend an inscribed satoshi in the way that one might accidentally spend the Warhol dollar. Dotta confirms this is 100% possible and why it's important to use specific wallets and tools for Ordinals to prevent this.
Elf then asks if it's possible to obtain a rare Ordinal simply by buying Bitcoin. Dotta says it's possible but the probability is extremely low.
Ordinals' Buying Process & Market Psychology
Elf asks about how the buying process of Ordinals has changed and if Dotta thinks it will improve in the future. Dotta says the experience is not that different now from using ETH wallets when using Hero or Xverse with the Magic Eden marketplace. Dotta also notes the slow pace of Bitcoin, and says that selling a large position in Ordinals could take literal weeks to unwind. He notes the 10-minute block intervals on Bitcoin translate to a different market psychology. The liquidity is thin and volatility is lower.
Dotta's Opinion On the Low-Inscription Number Meta
Bear asks how Dotta feels about low-inscription value. Dotta responds that he missed out on a lot of profit by not minting blatant low-inscription ripoffs and low-effort projects, but he believes that good art with sub-1k or even sub-10k inscription numbers are "totally grails."
He says that if the subject of a Forgotten Runes Ordinals collection came up in April, he would have been against it, but currently he believes we are far enough from the low-inscription meta that a FRWC Ordinals collection could be fun.
He says this is not alpha.
Dotta also says a deeper reason to value Ordinals (in addition to their all-on-chain art) would be BTC's position against governmental offense toward cryptocurrency and how he believes it is positioned even more so than Ethereum to withstand that kind of assault.
Cult Content
With that, the team reviews this week's Cult Content catalogued in the 20th week of Tania del Rio's Cult Content Chronicle.
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CheddaaBob's Lego Fungus Wizard
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Void Disciple Orbus Marcofine Interpretation
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Magus Wazir Sonnet by Ygduil as Suggested Lore
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WIP 3D Magus Devon Model by futaba
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Magus Wazir Vision Pro Overlay
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Game Changers AI Art by Tabitha of the Marsh
