Wizard Wednesday Recap, 2024-06-12
After a brief moment of silence and a musical intro, Dotta kicks off the introductions with Jitcy, Entropy, and Tad. They remind the community that Bearsnake and Elf are traveling this week and are unable to join the show. Dotta welcomes anyone else who wants to join onstage.
Cult Questions
Dotta dives in immediately with Cult questions.
Market Dynamics' Influence Over Planned Releases
Henboyd asks about market dynamics’ influence over the project’s upcoming planned launches. He says he doesn’t want to give a schedule, but there should be an announcement in 2 weeks that “gives a bit more definite stuff.” Dotta says that market dynamics are always a factor, but he differentiates mints specifically, stating that, historically, market dynamics could determine a project’s fate during the first few hours of the mint.
He talks about the absurdity of this in comparison to other markets. Dotta says that he’s a little more inclined to launch things “when it’s slow, because the ceiling is far above you, so you have a place to grow.”
Nalgene Answers Question About Forgotten Runes Comic Issue #5
Nalgene then joins from the Goblin Town account, noting that his main account has been banned for reasons unknown. Nalgene answers another question from Henboyd, asking about the release date for Forgotten Runes Wizards Cult Issue #5. He says that a concrete release date has not been set as of yet, and the comic is in its final stages of approval for Cult Content.
Forgotten Runes Trade Paperback Comic Collection
Nalgene answers another question about the issues that will be collected in the trade paperback version of the comics. He notes the difference between the preview pages, and says that he will check why they describe the inclusion of issues #1-4. Issues #1-5 are included.
Dark Flames & Wizard Shopping
After that, community member Malevolent asks about the concept of “Dark Flames.” Dotta says he loves that idea, and he has “so many ideas for Flames” He says he will never make Flames inflationary, but likes the idea that they might “go dark.”
Dotta also notes that there were some nice sales on Wizards on the day of show.
Nalgene says, “It’s definitely fun to see Wizzies shopping.”
Dotta says, “Selling is just buying by stronger hands at a different price point…It’s good to be back on the front page of Blur.”
Dotta says that he really needs a Wolfkin, a Skramps, and a Vamp. He says those are the three that he can’t believe he doesn’t have. Entropy chimes in to note that it’s nice to see voluntary release of Wizards rather than release via hack. Dotta says that hacks are tough, because your heart goes out to the community members who are victims of hacks. He says he’s thought about the idea of a restitution fund of some kind for hacks, but he understands that would be too easy to game. Dotta also mentions the awkward situations that picking up a Character from a hack can create. He notes that it can be difficult to get attached because you feel like the Character isn’t really yours.
Gaming in Web3
The Beacon
Following this, Jitcy approaches the stage to speak about Web3 gaming. He speaks about the Beacon, which Forgotten Runes has an ongoing collaborations with. Jitcy says they were partnering with communities early on, and Wizards happened to be a project to get their IP in. Jitcy notes that the Beacon had special events early in their development that included items from Forgotten Runes, like a Chimera and Kobold Doll. He says these items can no longer be found in the game, which makes them rare for those who were able to claim them early.
Crypto Gaming Is Dead
Jitcy mentions the sentiment on CT that crypto gaming is dead.
Dotta says:
“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard…It’s just so early. Everyone who has built a serious game tells you that it takes more than a year. [And] you start thinking you can do it in 6 months.”
Dotta speaks to the new methods for monetization when gaming moved away from desktop to mobile. He says crypto is going to be the same—only a handful of games will be able to make the leap, just as only a few mobile games were able to get monetization right. Dotta says one of the reasons why we're “doing crypto” is the economic composability.
“I don’t know if there are any games at all right now that have economic composability outside of what the founding team has done. Too early to call that in my opinion. The game that really breaks out in crypto is going to feel like a game in the first place and then you’ll ease into the [crypto] features afterward…one that web2 players just play, and if you never figure out how to do a wallet, it doesn’t really matter.”
Farcaster As a Web3 Game & The Steam Marketplace
Dotta compares Farcaster to what he believes a successful Web3 game might look like. He notes that with Farcaster, you log in, and it feels a bit like Twitter, but there is a layer of crypto underneath. He says the team is going for a similar feeling with the Runiverse game. Jitcy says that it will be imperative for Web3 development teams to create incentive structures that cater to their player base, from hardcore games to more casual games.
Madotsuki says that he feels like the anger that was previously directed at crypto has recently been directed toward AI, and he hasn’t seen much of that anger return. He says he feels that the general consensus is turning more crypto-neutral. Madotsuki compares Steam Marketplace to the goals of Web3 gaming. He notes this marketplace is a good place to start with the concept, but compares Steam and Web3 to a fax machine versus email. He notes that they are able to achieve a similar end, but one has more ability.
Faraway
Dotta then asks what is going on with Faraway land. Jitcy says as far as he knows, Faraway is offering land, that is connected to Legend of the Mara. He says he feels like they’re growing the player base and diluting it at the same time. Entropy notes the visual similarities between Faraway’s plots and the original Otherdeed plots. He also mentions a response from Yuga’s Garga noting that this was not an authorized similarity. Dotta asks why it looks like the “Wish shopping version” of Otherdeed.
Scavengers Reign & The Cult Content Chronicle
After the conversation of Faraway and Otherdeed winds down, Entropy takes a few minutes to share a recommendation for the show Scavengers Reign. He notes this is a Titmouse show, who created the Forgotten Runes TV trailer.
Cult Content
Then, the team review the Cult Content Chronicle—art from the Forgotten Runes community within the past week, aggregated weekly by Tania del Rio.