Wizard Wednesday Recap, 2024-02-07

After a brief introduction from Dotta, Elf, and Bearsnake, Bear says the team has been having a spicy all-hands conversation in the Magic Machine Discord. Dotta says topics included: airdrops, Runiverse game, saving Shadows, launching a token, royalties, and Magic Eden.

Intro

Dotta says the team will cover some of the topics from their all-hands meeting on the show. Elf then says that the team also talked about Tad Major, who Bearsnake says will speak later. Then, Tim Smith joins from between flights to speak about his SuperRare genesis collection.

Cult Questions

Decentralized Worldbuilding or NFT

Elf segues into Cult Questions, beginning with "Are we a decentralized worldbuilding project, or are we an NFT project?" Elf says he thinks Forgotten Runes is a decentralized worldbuilding project that uses NFTs to track IP ownership.

Dotta says he thinks Forgotten Runes is an NFT project, and he thinks it's interesting to try to find the line between creativity and finance — he mentions the idea of searching for "minimum viable creativity." He says it isn't necessarily all about the narrative for him.

Souls IP

The team then answer a question concerning the IP of Burned Wizards, concluding that the owner of a Soul also owns the IP of the corresponding Burned Wizard.

Virtual Reality Runes

Elf speaks to another question about Virtual Reality and the use of Wizards. Elf says he isn't sure what the vehicle for it will be, but he would love for there to be a virtual aspect to the Runiverse in the future.

Elf mentions that Bear knows someone at Meta, and Bearsnake confirms, saying one of his ex-partners is a high-up in Meta's Oculus division. Bear says they were impressed with the event Forgotten Runes ran with Improbable, and they're looking for ways to collaborate.

Legend of the Mara Loot

Following that, Elf answers a question about the partnership with Yuga and the role of the loot found in Legend of the Mara. Elf says he considers those items to be Athenaeum Items and notes they will be usable in the upcoming Warrior event.

Incentives to Write Lore

Another question comes in about incentives for contributing to the Book of Lore, Wizzypedia, or other Forgotten Runes worldbuilding avenues. Elf says he thinks the main reason to make lore is the fun of taking ownership and leveling your Character up.

Dotta says he agrees with Elf's point that holders' main motivation to write lore should stem from worldbuilding through Character creation, but he also enjoys "sweetening the pot" with incentives. Dotta says that he understands the idea that this may lead to "airdrop lore."

While he notes the possibility of lazy airdrop lore, Dotta says incentives also bring about good lore, too. He says he has ideas for creating systems to filter the "wheat from the chaff and incentivize all of the wheat."

Dotta also says that the team has discussed a social layer for the Book of Lore, noting that no one wants a popularity contest that feels false. "A couple of likes here and there isn't going to ruin the Book of Lore, and it would actually greatly improve the discoverability."

Dotta says this social layer also triggers dopamine for creators, and he thinks that the team is going to implement these changes. He says the Book of Lore is core to the project and it needs to be "even easier to use than it is now."

Elf's Project Map & Tad Major Joins Team

Elf transitions to speak about a new project map that he posted in the Secret Tower earlier in the day. He says Forgotten Runes is intentionally complex so that fans can go deep into its web, but that makes it difficult for newcomers.

He says his map is a guided experience for newcomers to be able to follow. that simplifies the complexity of the Cult. He says the current version is only a proof of concept, and he would love to make a fully interactive version.

Tad Steps Up

On the topic of simplifying the complex for new members, Tad Major joins the conversations with an announcement that he will be taking on what Dotta describes as a "relatively part time role" as an intermediary between the Cult and Magic Machine.

The team discuss that Tad has recently been able to provide a wealth of information about ongoing Cult projects that, in some cases, the team was unaware of, which led to a discussion about how to stay up to date with all of the Cult projects. Bearsnake says his favorite part about Tad taking on his new role is that he was basically elected by the Cult. It was a discussion that was being taken place openly, and a lot of holders came to the consensus that Tad would be great for the position if it were legitimized.

Bearsnake says he wants this to be an opportunity for Magic Machine to prove that they are listening to the community's feedback and being proactive in addressing concerns. On this topic, Elf says he was surprised to see discourse surrounding Nifty Island and the team's comms.

Elf says he felt like the team covered Nifty Island so much that it was almost overboard. Dotta says he's glad to get the feedback if the message isn't coming across to participate. He feels like they should be able to enlist 1/3 of the Cult to log in and use the 3D models.

Nifty Island & Team Communication

Jitcy says he feels he could have done more to amplify Nifty Island, but he felt at the time it was something that would happen naturally from the excitement of the Cult. He thinks Nifty has staying power and notes that Forgotten Runes is making two official maps for the game.

Elf responds to a comment that people should be told point blank that their Wizards are available in a new 3D meta, which he says he stated 100 times. Bearsnake says that it isn't about how you say it, but how many times you say it, and sometimes it needs to be said 100+ times.

Bear says this is the reason why large companies have billion-dollar marketing campaigns. He says the timeline is a firehose, and even if they feel like they're saying something a million times, there are still some people who aren't hearing it.

Dotta sympathizes with people who missed the messaging and laments times where he missed out on airdrops or similar from projects just because there was a simple action he had to do, but didn't know about because he missed an announcement. He says he's maxed out his Discords.

Magic Eden & the Creator Alliance

The team then pivot to speak about Magic Eden. Dotta says that there is a "creator alliance" that has come together in defense of creator royalties. Dotta says the team hasn't signed anything, but they have been in talks with marketplace Magic Eden.

Dotta says if the project did decide to go through to pain of upgrading contracts to protect royalties, they would block those tokens from trade on marketplaces that circumvent royalties. Magic Eden has committed to paying royalties.

Dotta ensures that participation in the creator alliance does not mean exclusivity to Magic Eden. He says the team will always at least support Forgotten Market. He says he and Niski have been working on a Forgotten Market V2.

Dotta goes on to say that the team is not sure yet if the smart contracts for Forgotten Runes will be upgraded, but he would like for them to be. He says he would like to be in a world where royalties are honored, but he doesn't want to be the first one to do it.

Dotta says he believes that a technical circumvention for the royalties will still be possible for new royalty-enforced contracts. He also says there is a social component in which "mercenary liquidity" may flock to collections that do not enforce royalties.

Dotta says he isn't sure the creator alliance actually works, because he thinks the issue isn't at the marketplace-level, but rather at the liquidity-level. He says you can't change what people put their money on.

Elf says he thinks marketplaces are the problem, because people are incentivized to use those that do not enforce royalties. Dotta says any contractual issue with the idea of free transfer of assets and the "transfer" function in the contract.

Dotta says assets owners should be able to transfer their assets without needing permission — even if they transfer to someone who then hands back a $100 note in person. Elf and Dotta have a back and forth on royalties when Bearsnake says he thinks the conversation is boring.

Cult Content

Then, the team transitions to review Week 55 of the Cult Content Chronicle — art from within the Forgotten Runes community aggregated weekly by the illustrious Tania del Rio.