Wizard Wednesday Recap, 2024-07-24

Introductions

The team channels in from the Quantum Downs and Dotta expresses joy about getting fiber internet, hoping he will no longer have issues with Twitter Spaces.

Shout Out to MeepleDad

Dotta also announces that MeepleDad's birthday is on the day of Wizard Wednesday, and the team shares some love—he also notes Meeple has shared some samples from the upcoming Treasure Trove 2. Also while MeepleDad's name is up in conversation, Dotta adds that he was selected as one of the new members for the House of Wizards DAO Council in a Special Election with 2 other Wizards (DFI and Bridge)

Forgotten Runiverse Updates

Upcoming Playable Event Dates

Entropy joins the panel to speak about the upcoming playable build of the Forgotten Runiverse MMO.

He notes the build will roll out in two phases:

• Closed Beta (Invite Only)
  • July 31 - August 2

• New Foundations Pre-alpha Public Event
  • TBD Late August

Event Details

Entropy notes that most of the new features for New Foundations will be in the Closed Beta, but not all of the new features. He mentions that the Closed Beta will mainly be a tech test for developer testing of UI, chat features, tutorial flows, Ronin functionality at scale, etc.

Entropy shares that players of the Closed Beta will be able to "build a house" but won't be able to decorate it yet. That is to come later in August. Dungeons will also not be available in Close Beta, but will be a game feature for the public event.

Who Is Invited To Play?

Entropy clarifies that Wizards, Warriors, Souls, Shadows, and Watcher's Ring holders are all invited as priority players for the Closed Beta along with select Ronin users and VIPs. Participants of the most recent playtest are also invited to return to play for the Closed Beta. Elf confirms with Entropy that Watcher's Rings on Ronin will be available to tap for Mana during this event.

Dotta notes that Watcher's Rings will be added to Forgotten Market soon, but the buying process will be linked to Mavis Market.

Madotsuki clarifies for newcomers that "tapping" the Watcher's Ring refers to a mechanic that allowed holders to collect 250 Mana every 24 hrs in the first Forgotten Runiverse build. Elf says he believes the dawn of crypto gaming is coming.

Polymarket

Dotta notes a tweet that he saw about the rise of Polymarket outside of the crypto ecosystem and its uses for gathering data in web2 without realizing its based in crypto. He says the post noted that this is the way that crypto apps should be—something fun or useful first without the realization that there is crypto underneath. He says he thinks this is how the Forgotten Runiverse game will be.

Elf says that he didn't even know that Polymarket was a crypto app. He just thought it was a betting app. Dotta, Bear, and Madotsuki all agree that is a good thing. Dotta explains that it's almost like Uniswap under the hood. He says he isn't sure about the Web2 onboarding situation since he already knew it was a crypto app. Madotsuki confirms that a Web3 wallet is necessary for participation.

Olympic ESports

Elf asks Jitcy about updates in the gaming world, to which he mentions the Forgotten Runes collaboration with Spellborne as well as a Quest with Nifty Island. Outside of crypto, Jitcy also mentions Esports new entry as an Olympic Games category. He notes the complications that can come along with featuring games that have copyrights—he gives the example that no one outright owns "Basketball."

Dotta asks what games he thinks will be selected, and jokes that they need to set up a bid on Polymarket for the Olympic Esports Games. Jitcy speaks to a comment that the Olympics would never televise footage of a First Person Shooter, to which he says he might agree with that statement, but he says it's a bummer. He says he believes tactical shooters are one of the most strategic Esport genres. He says that if Counter Strike isn't an option, he hopes to at least see Rocket League, as he believes it's a game that is easy to follow for newcomers due to the similarities with soccer. Jitcy also names League of Legends and Dota as possible contenders to due their high skill ceilings and emphasis on teamwork.

Entropy then jumps in to "spoil the mystery" and notes there are 9 confirmed games for the Olympic Esports category:

• Tic Tac Bow
• WBSC eBaseball: Power Pros
• Chess
• Zwift
• Just Dance
• Gran Turismo 7
• Virtual Regatta
• Virtual Taekwondo
• Tennis Clash

Jitcy responds, "I'm screaming," and speaks to the inability to replicate actual sporting events in video games and says whoever made this decision clearly missed the mark. Dotta says that he has "good news" that under the "Shooting" category, they have Fortnite listed and that they're considering Rocket League.

Tim Sweeney & AAA Crypto

Bearsnake then asks if anyone heard the cryptic news from Tim Sweeney this week. He notes that the CEO of Epic Games, Tim Sweeney indicated that blockchain technology might be considered for Fortnite at some point in the future. However, he says they won't be implementing cryptocurrency, NFT trading, or similar. Bearsnake asks how else blockchain might be integrated. Dotta says that it's possible, but he doesn't see it happening. He says that the "blockchain, not Bitcoin" mentality is terrible because what blockchains are good at is managing financial incentives. He says that he thinks it has to be built into the fabric of the game in order for it to work.

Bearsnake says that he thinks Tim Sweeney is talking about it, and it's "BS." He thinks they will implement secondary markets. Dotta says it's all an uphill battle with regulations. In response to Dotta saying that it's hard for people to "redo their whole business model," Bearsnake says he thinks Epic will turn to crypto when Fortnite starts losing revenue and market share. Madotsuki says that he doesn't think we will see bigger companies enter crypto until a direct competitor forces them to.

Jitcy says that once enough young people start making a certain amount of money playing Web3 games, "things will swap so fast, you won't even believe it." Madotsuki recounts a story of teenagers who entered a Forgotten Runes Minecraft event and ended up winning Warriors, noting they probably had more time and dedication to the game, and ended up on the leaderboard. Elf says he thinks there will be a new socioeconomic class in the near future of 15-year-olds who are making more money than anyone else.

Cult Questions

Naming Runiverse Plots of Land

Then, Elf launches into Cult Questions, starting with one from Henboyd regarding naming plots of land in the Runiverse game. Madotsuki says he believes that players are able to name their plots, but agrees that it's a good idea and says he will forward that suggestion to the developers.

Forgotten Runes Comic Issue #5

Henboyd also asks about the status of comic book issue #5 to which Bearsnake responds that they are available to order online. He also says that those who have subscribed to the series with their local comic shops should also have issues in store to pick up.

Are There Countries In the Runiverse?

Elf says this is something that he has wanted to speak about for a while, and begins by noting that there is not one dominant faction in the Runiverse. He says one might actually say there is a sort of power vacuum. He says he imagines there are various powerful political factions who garner influence in familiar ways, be it tribal warlords, familial dynasties, maritime merchants, etc. Elf says to take note that in this magical world, Wizards tend to be at the heads of these factions, which is how some of the landmarks on the map earned their name (Red Wizard Capital, Brown Wizard Delta, etc.) Elf says there are also powerful factions of nonmagical folk such as the Duck Alliance who mistrust magic and serve as an opposing force to it.

Dotta says that he saw an image this week of Westeros done in a Google Maps style that he says he really loved and he speaks to his idea of "something he's been working on in his spare time" to better inform points of interest and add scale to the Runiverse. He says he thinks that once the game has launched there will be more time to dedicate to that. Elf adds that there is an entire rail system that he would like to add to the Runiverse, stating that rail is a very popular form of travel in the Runiverse.

Elf also speaks to a 3D version of the map that he and Frog Eater are working on for the new Forgotten Runes website, which Dotta says they're hoping to have at least the home page ready by the time of the public beta Runiverse game launch.

Ultrarares Left In the Souls Collections

Codenino asks how many ultrarare Souls are left in the Souls collection. Dotta responds that he knows, but he's not going to tell.

SnoopDoug Talks Chronomancy

Elf brings up a DM that he received from SnoopDoug with what Elf describes as very "advanced thinking" about chronomancy. He says he doesn't want to spoil it, because he believes SnoopDoug plans to write an in-depth Wizzypedia entry about it, but uses it as an example to note that there is still room for Magical interpretation even with his recent overview of different forms of Magic.

Community Initiatives

DAO VC After Wizard Wednesday

Entropy speaks about a new DAO initiative starting after Wizard Wednesdays that will be taking place in the Voice Chat channel of Discord. This new meeting will be to cover current events of the DAO. He also mentions the new Bounty Board channel in the Secret Tower. This is a new space for community members to post jobs, gigs, and requests along with a bounty for those who complete them.

Monday Magic News

Elf also gives a shout out to Monday Magic News and notes that his favorite part of Monday Magic News is that they interview members of the Cult. He says it's a great reason to tune into the show.

Alpha

Dotta says that he's working on a bunch of "secret stuff" that he can't talk about, stating that the secrets haven't stopped. Elf also mentions that the 3D models for Warriors are now complete. They have been modeled, textured, and rigged and just need to be reconstructed according to the collection, which he notes is a large undertaking in itself. He says he and Bearsnake have been planning for a 3D Warrior release event, but notes that he probably announced that too early and that it is still months away.

Bridge Joins

Bridge also joins the panel to briefly discuss the DAO Voice Chat after the Wizard Wednesday Space and provide a bit more context. Entropy helps to incentivize participation in the chat by offering a Treat Box to a random audience member in the VC. He says that he's loved being able to offer Treat boxes as participation rewards, particularly because newcomers get to immediately experience an experience that Magic Machine has already built that is still ongoing.

Cult Content

As the show winds down, the team then review the Cult Content Chronicle—art from the past week within the Forgotten Runes community, aggregated weekly by Tania del Rio.