Another Composability: Spinning the NFT Flywheel

Original title: " Building Expansive NFT Universes: CC0, Fidelity, & On-Chain Bundling  "

Original author: Simon de la Rouviere

Original compilation: Kxp, Rhythm BlockBeats

The NFT creative universe is in a crazy experimental stage: emphasizing free IP, new economy and recombination. As these universes develop, success depends on three key elements:

1. Permissive licensing, mainly In the form of Creative Commons Copyright Zero (CC0). This model will encourage creative recombination, benefiting both originals and imitators.

2. Focus on low-fidelity and metadata that can stimulate imagination, and lower fidelity ensures that recombination can have more vivid int.

3. By categorizing metadata into on-chain packages, projects can be bundled to guide scaling.

This excites me because if you combine these three elements, you can create something that is hard to ignore Brand new media franchise. It will create free, rich IP and create wealth for all collaborators. Next, let's take a closer look at these three elements:

Orthodoxy and the CC0 NFT Flywheel

An NFT references a typical interpretation: for example, a regularly published link to a file or an on-chain image. Ownership of the NFT is separate from the copyright of the referenced image, and in many cases the copyright remains with the original creator regardless of changes the NFT has undergone. In this way, the NFT holder can only enjoy the ownership of the referenced image, but cannot use the image in any other way, especially commercial use.

The value of NFT comes from what it represents, the unchangeable timestamp on the blockchain Engines can orthodox specific references. People have encoded various "signals", which makes people want to own it even though they know that the reference has no token value.

While the image itself is usually encoded immutably and adds a large part to the desirability , but who "signs" the NFT is also very important. Most of the value of NFT is generated through the legitimacy of the timestamp encryption signature of a specific individual, which also confirms the importance of "signature". It is a focal engine that embeds social relations onto cultural objects over time.

This legitimacy engine built on ownership of signed cultural objects also empowers derivative works .

In the past, creators of derivative works often needed to meet the following conditions: 1) cannot use derivative IP commercialization; 2) cannot own any revenue they send upstream (derivative works send attention upstream and become a potential source of income for the original author). For original creators, acquiescing to derivative works means that they can accept losing control of potential income and their own creativity, but poor quality derivative works also have negative effects on them.

For derivative works of NFTs using traditional copyright, these incentives still exist, however, if This incentive becomes stronger when original creators allow free commercialization of intellectual property. With NFT, the value incentive effect of positive incentives will become stronger. This is because: creators of derivative works can not only benefit from their derivative works, but also from the attention they send to the upstream of the original work. earn in return. Derivative creators can earn twice as much if they own the NFT of the original work. It's like if you successfully create a spin-off Harry Potter story sequel, you'll be able to earn money from the sale of the Harry Potter wand. In some cases, this is something that could happen (for example, if you owned Disney stock and created a good Star Wars spinoff). Of course, this is only feasible if you can create derivative works; that is, the CC0 model will be more promising as more people join.

Original creators hope so, because not only will they earn money on secondary sales Take royalties and profit from the value increase upstream; you can also get more attention and pave the way for the sales of future works (original or derivatives).

The specific process of the flywheel is as follows:

- A creates CC0 content 

- A sells NFT#1 of CC0 content to B 

- B decides to create derivative content of CC0  ;

- B sells CC0's derivative content NFT#2 to C 

- C likes this derivative work very much and decides to buy the original NFT#1 

- So: A gets royalties from sales, B gets income from selling derivative works + selling original NFT, C collects both versions of NFT 

- C decides to create NFT#2 or Derivative works of NFT#1 and enter the next cycle

This model has been practiced in various NFT projects . While it's still early days, many projects have already adopted this model: following the trend and starting to regroup freelance IP.

Here are some real examples:

Jenkins The Valet

In this project, a team brought the boring ape The class is a storyteller, telling the story that happened in the yacht club. It is worth noting that in order to be able to participate in this project, they sold their own set of "key" NFT.

Yuga Labs' Upcoming Otherside

Yuga Labs (creators of the Boring Apes Yachting Club) is at its upcoming virtual A scene is set in the world, showing the possibility that many different NFT universes can "coexist" in it.

For example, CrypToadz's intellectual property agreement states: "To the extent permitted by law, Gremplin has waived its license to CrypToadz All copyright or related rights."

Renegade Comics

Renegade Comics is an example of taking an IP image from the NFT universe and making it into a comic. The comic shown below is from Chain Runners:

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Inspired by Blitmaps, this project has updated them to create digital fashion that can be exchanged for physical clothing.

Nouns Center

Nouns Center

There are many such derivative works, and it is impossible for us to catalog them all here. NounsDAO even has a website cataloging all of its derivative works: https://nouns.center/projects.

Interestingly, there is an emerging trend of low fidelity of original references: these references are often pixelated or simplified. This may be due to the fact that many projects refer to the early pixelated CryptoPunks, but low-fi projects are also increasingly valuable these days. I believe that in the future more projects will opt for low fidelity, or even move towards metadata.

Extend with fidelity and metadata

When you were a child, a twig had endless possibilities: it could be a sword, a gun, or a magic wand. However, there is no way a plastic toy sword can become a real gun. Sometimes, the more abstract an object is, the more likely it is that it can be recombined or interpreted. So, higher fidelity doesn't always lead to better images.

2022 4K HD

90s

For expansion and dissemination, exemplary reference The more interpretable the , the easier it is to propagate. It's like a tree branch has a lot more room for imagination than a high-fidelity toy.

Take Chain runners for example, one of their own expansion packs is increasing the fidelity of their canonical references.

What we can notice is the increased resolution of the HyperLoot concept art spinoff for Nouns, CrypToadz, and Blitnauts.

Many NFT games are developing in this direction. Some critics in the game industry argue that you can't reuse NFTs through games because that's not how games are supposed to work. While this is true, it doesn't really matter because with CC0 and the low fidelity at the base level, using NFTs in games is just a reinterpretation of classic images/files. Some items simply give you access to extra files that you can use in the game, but even then, it's not necessary. Chainrunners XR, Meebits and Forgotten Runes provide you with corresponding files, but if it is CC0, a recombined work does not need to rely on classic files/pictures.

The value comes from reinterpretation, and if the fidelity of the typical reference is lower, the reinterpretation will be easier. In the future, the NFT project will only reveal some characteristics when it releases the classic version, and its first derivative work is just some conceptual image display. As a result, there was only one series of collections before, but now there are two.

The only problem is that we may lose control of our creativity. Therefore, this flywheel does not apply to all creative works. Some projects are willing to hand over creative control to others, but others are not. You can still see this antagonism in permissive licensing projects like Fluf World (which is not part of CC0).

AngelBaby is a spin-off character from Fluf World, the application of these NFTs in music projects happened Great Variation: Can be used to create virtual bands/artists.

This is an intellectual property agreement from Fluf World:

As long as you have the ownership and control of the relevant NFT, you can Has non-exclusive commercial rights to FLUF and the underlying artwork for that particular character, as set forth in our license agreement. Without the express written permission of the NF Labs team, you will not have any rights to use the FLUF World brand or any of its registered trademarks, including the FLUF logo. Ownership of NFTs will be fully regulated by our smart contracts. Under no circumstances shall we seize, freeze or otherwise modify ownership of any NFT.

You may transfer some of your rights to other commercial projects, but the transfer of your NFT will be subject to those rights you have transferred. You can print your FLUF World character onto clothing or merchandise, put it in video games and video projects, or just about anything else with it. You may not use the name "FLUF" on any commercial product unless the name or number directly linked to your FLUF indicates that you own the NFT. You may not use your FLUF in any project or derivative work involving hate speech, racism, pornography or any illegal content.

These regulations are quite reasonable, because any derivative work full of hate speech will affect the entire project and all subsequent derivative works. We can't really avoid such risks, but we can continue to strengthen the style characteristics of the project, so that derivative works will also become positive and sunny, with the possibility of further expansion.

Most of the projects I've described so far are primarily avatar or identity projects. By its nature, it doesn't necessarily spread widely. Having both CC0 and lo-fi would definitely help with the spread more, but it's perfectly fine to leave it as is. For example, Chain Runner will not force you to promote it. Currently, many of these projects are social clubs and hope to expand into the metaverse (such as Yuga Labs' Otherside). So they invite you to use their NFT and set it as your personal photo on Twitter and Discord.

However, the avatar project is just one of the project categories, and there are many categories that we have not yet explored. In my opinion, we have to have avatars first, but after we have avatars, we can start exploring other projects. For the metadata-first approach to be fully functional, we must put the metadata layer on-chain. Currently, for many projects, metadata exists independently. It's an API for extensions, but only in a web2.0 way, and it doesn't exist in the same modular framework. If the metadata of the NFT world exists in the same modular framework, it will be easier to combine each other to expand in a specific direction.

In addition to avatars, loot combinations are also a new development trend. Let’s take a look at how Loot and Dopewars use these components to build a vast NFT universe through CC0, low-fidelity, and expansion to specific fields.

Boot Combination: Bootstrap Expansion

Loot is following the current PFP craze, their loot packs are pure metadata about traits. Its typical references are just a combination of text records, while other information including statistics and images are intentionally omitted.

Without reference images, people can explain their understanding.

You can find it at Loot Character on the minting accompanying NFT image.

Hyperloot is a new interpretation.

In addition to direct display with the information in the package, since the nft feature is on the chain, other NFT projects can use it in their derivative works: precisely because the metadata is on the chain , these items were able to emerge.

Genesis Project is an example:

Each bag has at least one item with the "of" suffix. Collectors have found that these loot combinations have been scrambled by primordial or "generic" adventurers. The Genesis project is thus a collectible game, where the goal is to distill combinations of loot into "mana" based on these "of" suffixes. These suffixes are now separate from the original combination, and if successfully pieced back together, you can summon and recreate a new combination to represent these Genesis Adventurers.

Because of this composability, it neither creates direct derivative works nor Generate related derivative works. Loot Realms is one such example.

The following is also an example of scaling with low fidelity.

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These are all layered, and this interaction is at the metadata level, and the extension is via on-chain bundling to guide.

Another example of scaling by bringing metadata on-chain and in packages: Dopewars. Its sample NFT is also just a text package.

In Dope Wars, the example NFTs can be used to refine them into standalone equipment NFTs.

This can be recombined into a Hustler< /a>.

The emergence of loot combinations shows that all elements can be combined with each other and have great prospects: CC0 IP, low-fidelity example NFT, and guided expansion with bundles and on-chain metadata .

Even in the NFT space, there is not only one typical representative of the Metaverse, almost all NFTs are all combined with their classic interpretations. For example, the image below shows the Cryptovoxels region map:

Its metadata shows you the characteristics of the graph.

However, it doesn't show you what's in it, and, moreover, it's linked to off-chain metadata, so you can't use that information on-chain. In my opinion, the development of the future NFT universe will mainly rely on the combination of expendable on-chain loot. Also, it might be more Loot Realms than Cryptovoxels. Interpretation of experiences will be dependent on a particular UI (or "viewer"), metadata will prevail, and interpretation will come later. At present, the so-called metaverse is a multiverse composed of metadata.

I'm sure soon there will be a standard that we can then use to How it fits in the bag and how it fits together makes custom provisions.

The loot set is just one example of expanding with categories, we have many others that don't to explore. A true metadata map will be able to add/build/extend etc. on a piece of land. In the future, we will also find more ways to recombine certain kinds of NFTs. The "Record Book" will help us bundle metadata. As time goes by, more metadata will be placed on the chain, we can track and bundle events into specific "record books", and the types of "record books" will also increase: use chain events to tell story.

Takens Theorem has been notorious for tokenizing and linking events to NFTs.

In their project called "The Grid", your NFT will change based on the historical items you own, and its relationship to all other NFT holders in the grid . Of course, posting on this art network will also change everyone's NFT.

It visualizes our time-stamped shared, common frames. And, it's like a giant story universe, linking our avatars together through history.

Question and Conclusion

My assessment may not be that accurate. Does low-fidelity really matter? Famous NFT collections like BAYC don't have low-fidelity images and don't use packets to collect on-chain metadata, but that doesn't affect it much either. Therefore, in my opinion, although these three elements have a certain role, what is more important is the more possibilities it brings. Loot is the prime example, but I don't think it will be the last. As for CC0, is it viable in the long run, or is this flywheel just not as powerful as we expected? To what extent can on-chain metadata and bundling scale?

These questions will be tested in time, and at least it provides fertile ground for emerging cultures Soil. In the future, with timestamp engines, open APIs, and a culture of freedom, how many possibilities will they create? At least, long after we're gone, we'll embed the friends we've made along the way.

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