Hello hello!
In today's edition, we side-track from art to delve into a story of game building, user behaviour and the rise-and-falls of building in web3 through an exclusive dialogue with @jethid (@j_eth_id on X), or simply "J".
Why is this important? Well.. inevitably, if you are here, it means you enjoy being at the forefront of innovation - that's what digital art has offered artists, and how it continues to push forms of creative expression through experimentation. And I support creatives in web3 to have a holistic perspective on what's taking place across our decentralised superhighway.
J is one of the pioneering minds behind EthXY (pronounced as "ETH", "X", "Y"), a new game on the block birthed at EthGlobal Paris in 2023. Simply put, ETHxy would like to be the Zynga to Farcaster's Facebook - "That's our ultimate ambition", comments J.
The ease with which he talked about the rollercoaster their team went through over the past six months made me realise that it's a story worth sharing!
"I think of games as a means of designing an experience that people can enjoy. Ultimately, we all want to feel something - we try new things in search of new experiences"
Our conversation started with the history of consumer tech; J reasoned that whenever there's a new paradigm, we typically see two phases: first comes the infrastructure layer, and then follows the consumer applications layer. So, for example, late nineties, was the infrastructure layer of the Internet (web navigation and servers). And once those have been built out, we witnessed networking platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
It seems like in crypto, we're going through something similar; we've had a long span of the infrastructure being built out, but now, the combination of things like Base, embedded wallets software and a growing web3 audience has paved the road to what we see as the next big "consumer crypto boom" he concludes.
This perspective is a good lens to jump into the story behind J's EthXY, bearing in mind the inevitable advance of the so-called "consumer crypto boom" is not too far.
The Prelude: A Vision Derailed
Before EthXY came into existence, there was eth.id—a visionary project aimed at harmonizing DNS and ENS names, addressing the unique challenge presented by the ".eth" top-level domain reserved for Ethiopia by the ICANN internet organization. (As some of you may know, my background before Blockchain is in DNS, working as part of the .art launch team - so things got exciting from the start).
It was the spring of 2023, and J was going through the a16z Crypto Startup School (CSS), a program to help founders refine their vision, connect with mentors and network. With eth.id, "we envisioned a seamless integration, a bridge for users in the digital realm," J reminisced.
Alas, the reality was starkly different. A grand launch party saw a meagre turnout of 13 downloads, a sobering moment signalling a misalignment with the market's desires. "It was a clear indication that we were off the mark, crafting a product suited for a bull market but not for the evolving needs of new consumers," J reflected on pausing the project.
The Hackathon Pivot: From Despair to Innovation
Undeterred by the setback, the team's participation in EthGlobal Paris marked a pivotal moment. Embracing their "degen" nature, they shifted focus towards creating something purely for enjoyment—a game based on 100x100 plots purchasable with Ethereum. This game drew inspiration from "The Million Dollar Homepage," a project conceived in 2005 by Alex Tew, a 21-year-old student (The image-based links on the website were sold for $1 per pixel in 10 × 10 blocks, which successfully paid off his college).
J's team reimagined this idea for the web3 era with a twist: dynamic pricing to foster early adoption and communal sharing. "Transforming this concept into a blockchain reality within 48 hours was exhilarating," J shares.
The (Un)expected Degen Surge
Post-hackathon, the team witnessed yet another disappointment - 20 acquired plots with no proof of concept due to a standstill. As a matter of last resort, they decided to wave one final goodbye. Enter - Twitter. Below is a threat in which J shared the idea behind EthXY and game mechanics:
tl;dr - Entirely fair launch. There's no cut for insiders. If you stick with buying Level 0 plots only for 0.01 eth, you are guaranteed to pull out at least what…
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After posting the thread, "The surge in plot sales was unforeseen, driving prices to astronomical levels and filling our treasury beyond imagination," J recounted, a note of wonder in his voice. Because the plots could be resold - prices got astronomical super quickly. "00 plot sold for 20.48 ETH", commented J, while "the treasury went up to 2 million". (I guess one takeaway is - never underestimate the power of degens).
Embracing the Future: ETHxy's Ongoing Evolution
With all the demand, J and his Smart Contract Engineer, z80, were fortunate to connect with several other builders to strategize their approach. Some of them include Jesse Pollak and the Base team, JP Ren and the Frens team, David Furlong and Frames.js, Jacek from Degen, Alex Kwon from Perl, and @billzh. In one of those conversations, JP Ren, an old friend and colleague, floated the term "Degen Tech" to describe EthXY. He suggested this might be the ideal direction for J's team. And he was correct: as J himself describes, "We understand what people want, as we are degens ourselves".
The move to Base happened quickly - a week following the viral Twitter thread, the team found out that potential copycat projects were looking to release on this upcoming chain. J had to move quickly, and so they did; "The second week of August, we already had a Base version - the same week as the Blockchain launched."
"For us, building products has always been about scaling two mountains and trying to build a bridge across. The first mountain is the technical mountain - understanding the core parts of crypto and the technology capacities. The second mountain is human nature - what we as human beings really want and seek? Being able to service human needs in a better way utilizing the latest capacities afforded by crypto is the pinnacle of what we're trying to achieve with ETHxy and product building in web3."
As J and the team soon realized - the game's timeline was only as good as the next person's ability to pay extra for the prior plot. With prices increasing at a double rate, this would inevitably bring the game to a standstill. To address this issue, EthXY introduced a token - welcome 🥁 $sexy!
"This was our first time launching a token, and we sought to have as fair launch as possible", comments J. There was no team allocation, and they had to mine along as anyone else. $sexy was distributed among the OG plot holders and could be used to buy factories, which in turn would create the sexy supply. You can check out the dedicated channel here: 🔥$SEXY
With initiatives like the Telegram game and introducing customizable pixel characters, the team continued to build in the coming months. Now, with an operating in-game currency that offered new avenues for game design.
J doesn't look like it (mostly because he didn't reveal his face on our call), but he says they're tired - "we’ve been full-time building, few hours of sleep". It was only in January that they decided to pursue a web app, shifting from Telegram due to time-out limits being reached more frequently (a good problem to have!).
The launch of Frames on Farcaster a few weeks ago in January (mentioned in my earlier newsletter) was another avenue to “Industrialize” things; “Builders are building experiences and shipping immediately to the community for testing”, shared J. It's “generating a flywheel of excitement while allowing you to test as you build on the go”.
Parting Thoughts
Congrats on making it thus far! I hope the story offers a window to some of the action taking place outside of our respective bubbles.
ETHxy's evolution from the ashes of eth.id to a flourishing ecosystem underscores the resilience and ingenuity inherent in the blockchain community. It's a story of transformation driven by a commitment to experimentation, community engagement, and a relentless pursuit of servicing human's basic need for connection and entertainment. "Our journey has been about learning, iterating, and most importantly, listening to our community," J emphasized, as he looks forward to unveiling more innovations.
To join as an early adopter of EthXY, you can explore the newly launched website here: https://ethxy.com
And as a Valentine's special... those that registered an EthXY character can claim an exclusive item for Valentine’s Day today using Farcaster Frames. Keep your eyes on @jethid announcements 👀
