Giving Back and Shaping the Future

At Hangry Animals, we believe in giving back to the community and nurturing the next generation of creators. That’s why we’re thrilled to announce our latest initiative: live briefs and mentoring for students at the University of South Wales!

Our very own Andrew Minton, who was previously a lecturer in Animation at the university, will be leading this incredible opportunity over the next six months. Andy will be mentoring students on the Computer Animation course, offering them hands-on guidance as they prepare to step into the world of animation and gaming.

This is the second year we’ve run Live Briefs for students, following the success of our first round last year. The first Live Briefs produced some truly impressive results, which we were thrilled to highlight in our January 2024 community update. You can check out some of the fantastic work from those briefs here.

This year, Andy will be working with 3rd-year students, presenting them with two live briefs:

• One focuses on an Animation pipeline, giving students the chance to hone their animation skills and learn the ins and outs of industry processes.

• One focuses on a Gaming pipeline, bridging the gap between animation and gaming, showing students how animation plays a crucial role in game development.

Our commitment to providing students with these real-world experiences reflects our passion for showcasing new talent and giving them the tools they need to succeed. By engaging with these live briefs, students will have the opportunity to gain valuable skills, improve their craft, and potentially kickstart their careers with Hangry Animals and beyond.

At Hangry Animals, we also recognise how important it is to introduce students to the possibilities Web3 brings to the gaming and entertainment industry. Through this mentorship, we want to help them explore new revenue streams as indie creators by animating and modeling characters for audiences in ways that Web3 allows—such as tokenised ownership, NFT characters, and decentralised content. These are areas where emerging talent can thrive in ways never before possible.

This initiative is just one of the ways we’re committed to nurturing future talent and providing opportunities for employment and collaboration with Hangry Animals. We want to ensure that the next wave of creators understands the innovation happening in gaming and animation—and how Web3 can play a pivotal role in transforming their careers.

We’re incredibly excited to be part of this journey with the University of South Wales students and can’t wait to see the amazing work they create over the next six months.

Of course, no development sprint is without its challenges! This week was all about tackling time constraints and fixing an avalanche of bugs—just when we thought we had them under control, new ones appeared. It’s been a week of trial and error, but we’re making progress and moving forward! Fixing bugs is all part of the journey, and we’re committed to delivering the best gaming experience possible.

1. Unity Cancels Runtime Fees – Devs Breathe a Sigh of Relief
   After weeks of outcry from developers, Unity has officially canceled its controversial Runtime Fee proposal. It’s a big win for indies and large studios alike—no one wants to see their hard-earned cash eaten up by new fees. Here at Hangry, we’re thrilled that Unity is keeping their tools accessible for creators across the board. With their new plan for subscription models, indie developers can focus on what really matters—building cool stuff without the fear of hidden costs.

   

   And that’s not all! During the recent Unite 2024 event, Unity unveiled a stunning demo for Unity 6. The visuals left us floored at Hangry HQ! As developers who live and breathe this tech daily, we’re excited to see where Unity is headed, especially with its focus on streamlining version releases. Moving away from confusing versions like 2022.2.31f toward a more standardised release system will reduce the headaches we’ve all faced with compatibility and updates.
   
   The advances in Unity 6’s rendering capabilities, new lighting techniques, and improved physics engines will enable us to push the limits of Hangry Animals’ gameplay and immerse players in a world that looks as polished as it feels. As we continue to develop Hangry Animals, having access to cutting-edge tools without worrying about unexpected costs is crucial. Unity's ongoing commitment to supporting developers excites us to see how far we can take our game mechanics, Web3 integration, and cross-game assets.
   
   Unity may have dodged a bullet here, but it’s a reminder that listening to the community is always a wise move. It’s clear Unity is serious about supporting creators, and we’re ready to dive into what’s next!
   
   

2. Steam’s Latest Stance on Blockchain Games? A Step Back
   Valve is doubling down on its stance to restrict blockchain games on Steam. With Web3 gaining momentum, this decision leaves us feeling… well, a bit Hangry! While they’re missing out on some innovative titles, we’re keeping our eyes on platforms like Epic Games, who seem more open to blockchain integration. As Web3 pioneers ourselves, we think there’s a future where blockchain and gaming come together in harmony—here’s hoping Steam catches on soon.
   
   

3. Immutable’s New Move – Expanding NFT Gaming with zkEVM
   In a world where NFTs and gaming collide, Immutable has made headlines by launching its zkEVM chain to enhance NFT-based gameplay. This exciting tech promises lower gas fees and faster transactions, making Web3 gaming more accessible. At Hangry Animals, we’re pumped about this kind of innovation—it will help indie creators (like us!) thrive in the space. We love seeing barriers to entry being lowered, and this is a tasty move toward a more inclusive Web3 gaming future.

We've introduced a new way to win prizes in our Discord Community. Introducing the Hangry Games! A hunger games inspired BOT with an appetite to fight with food. It introduces a way for you, our important followers to earn FOOD tokens in preparation for an ERC20 launch.
We're trying our best to incorporate more engagement and value in our community, and mini Games are a great way to incentivise this. Hangry Games will reward 100,250 and 500 FOOD tokens to players each week, with an ultimate prize winner of 1000 FOOD items at the finale each week. We're also giving out extra XP for daily check ins through using !daily commanding our server. Come say hi, get ready for game testing and have a blast throwing food at your fav community member for a grin.

Let's keep the momentum going here! The Bull run is upon us, we can feel it! Help us spread the word and share your Hangry pride by liking and sharing [this tweet link] on socials! Let’s show everyone what the Hangry family is building!

Stay Hangry Fam!,

Team Hangry Animals