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Welcome back to MINDS AT PLAY. Join hundreds of tinkers, creatives, gamers and educators pioneering playful experiences on the open internet:
Courtesy of Dep web3 gaming ecosystem.
In our last edition, we discussed how AI is revolutionizing game design, especially as it relates to web3 game design. Today we will explore yet another tool that is shaping the way we create and engage with games. But first a short ode to play:
As someone who writes about and studies play, it may surprise you to know how little time I get to actually just enjoy play. In my mind, playing a game to then write about it, fits under the category of work — and that’s not because it isn’t fun but simply because it’s a means to an end. Pure play, at least to me, is the opposite; it is play with no objectives and for no purpose other than the joy of play itself. I think back to these words by , a longtime research professor who specializes in the study of play:
“OUR PLAYFULNESS is a most valuable aspect of our human nature (second, perhaps, only to our capacity for love and kindness). It is what makes life worthwhile. In children, it promotes the learning of essential human skills, and in all of us it promotes happiness, peacefulness, and cooperation. It is the engine of creativity and invention, and thus of cultural evolution.”
By the way, if you loved this quote then you will love his newsletter, Play Makes Us Human.
In my own words I will say this on play; play is crucial because it retains what is sacred in us. I think we are at risk of creating a world with many games, but little play. And that’s a terrible world to be in. There are political games, economic games, childish games, professional games, etc. All these games are serious to varying degrees and arguably necessary for the continuation of certain institutional systems. But for the most part, “serious games,” are inessential to human flourishing. I say this because in many ways, serious games are zero sum or finite games in that they incentivize competition and only one person or group can win at a time. Whereas, pure, organic play doesn’t discriminate. It rewards all who approach it with wonder. Play in and of itself fosters infinite games. So let us play, for the sake of play.
If you haven’t heard of the new social network Farcaster, I would highly encourage you to check it out. It’s a “sufficiently decentralized” social network that is a hybrid between Twitter and Reddit. Recently, Farcaster introduced a functionality called “Frames.” Frames allow users to create interactive media experiences, which has served as a catalyst for an explosion of new media. Take for instance, the creators of /cookies. They created a Frame that allowed users to order Girl Scout cookies using Frames and Coinbase commerce. Buyers in the U.S had their choice of Girl Scouts cookies shipped directly to their doorsteps, without using Fiat currency at any part of the process. And buyers outside of the U.S, though ineligible to receive actual cookies, received a NFT that grants them access to a token gated group chat which no doubt contains priceless alpha and network building opportunities.
I had the chance to interview one such Frames creator who is using this tool to create “onframe games.” Keep reading to hear all about how founder and creative @Deployer is using frames to connect with his community in a novel and genius way; this is a must read for all founders, creatives and community leaders looking to get ahead of the curve and create a part of history.
The Frame that started it all, courtesy of Deployer.
CYNTHIA: So how did you get started with your NFT project and how did you get inspired to use frames as a medium to market and share some core concepts for your project in a gamified way?
DEPLOYER: Synthia is the second collection in the Dep web3 gaming ecosystem. The idea stemmed from people's fears about AI. I wanted to create an experience that people could interact with and that's what I did with the Synthia terminal on the website.
I wanted people to explore and find new things and information about the Synthia universe as they explored and talked with Synthia through the terminal. The story is that Synthia, a beneveloent AI, saved humanity from the rogue AI Nethria and created a digital haven for humanity. There are various factions which are the on-chain characters that you mint through the terminal.
The terminal includes a text based Nethria game and when I saw Warpcast had launched frames I thought they would be perfect for a version of the Nethria game. I thought it would be a fun way to engage with the community and let them know about the Synthia project.
Synthia collection, courtesy of Deployer
CYNTHIA: As a early pioneer in the nascent (2 week old) field of frame games, how do you see this technology revolutionizing how creators connect with users ?
DEPLOYER: Frames are a really fun way to engage with your audience. There are constraints on the technology (4 buttons, static images, and an input field) which adds to the fun of creating frames because it requires creativity to design something within those constraints that can still be fun and engaging. Right now it's relatively easy to get exposure on Warpcast if you make a good frame experience which is really great for independent builders. I really hope the vibe stays that way.
CYNTHIA: Do you have any further plans to create more programmatic game-like experiences on Farcaster?
Dep Ecosystem logo.
DEPLOYER: I do have plans for future game experiences using Frames! One that I am really excited about is a game we are planning for Heroes, the first collection launched in the Dep ecosystem. This will tie into an alpha launch of the Heroes game, Merlin's Dungeons, and will have a mint mechanic as well. In addition to that I am thinking about other fun experiences to build with frames for a project called The LP which you can find out more about in the /lp channel on Warpcast.
CYNTHIA: Lastly, what does a "Open, Collaborative, Web3 Gaming and Media Ecosystem" mean to you?
DEPLOYER: The concept of an open collaborative ecosystem for me started with Cryptoadz and Loot, two NFT projects that were built in a way that anyone could use. Cryptoadz are the first project I know of that used the CC0 license as a selling point, meaning they are part of the public domain and anyone could use the art for anything. We implemented Cryptoadz into the Heroes game.
The concept of Loot was really interesting to me because it acted as an on-chain primitive of game items that people could build upon. I had done some experiments with open, on-chain data before so this made perfect sense to me. There's other projects like this too - one called Crypts and Caverns - which are dungeon layouts stored on Ethereum that anyone can use. We took these layouts and re-themed them for the Heroes universe and they are actually the levels that you play in the Heroes game.
The concepts to me are very inline with the concept of decentralization where people are able to build on top of a base system. When people are able to build on top of systems thats where creativity can really shine, as we have seen with frames. That is the idea behind the Dep ecosystem. Let's use these new, open technologies to build worlds and systems that are free for others to use or build on.
A special thank you to our MINDS AT PLAY audience for your continued readership and enthusiasm. Additionally, immense gratitude to @Deployer and for making this article possible.
Your support propels us forward, and we're excited to bring you more insights into the ever-evolving world of technology and play.
Thank you for being a part of MINDS AT PLAY!
— Cynthia (@cynbahati) ౨ৎ ⊹ ‧ ♱˚