Introducing NFT 2.0
NFTS are going mainstream. The popularity of games like NBA TopShot (>$230M in revenue) and the recent sale of artist Beeple’s digital collage “Everydays: The First 5000 Days” for $69M show the money currently flowing into the NFT space for art and other collectibles. But, these collectibles are just the beginning. These are NFT 1.0, and NFT 2.0 is already here.
NFT 1.0 is NFTs as the final product. NFT 2.0 is NFTs as a means of creating something else. Collectibles like NBA TopShot moments, digital art, or even NFT based playing card games like Gods Unchained are all NFT 1.0. The NFT is the final product. The first example of NFT 2.0 is NFTY Jigs. NFTY Jigs are unique building blocks for creating games and more. They were recently announced by Unbounded Enterprise, a blockchain infrastructure and gaming company. NFTY Jigs show how NFT 2.0 can make NFTs so much more than what they already are today.
NFT 1.0 vs NFT 2.0
NFTs are very new, and the difference between NFT 1.0 and NFT 2.0 is subtle. A few examples will help show the difference.
If NFT 1.0 is a painting, NFT 2.0 is a canvas.
If NFT 1.0 is a video game like Call of Duty, NFT 2.0 is a game console like PlayStation.
If NFT 1.0 is a card game like Gin Rummy, NFT 2.0 is a deck of bicycle cards.
NFT 1.0 can exist without NFT 2.0, but NFT 2.0 makes NFT 1.0 better. A painting doesn’t need a canvas — paintings can exist anywhere from caves to the streets of modern cities. A video game doesn’t need a standard gaming console — arcade games used to be their own game console. A card game doesn’t need to be based off of a standard deck — Uno has its own deck and has been very successful.
However, canvases help make paintings more valuable since they easily absorb color and make art more durable and transportable. A gaming console makes building games easier since it provides infrastructure and a built in audience. A deck of bicycle cards provides basic information, ranks and suits, which is a great foundation for creating card games that many people can access. Canvases, PlayStations, bicycle cards — these vary in their value relative to the products they facilitate, but they are each only valuable due to those products. They exist to help creators.
NFT 2.0 is the use of NFTs to create other things, including NFT 1.0. NFT 2.0 succeeds by making it easier to build successful products and applications than it would be without NFT 2.0. The best way to understand is to take a closer look at the first NFT 2.0 project, NFTY Jigs.
NFTY Jigs
NFTY Jigs are a set of unique building blocks for building games and other applications. Each NFTY Jig is an NFT that comes with a unique serial number. That’s it — just a serial number. The serial number is enough to establish all kinds of different meanings in different contexts, the way ranks and suits are enough for bicycle cards to unlock hundreds of games. More information would be worse. It’s hard to repurpose Magic Cards, for example, because their information is so specific to the context of Magic. NFTY Jigs have the minimum info to be unique, the ideal for flexibility and extensibility.
The purpose of NFTY Jigs is to be a platform on top of which other games and applications can be built. The NFTs are the platform. Just like a PlayStation is a platform for building games, NFTY Jigs are a platform for building games. A game created for NFTY Jigs requires that users have NFTY Jig NFTs in order to play, the same way a game created for PlayStation requires that users have a PlayStation to play.
The difference between NFTY Jigs and a PlayStation is that NFTY Jigs are designed for each user to have a unique starting point. No NFTY Jig is the same as any other because it has a unique serial number, and no collection of NFTY Jigs is the same as another collection. A game for PlayStation starts the same for every user. A game for NFTY Jigs starts differently for every user based on which NFTY Jigs the user owns.
Why would someone build a game for NFTY Jigs? Why not create the game through NFT 1.0 like Gods Unchained, a deck-building game where each card is its own NFT? It’s the same reason people create games for PlayStation. NFTY Jigs are a distribution channel. If NFTY Jigs are widely distributed like PlayStations, then game builders have a set of players readily available to start playing their game. If NFTY Jigs makes it easier to build certain games like PlayStation does, then creators can build more quickly with NFTY Jigs than without. NFTY Jigs serves games which require unique building blocks, the same way PlayStation serves games which require a controller with two joysticks and 8 buttons.
What games require unique building blocks? Tons! Deck-building games like Magic the Gathering are built on the assumption that every player has a unique set of cards. Avatar based games like World of Warcraft are built around the fact that each player has unique qualities and unique items. Games like Civilization or Farmville involve building a unique world. The ability to easily bring unique building blocks into a game unlocks a whole set of new possibilities.
NFT 2.0 turns something simple like a deck-building game into something amazing. Magic cards, Pokemon cards and other deck building games are like NFT 1.0 — they are all distinct, final products. This is unlike a PlayStation which can be used for all kinds of different games. If deck-building games were created with NFT 2.0, then one set of cards could be Magic cards, Pokemon cards, and 1000 other games all at once. If you are bored of one game, just switch the game and each of the cards you own will automatically switch to the new context. Each NFT works in every game, and can be something totally different in each game, all while still being a one-of-a-kind collectible.
The Future of Gaming is NFTs and NFTY Jigs
So far, we have just scratched the surface of NFT 2.0 and NFTY Jigs. NFTs and blockchain will transform the $100 billion video game industry and more. The ability to use digital property as a foundation for creating games and applications brings us a massive step closer to the metaverse, Neil Stephenson’s term to describe “a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical reality and physically persistent virtual space, including the sum of all virtual worlds, augmented reality, and the Internet.” To reserve your spot in the metaverse, check out nftyjigs.com and the NFTY Jigs presale beginning March 25, 2021 at 12 PM EST.
