From: thepipeline_xyz
Sappy Seals and Play Ember Partner on Monad Testnet
Sappy Seals and Play Ember are partnering to bring a new gaming experience to the Monad Testnet [01:43:40]. The collaboration has been in the works for about six months [01:06:40]. This partnership stems from a meeting between Wob, founder of Sappy Seals, and John Hook, co-founder of Play Ember, at a gaming NFT Meetup [02:08:11]. Wob recognized Play Ember’s extensive experience in game development and their ability to scale products, reaching a large user base [02:41:00].
The collaboration aims to combine Play Ember’s game-building expertise with Sappy Seals’ “rabid community” [03:03:00]. The initial concept for their game, currently code-named “Sappy Quest,” is an RPG-style dungeon crawler [03:48:00].
Why Gaming and Crypto Integration?
Wob views gaming as a logical fit for blockchain technology because it involves digital economies and the exchange of tokenized assets on-chain [04:51:00]. He considers gaming a strong use case for crypto, noting past successes like Axie Infinity and activities in projects like Prime and Parallel [05:20:00]. For Sappy Seals, integrating their IP into gaming allows them to deliver scalable experiences that captivate people, offering a “slice of that experience” to a wider audience [06:12:00].
John Hook emphasizes that gaming is an obvious way to onboard casual users to blockchain-powered experiences [07:28:00]. He believes that while complex onchain gaming exists, there will also be a significant segment of “lighter touch experiences” for a more casual audience, similar to Web2 casual games [08:25:00]. Hook stresses the importance of great IP, like Sappy Seals, for players to download and enjoy a game, encouraging repeat engagement and exploration of related digital content [08:56:00].
Wob states that gaming gives people “something to do on chain that’s interesting” [11:00:00]. He argues that engagement with crypto games and IPs can lead users to further engagement with crypto as a whole, seeing it as less “bad” [11:15:00].
Challenges and Opportunities in Web3 Gaming
The current state of Web3 gaming faces challenges, primarily due to the perceived risk of crypto, which disincentivizes talented game developers [12:38:00]. Many early crypto games have been “not that good,” leading to a perception that crypto games suck [12:49:00]. However, this is seen as a phase of “natural growing pains” in the industry, which is expected to mature as the industry becomes less risky [12:56:00].
John Hook envisions a future where casual gamers engage with blockchain games, earning in-game currency that might lead them to explore other crypto communities related to art, music, or cars [14:02:00]. He advocates for cross-collaborations between gaming, community, and infrastructure projects to achieve this broader adoption [15:15:00].
The Role of NFTs in Gaming and Identity
NFTs are seen as crucial for creating unique digital identities and assets within blockchain ecosystems [31:55:00]. While initial excitement focused on art or capturing moments (like NBA Top Shot), the market shifted towards viewing NFTs as financial primitives for investment or token vesting [35:34:00].
However, the “death” of NFTs is contested. Wob points out the irony that many NFT critics still use NFT profile pictures [34:49:00]. He argues that while meme coins might die off once their momentum fades, NFTs, even in “dead” communities, often retain a “strange human psychology sort of attachment” and emotional feeling [33:01:00]. This psychological element, though not quantifiable on-chain, is considered very important [33:25:00].
The Importance of Culture and Community
For Sappy Seals, a key driver is the “culture piece” that defines why people care about an NFT or project [26:50:00]. This culture attracts “value add” individuals who can produce content or contribute in unique ways [27:07:00].
Wob describes this as creating something that attracts people who find it interesting, building an “aura” and a “collective of people” united behind a shared passion [27:30:00]. He likens being a “Seal Maxi” to being an “eth Maxi” or “Solana Maxi,” highlighting how these digital identities become intertwined with people’s lifestyles and online presence [27:57:00].
Blockquote:
“You spend every waking hour that you spend on Twitter or whatever, which is tends to be five plus hours for a lot of people on a day-to-day basis is a lot of time right spending it in the metaverse and that is your identity that’s your passport that’s who you are.” [28:06:00]
The value of an NFT or token is assigned by the “total network value” of its individual nodes and contributors [28:44:00]. It’s about how much “this dude is great at memes” or how valuable a “whale” who can “ape our floor” is to the collective [28:56:00]. The goal is to “increase the network value” by creating interesting things that attract more people [29:25:00].
John Hook attributes Sappy Seals’ success to its culture, memes, and creativity, noting a significant number of gamers within the community even before his partnership with Wob [16:10:00]. He also values working with brands that have a clear vision, like Sappy Seals, which makes collaborations easier [27:28:00].
Wob observes that Sappy Seals’ community has a natural affinity for gaming, partly because meme culture and online personas lend themselves to a “gamer persona” [19:37:00]. This has resulted in high retention rates for Sappy Seals in collaborations with other gaming projects, such as Nifty Island and Pirate Nation [21:20:00]. The community’s willingness to help “platform” strong builders and “bolster initial traction” is a core philosophy [20:33:00].
The Monad community is also seen as having the “right persona types”—creatives and experimental individuals—who will contribute to the chain’s traction post-launch through meme coins, NFTs, and general content [23:00:00]. The combination of Play Ember’s gaming community, Sappy Seals’ gaming and content-producing community, and Monad’s meme-driven community is expected to push beyond the crypto bubble [23:51:00].
The cultivation of the “right user persona” and understanding what experiences will “delight and excite them” is paramount [24:48:00]. This “deliberate curation of the community” is seen as a missing piece in many crypto gaming projects [25:33:00].
The Future Trajectory
The conversation suggests that the future of Web3 innovation, particularly in gaming, will look “so much different” from traditional Web2 models [44:35:00]. It won’t be “Call of Duty with coins,” but a “completely different thing that no one’s ever seen before” [46:27:00]. This is aligned with the concept of “skamorphic” design, where new technology is retrofitted to look like older models, hindering true innovation [45:55:00].
The ability to build brands “hand in hand” with the community, allowing them to “freestyle and create stuff,” is a unique and enjoyable aspect of Web3 development [49:04:00]. This grassroots approach means authenticity cannot be faked with just money, creating a “death wall” for products that lack genuine community belief [50:38:00]. Authenticity is deemed the “most valuable currency” in a world saturated with attention-grabbing content [51:37:00].
While the “Giga level of speculation” for NFTs (e.g., $500,000 profile pictures) may not return due to dispersed attention and liquidity, the market can be reinvigorated through unique innovations that give “something to the world that’s unique” [54:50:00]. Wob believes that people need to focus on what matters and create new things to push the market forward and bring back attention [55:17:00].
Callout:
Final Alpha: Life Advice
Wob: “You have the power to pretty much achieve anything if you just put your mind to it and you have agency and and put in the work and there’s nothing that isn’t reachable if you put in the work and actually like try your best to achieve that and the only thing you know stopping you from achieving that is you know the the the mental side.” [57:34:00]
John Hook: “Conviction… if you don’t have any conviction in yourself like you’re your team like you’re just not going to go anywhere right you’re just going to you’re just going to flip-flop… have that core conviction in in your product that you’re You’re Building otherwise you just drive yourself mad.” [58:35:00]