1st June 2022
Meta Labs’ NFTs already exist in the metaverse. Their 3D NFT collection, called Jurassic Punks, also known as ‘JPunks’ – are walking and gaming in other Unreal Engine-based worlds and metaverses. Meta Labs has built relationships with companies like NetVrk, My Pet Hooligan, and Collider Craftworks. By collaborating with other Unreal Engine-based companies, Meta Labs can ensure their NFT prehistoric dinosaurs can function in other metaverses.
Jurassic Punks, or ‘JPunks’, are a 3D NFT dinosaur collection
Meta Labs’ JPunks collection sold out days after its release on the 24th of March, 2022. We sat down with the founders of Meta Labs, James Spillman and Kevin Docherty, to discuss how they made their JPunks 'metaverse ready’, the metaverse as a collaborative space, and the role of movement in the metaverse.
How have JPunks been designed for the metaverse?
“JPunks are ready to be plugged into any game, metaverse, or digital fashion show”
James: We made sure the look of our JPunks in Unreal Engine replicated the high quality renders our community uses for minting. Having been a part of the Unreal Fellowship, I knew we could create high-quality NFTs using Unreal. By combining our VFX skills with Xsens motion capture, we created an NFT that has real and instant applications in the metaverse.
Kevin: We did not want to be another 2D NFT company promising we’d get our NFTs in the metaverse. Our JPunks had to have interoperability – to test this, we partnered with NetVrk, a large metaverse in Unreal. We handed over a rigged file of our JPunks, and within days we could see them playing around in NetVrk.
What do collaboration and community mean to you in the metaverse?
James: In creating this collection, we were looking to bring people together. We did not want to be part of a lonely metaverse – that’s why we collaborated and learned from other companies, like Collider Craftworks and My Pet Hooligan, that have vibrant, empowered communities. We’re working on educating our community about file formats, including FPXs (a type of FlashPix Bitmap image file). We want to produce videos and show people how to develop their avatars. We want to keep the community building and learning.
Kevin: Fashion and music naturally came into our roadmap. We’re looking to work with brands to build their fashion lines and host digital fashion shows. We want the JPunk community to control their avatar and explore the metaverse with their JPunk. If a company like Rolex collaborates with us, we can have their items added to the fashion line and put it on our dino’s wrist.
How will you develop the Jurassic Punks metaverse?
Kevin: It was a conscious decision to build the JPunks metaverse out in modules and keep building as our community grows. We can build a metaverse that delights and intrigues our community. Say we have a fashion show, we could build a sponsored room that the JPunks could walk into that has all the fluffs and My Pet Hooligan. For me, that’s where the fun starts.
Can motion capture empower the metaverse?
James: Xsens motion capture technology helped us show our community the utility of the JPunks. We shared a snippet of the JPunks walking the catwalk, before minting, on social media, and thousands of people viewed that video. As we continue to grow, we want our JPunks to evolve. The Senior MarCom Manager at Movella, Remco Sikkema, shared the concept of Motion Print which is motion as another layer of identity that you can own. I think this concept could elevate our brand. Our community would love it if they could drop Snoop Dogg's movements onto their JPunks. I know I would love to see that.
Learn more about JPunks on their website, and hear more from James Spillman and Kevin Docherty on Linkedin. Click here to read how Xsens is working with others to create the Metaverse with Motion Capture.
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