Fantom Ecosystem Spotlight – Chunk NFT
One of the most fulfilling aspects of working at the Fantom Foundation is hearing stories of community members without prior programming or blockchain development experience who come to Fantom and succeed in building amazing projects.
Chunk NFT lead Myrmidon is a member of this group of incredible people. After minting voxel-based spaces in late 2021, Chunk has moved quickly to build out what is evolving into a premier blockchain game.
1. What is Chunk NFT?
Chunks are 64 handcrafted NFTs representing lands in a bigger world. Each is made of 64x64x64 voxels carefully placed to create a unique kingdom with diverse biomes.
They were minted through a bid2earn auction, and their owners will be rewarded in our next mint and upon game release.
2. What inspired Chunk NFT, and how did the project evolve?
I don’t consider myself an artist and don’t know how to draw. I chose to work with voxels as I had already worked with them in my personal projects ‒ and they look cool!
Chunk was initially planned as a simple, 2D collection available via pre-mint rather than mint or auction. When I tweeted that Chunk was moving to Fantom, things really started!
The Foundation retweeted it, and the project gained a lot of attention. From there, FTM D3gEn from SpiritSwap contacted me. We discussed Chunk, and he recommended working with Doublesharp and holding an auction rather than pre-mint.
As we began building, someone on our Discord suggested we hold a bid2earn rather than a classic auction. In this alternative model, bidders receive a “bribe,” or a percentage of the difference between their own and the incoming bid. As with regular auctions, the winner gets the Chunk. The idea clicked. Sharp developed it, and we launched it.
After the sell-out, someone suggested that Chunk could become more than just an NFT collection, that we could create a game and evolve the project… And well, that resonated. Why not go further?
It took some time to build something, but here we are with two recent releases: earlier this year, we launched V1 of Chunk 64, which lets anyone explore the 64 Chunks via their PC.
Also, we'll launch our RPG update within days - follow our Twitter to keep up to date! The game lets you fight monsters, grind levels, find gear, and cast spells!
Now, we’re working on smaller-scale projects involving tokenomics, GameFi, player rewards, and more to meet our end goal of developing this into a sustainable blockchain game.
3. What are the team members’ backgrounds?
Myrmidon: When I started Chunk, I was working as an apprentice engineer in continuous improvement ‒ no programming/coding/crypto background.
Now, I’m working on Chunk, my French YouTube Channel (on Crypto stuff, obviously!), and some smaller-scale projects to see how we can handle Chunk’s next challenges - Tokenomics, GameFi. Yeah, I can’t do “just” one thing!
DoubleSharp: Secret Shadow Coder - though he is well known in the Fantom community and has had a hand in supporting countless projects in the Fantom ecosystem.
4. How did you get into NFTs and the Metaverse?
It all started when a friend told me about DeFi in early 2021, and then I discovered NFTs.
The first collection that caught my attention was Hashmasks. I liked the way you could rename the NFT characters. At that time, I also began exploring the Evaverse.
5. What can you share about the Chunk NFT game and the upcoming Chunkies mint?
The upcoming Chunk Game will let you play as a Chunky ‒ not your NFT in this version. You’ll be able to run around the world and fight goblins, zombies, and cyclops while improving your character with equipment and skill points.
It takes about 20-30 minutes to finish it if you know exactly what you are doing, but it will take 1-2 hours for new players.
Our following mint will be the Chunkies: we will have 3,333 Chunkies with specific attributes.
These NFTs will display as preview videos on PaintSwap and NFTKey. When you visit your Chunkie’s page, you’ll see the character in 3D.
6. How did you learn about Fantom?
I decided to explore different blockchains, and Fantom was one of them.
I used SpiritSwap and SpookySwap a few weeks after they were created and then discovered the Fantom community on Twitter. The community and ecosystem are like no other; since then, I’ve been on Fantom.
7. Why did you decide to launch on Fantom?
Initially, I wanted to launch on Ethereum and make a simple collection using OpenSea. At that point, Chunk did not receive much interest, if any.
From there, I thought about what I saw on Fantom Twitter with different NFTs projects launching there… and the idea came naturally. Why not try to launch on Fantom?
8. How is your experience working on Fantom?
Insane! I would have had way more trouble launching on Ethereum, where it’s harder to get some help.
On Fantom, if you have a question or a problem, there’s always someone ready to help you!
9. What has the community response to Chunk NFT been like?
Great! We didn’t expect the auction to turn out so well. The beginning and the end were the most intense parts of it!
10. What’s coming up for Chunk NFT? Free alpha!
Again, we don’t want to launch a classic mint for the Chunkies. There will be a gimmick that will let you get a Chunky at a lower price. Everyone will be able to use it!
Though not immediately at release, some free Chunkies will also be hidden in the game through artifacts containing a code redeemable for a free mint.
11. Are you collaborating with any other Fantom projects?
Yes, we are! We have some partnerships with different NFTs / DeFi projects. We created some traits derived from their logo and art to include in our collection. They’ll also receive some Chunkies to distribute to their community.
12. How do you see the Metaverse evolving?
I don’t see it being a thing in the next 1-2 years.
Before moving to a Metaverse, I believe we will see many games come and go until builders figure out a working formula to build a true metaverse that players want to immerse themselves in.
I see the metaverse as an MMORPG more than something like Second Life. It needs to be fun for people to want to spend time there, and there need to be easy ways to onboard people onto crypto.
Better UX is also needed to make the experience seamless so that crypto is the back-end and not experienced as the front-end, as it often is now.
13. Is there anything about which we didn’t ask but you’d like to add?
Huge shoutouts to:
DoubleSharp: For helping Chunk with everything crypto. It would not have been the same without you!
FTM D3gEn: For ideas and recommendations! The land auction idea was a banger!
Slothtopia: For what they are building. Their work is insanely good and a pillar for metaverse tech!
Amante De Anime Cryptoniano: For your passion for creating & building!
Engage with Chunk NFT
