A note from Alex
CO-FOUNDER
2022 may be coming to a close, but best believe we’re finishing the year with a bang. This has been a year of unprecedented growth for our ecosystem, and during that time, we’ve been hard at work architecting the Futureverse and exciting new collections for FLUF World. We can’t wait to be able to give you all a sneak peek at what we’ve been working on over the coming weeks.
A key area we’ve been grinding away to improve on is our communications. We listened, we heard you all, and over the last few months, we’ve revised our marketing strategy, formed a close relationship with our community marketing council, reinstated our Carrot Club meetings, released the very first edition of our new podcast format, and held an AMA with our senior leadership team to keep you all up to speed on our latest movings and shakings. We appreciate the constructive feedback as we navigate our ongoing evolution, and thank all of you for contributing to our continued improvement as a business and community.
Looking on to 2023, we’re literally shaking for what the Year of the Rabbit has in store for us all. Our industry and business have matured, and next year, the development and launch of key utility and a fully-integrated meta experience under the Futureverse umbrella is where our sights are set.
We’ll be following this up with a special edition of Probably Nothing at the end of the month, so in the meantime, hop into Discord to join the festivities as we round off the year with some upcoming alpha!
Bunnies up,
Alex Smeele
A note from Jesse
CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER
Gods & Goblins
The Gods & Goblins team have been toiling away in Goblin Town, exploring thematic choices for the Horde. The focus has been on establishing the base of Goblin society, how the various factions work together, as well as getting the right balance between aesthetics and eventual functionality for all Species and Accessories. We've been busy testing DOT (our Dynamic Object Transformer) on the Goblin’s appearances and a range of wearable items, looking at the complexity of functional accessories and how they could work for other collections as well. The Horde is stirring as we approach the next stage of The Path: The Pledge. Get ready to turn away from the light.
Fluflets
Goblins aren’t the only new additions to FLUF World that need to look the part. We’ve been deep in the design process for Fluflets, working across a range of exciting traits assigned at mint and accessories available as wearables.
With customisation key to the Fluflet experience, we’re working to ensure there are plenty of options available to maximise personal expression and the fun of mixing, matching, and discovering new pieces you love. These will launch alongside our upcoming accessory packs containing limited edition items, wearables, and more.
Buzzies
Do you hear that soft hum over the horizon? That’s the Buzzies rapidly approaching!
After months of ‘Wen Buzzies?’ we’ve been ecstatic to share the first look into our most vibrant and unique collection yet! In case you haven’t been paying attention, Dr. Mati Atlas is currently conducting a research mission into the depths of the Third Kingdom in her quest to uncover the mysteries of the missing Buzzies.
So far Mati has taken us to the wild Wastelands, the mystical Crystal Falls, and the deadly ruins of Unit 177. We’ve shown glimpses of Buzzies that call those regions home through her sketches and can’t wait to unveil the Buzzies in their entirety.
Meanwhile, Mati will continue to explore the far reaches of the Third Kingdom, revealing some of the history and lore of these locations on her journey. While we’re pushing immersive boundaries with the Buzzie models and environments, sound design is adding a whole other dimension to this upcoming collection. These scenes are full of life, whether it’s the flora and fauna in the periphery, or the Buzzies themselves. The sound needs to capture this accurately.
We’re exploring a range of sound effects, deriving inspiration from film and tv references, many of which have inspired the diverse traits across the Buzzie species. The scale of the Buzzie is also key too. These aren’t your average bees…
Make sure you’re ready to greet them as we reveal the first family, the Desert Buzzies, in the coming weeks!
Party Bears Birthday!
Ain’t no party like a Party Bears party!
The Party Bears will be celebrating their first birthday on December 21st (delayed a few days from the actual birthday on the 17th to accommodate some other announcements), and you know they’re going to bring the house down.
We have an exciting day full of surprises, your favourite beats with some of the best DJs in The Third Kingdom, and a special podcast with the Sarge, Papa Bear & guests.
Don’t miss it!
Thingies Lucid Dreaming
The next phase of the Thingies’ Awakening has begun! Our latest update, Lucid Dreaming, enables you to apply one of seven art styles to your Thingies creations, significantly increasing the diversity within Thingies Art and the customisation available to you.
The Halloween art style that preceded this change was a great test and we really enjoyed seeing the community get so involved in producing new masterpieces with their Thingies. This is only the beginning of Thingies Awakening, and we’re pumped for you to see what else we have planned.
To celebrate the release of our Lucid Dreaming update, Brooke Howard-Smith, Alex Smeele, David McDonald, and special guests from Altered State Machine & Project Tempus got together to chat about the Thingies' journey to date. If you missed it, you can still view it below!
Christmas in The Third Kingdom
Grunch’s Christmas Crackers
'Tis the holiday season, and it seems we’re not the only ones getting into the spirit of Christmas.
This month, Grunch the Goblin took a liking to some gifts tucked away in Scrooge’s vault, and has hidden them away in a mystery wallet. The Rascal riddler has created a series of Christmas Cracker puzzles, each containing a word from a seed phrase that will help one lucky winner recover the stolen goods.
Put your deciphering skills to the test to be in to win.
Thingies Christmas Art
But it’s going to take more than a rogue goblin to rid FLUF World of the seasonal magic in the air. Our Thingies are feeling particularly festive, and you might soon see some incredible Christmas-themed art generated and altered via our recently updated Lucid Dreaming functionality. Stay tuned!
In-Play
As always, we’ve been heads down, tails up BUIDLing to finish the year. Here are a few of the projects our team is currently working on.
MNTGE
Founded by Nick Adler, Sean Wotherspoon, and Brennan Russo, MNTGE is a category-defining digital wearables brand built around vintage clothing, fashion and streetwear.
As friends and collaborators, we're excited to have partnered with MNTGE, diving deep into the design and exploration of wearable accessories with their team and their ability to span various body types and character collections.
Their upcoming mint for their MNTGE Passes will provide holders with priority access to future collections and community rewards.
Learn more about the collection and mint below.
Community Spotlight
Our Community Spotlight is where we share our favourite content created by the Fluffle.
Last month we challenged you to go forth and animate your Party Bears to show off their signature dance moves, and boy did you deliver. We were blown away by the quality and ingenuity of your animations. One, in particular, stood out to us, and that’s why December’s Community Spotlight is shining bright on @What’sUpDoc for this amazing animation of his bear dancing at the club. If you haven’t seen it yet, make sure you check it out!
Ecosystem News
Check out the latest developments among our ecosystem friends.
Altered State Machine Mining Cycle 03 begins on December 14. All ASTO-Energy generated over the last 60 days will then become available for use! ASTO-Energy will continue to generate as long as you remain staked. Future use-cases for ASTO-Energy are inevitable!
Invite your friends to compete against you in the AI League: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Edition from Altered State Machine! Up for grabs are epic prizes such as a gaming setup, business class flights, accommodation and spending money for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™in Sydney, Australia.
The Seekers naming and 3D files are LIVE! Now you can build an animation, add a backstory and unique name to you Seeker in the Underground. We want to get to know them! Where have they been? How did they get here?
Make sure you enter their 3D animation competition to be in to win some sweet prizes!
Security
We’ve discussed staying safe on Discord and social media, but what about keeping your wallet safe? We all know never to share our seed phrase with anyone or store it on our computer, but what else can we do to ensure our assets are safe in our wallets?
Here are our tips for keeping your assets safe and secure in your wallet of choice.
Generate your keys securely. The best way to ensure this is to use a newly reset, offline device.
Keep your browsing device, whether it be a phone, laptop, or desktop, free of malware and regularly updated with the latest security patches.
Use hot & cold wallets. A hot wallet is a desktop extension wallet such as MetaMask, while a cold wallet is an offline wallet like Ledger Nano X. Use your hot wallet for daily use and a cold wallet to store the bulk of your funds and assets.
Only buy hardware wallets directly from the manufacturer. Never buy from reseller sites like Amazon!
Be smart with your browsing and trading. Always triple-check wallet addresses and browser URLs before accepting any kind of transaction.
By following this advice you can feel confident you are keeping your assets safe in your wallet. There’s one important rule to remember - if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Meet the Team - Blake Holmes
Every month we will be interviewing one of the incredibly talented people we are proud to have on our team.
This month we sat down with none other than Blake Holmes, aka KAZUYA, Lord of Gobtown, Loremaster of the Seven Ecosystems, & Guardian of the Sacred Tomes of Copy, to discuss his role and his journey before joining our team.
What is your role at FLUF World?
Depends which day of the week it is! I’m fortunate to work across a range of projects and collections, assisting with brand strategy, copywriting, lore development, product ideation, and marketing.
What were you doing beforehand?
Before joining Non-Fungible Labs, I was working as a copywriter and brand strategist in the agency world, and as a freelancer. I fell down the rabbit hole shortly after the Fluf mint and became a full-time degen joining the team in October 2021, which in the Web3 world feels like a lifetime ago.
What is your favourite collection?
I’ll always be a Fluf Maxi at heart. To me, they’ll always evoke the nostalgia of my own personal experience discovering the collection, joining the Fluffle, then having the privilege of being able to join the team and work on a stream of exciting projects with incredible people over the last 13 months.
What project do you enjoy working on the most?
Buzzies and Gods & Goblins are collections I’ve been fortunate to work across from their inception, and seeing their evolution, from ideas and words on pages, to the incredible design work underway is truly inspiring. I can’t wait for the rollout of both, and the deep lore and world-building to come.
Final Thoughts
Let the festivities begin!
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing some exciting updates with you all. We can’t wait to hear your response to them. Hop into Discord to keep up with the latest, and be on the lookout for our special edition of Probably Nothing at the end of this month.
As always, we appreciate and value your feedback. If you’d like to share yours with us, please send any questions or suggestions to [email protected].
Bunnies up!