In the NFT community, we talk about mainstream NFT adoption as if it is a given. The truth is, it will only happen if and when we create products and experiences that improve everyday life.
Currently, the NFT experience is failing miserably to meet that criteria. Wake up, say GM, stake worthless NFT, earn worthless shitcoin, avoid dodgy links, get rugged, pay hundreds of dollars for the pleasure.
It isn’t fun. Even the so-called “blue-chip” projects are missing an element of fun. Getting airdropped a valuable token might spike a degen’s dopamine, but it isn’t the kind of experience that is likely to onboard a horde of new entrants to the web3 space.
littles is trying to change that. Its upcoming V2 launch will be a free mint, and will be accompanied by a fun and engaging 1-UP arcade gaming experience.
What is the littles 1-UP arcade?
Founded by Wil Lee, the littles launched its genesis collection in November 2021 and sold out within the first three minutes with more than 5,400 unique holders. It has since enjoyed more than 11k ETH in secondary volume.
With a guiding mission of becoming “the Mario of web3”, the littles project has three key pillars. One pillar is animation, which they are fulfilling by creating an animated children’s TV show with TIME Studios. The second pillar is through merchandise. The third is gaming.
Inspired by the pureness of his two-year old daughter’s joy and playfulness, Wil wants to replicate this feeling in the NFT world. He wants to create a positive and playful experience to prove that NFTs are not that intimidating. With the littles’ new 1-UP arcade experience, he could be doing just that.
Wil gave me a demo of the new game on a quick call. You can instantly recognize the game has been meticulously designed to be easy to access, understand, use and enjoy.
What is the littles V2 upcoming launch?
The littles are soon releasing their second collection – the little frens. It is a free mint, and is designed to be part of a positive and inviting experience for new joiners into web3.
Four ways the littles is making NFTs fun again
1. Fun for web3 newcomers: You access the game on a website. On the website you can enter an arcade, where you will have the option to play a variety of arcade games. You don’t need to download an app, wallet or software – you head to the website and you’re good to go. It is immediately accessible and removes any barriers to entry.
The choice of 1-UP arcade style is also a smart move. Firstly, casual arcade games are a proven crowd-pleaser. Secondly, they are relatively quick to develop, meaning the littles can continue adding new games to their website indefinitely.
2. Fun for NFT-natives: Each of the arcade games is dedicated to official partners of the littles. That means there is an arcade game dedicated to each of CyberKongz, Sup Ducks, Kaiju Kingz and Cool Cats. There are also Project GodJira and Mutant Ape arcade games in the works. This kind of cross-pollination means the littles arcade will automatically have a number of enthusiastic web3 communities excited to play on the games.
What’s more, this model can be easily scaled. The littles can partner with new and exciting projects to ensure it remains fresh and relevant in the web3 space.
3. It gently promotes NFT ownership: Anyone can play the game without an NFT. However, if you want to earn points and rewards (more on this later), you are going to need a littles NFT. A new entrant is therefore gently welcomed into the NFT space by clearly demonstrating the value of NFT ownership (FYI this should be the goal of all NFT projects).
To further reduce any objections to NFT ownership, the upcoming little frens collection is completely free. The minting experience itself is an in-game experience, all contributing to the goal of making this a fun and positive NFT experience for newcomers.
4. Rewards: Whoever you are, everyone loves rewards. If you have a littles NFT, you can earn points for playing the arcade games. The points can be exchanged for a variety of prizes. Again, the littles has designed their rewards to be attractive to both web3 noobs and NFT aficionados.
Prizes include a PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch. You can even use your points to redeem merch from the official partners (e.g. CyberKongz merch).
If the littles can pull this upcoming launch off without a hitch, it is a big statement of what they are capable of. The fact that they did this all in-house is a testament to the strength of the team.
Wil stressed that this was the first step of many, and there’s much more to come – including a multiplayer game which is already in pre-production. It certainly makes the littles a project to keep your eye on. At the very least, you could even use it to introduce your non-crypto friends to NFTs.
