Wilder World: Welcome to the Future of Wetaverse w/ Hypno

The Ledger Podcast returns with Mo Sayed discussing Web3’s potential to onboard the next billion users, specifically from the gaming community. He highlights that while gamers generate significant value ($137 billion), they traditionally receive only entertainment. 

Blockchain technology, however, enables digital ownership, allowing users to become financial participants, owning and trading in the metaverse. 

Guest Hypno Wilder, co-founder of Wilder World, joins to discuss their metaverse and a new partnership with Ledger.

Key Highlights:

Wilder World’s Vision: A New Dimension of Photorealistic Reality

Hypno described Wilder World as a new dimension of reality, an immersive 5D metaverse built on Ethereum, Unreal Engine 5, and Xero. The goal is a fully decentralized community-owned virtual nation in a photorealistic metaverse.

Powered by the WILD token (launched on Polkastarter in May), the Wilder World Metaverse Market is a native NFT platform for buying and trading in-world assets. A key strategy is ensuring utility of NFTs, giving them activation in the metaverse or superpower.

Wyami, the first city, is a one-to-one geographical replica of Miami in a nearby alternative dimension. Described as a protopia akin to Ready Player One, it blends a futuristic vibe playing of 80s Miami as well as a bit of cyberpunk flare and a little touch of fantasy.

Industries, Play-to-Earn, and Community Focus

Wilder World is built around various industries that offer playable NFTs and experiences:

• Wilder Wheels: The first major industry features playable vehicles that you’ll be able to race inside (virtual) Miami. This includes a player vs player, play to earn micro-game called racing for pink slips, which Hypno described as GTA with real stakes on the line uh and a lot less violence. 
  • The vehicles are programmatically generated, with dynamic gameplay different attributes and inflationary and deflationary mechanics in the nft economy that enable you to modify and evolve your vehicles and gameplay.
• Wilder Kicks: The fashion industry, featuring a metaverse kicks campaign with unique utility and abilities.
• Wilder Cribs: The real estate industry, where NFTs represent virtual properties. Hypno shared a success story where community members who minted Cribs for 500 WILD later flipped them for 48 ETH less than 30 minutes later.

“Everything that we do is about building our community. We have something called the wilder spirit in which you either have it or you don’t”. – Hypno

Metaverse Progression: Industries First, Land Second

Wilder World is developing its metaverse iteratively, recognizing it as a continuous project. After launching the token, community, and market, the focus shifted to procedural drops and collaborating with 3D artists to build the game and metaverse levels.

Unlike other projects, Wilder World prioritized building industries and experiences first to cultivate culture and community from the ground up. An alpha game, Wilder Wheels, is in testing, with an open beta and open world planned for Miami (2021/2022 context). Hypno stressed their commitment to in-world utility and anticipating the convergence of DeFi, NFTs, DAOs, and VR within the metaverse.

Avatars, Interoperability, and Unreal Engine 5

Wilder World champions interoperability, aiming for a fully open web3 where users can integrate their existing 3D avatars, like Fluff and Bored Ape. 

They will also launch their own PFP projects, Wilder Pets and Pals, emphasizing collaboration and bridges. 

A key partnership with Illuvium involves Illuvium towers in Miami and a portal to their metaverse. Wilder World distinguishes itself using Unreal Engine 5, enabling photorealism and hyperrealism with more accurate lighting, immersive sound like better physics, attracting gamers accustomed to AAA games with high-quality experiences, aiming for a world where users want to hang around.

Game Economics, DAO Governance, and the Win-for-All Model

The WILD token serves as the DAO and governance token for Wilder World, fostering a community owned structure that rewards artists, collectors, and citizens. 

“The power of DAO (like that of the Wilder’s) is that we believe our project nation is (built on) this absolute equality and a system that allows a win for all models…we’re still so early in all of this”. – Hypno 

Beyond Gaming: Metaverse as a Universe and Mainstream Adoption

Hypno stated that while P2P play-to-earn is vital, Wilder World is building a decentralized metaverse, referencing Axie Infinity’s impact on minimum wage earners in the Philippines. Wilder World aims to attract mainstream audiences through partnerships with cultural icons. 

Hypno believes this year will see mainstream adoption of the metaverse, anticipating an “iPhone moment” with Apple’s headset release, which he feels will foster true connectedness through Web3.

Ledger & Wilder World: A Partnership for Gamified Education

A major announcement during the podcast was a partnership between Ledger and Wilder World focused on education, security, and freedom in the metaverse. 

The collaboration will involve building a Ledger Loft in Miami as a fun interactive place for education. Mo underscored Ledger’s shift to gamified educational initiatives and adopting a new way of doing education anchored in Web3 ethos, leveraging the power of hive minds and communities. 

This initiative will use Wilder World’s mechanisms to help people learn about security and self-custody. 

Key Insights on the Future:

Hypno Wilder

• Mainstream Metaverse Adoption: Hypno firmly anticipates an “iphone moment when metaverse adoption happens with the release of new headsets.
• Photorealism is Key: For mass adoption, especially for gamers used to AAA titles, hyperrealism and photorealism are paramount to creating an engaging virtual world.
• Interoperability and Collaboration: The future of Web3 is fully open and driven by interoperability, with projects collaborating to create wilder world with bridges rather than competing.
• New Industries and DAO Power: Hypno is excited about the industries that don’t exist yet that are going to come about through the metaverse. He sees the DAO model as enabling a win for all economy, offering absolute equality compared to traditional systems.
• Gamified Education: He believes education must be fun and interactive and gamified, emphasizing the power of communities to help us build the experience and leverage diverse talents and incentives in Web3.

Watch the full episode below:

Reading List

Learn more about these topics mentioned in the episode, or explore our library of articles on Crypto, Security, and Regulation on Ledger Academy

• Wilder World
• NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens)
• Metaverse