Otherside: Leading Metaverse Game Developed by Yuga Labs
The Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection has significantly influenced the NFT space, with individual NFTs now valued at a minimum of $50,000, leading the NFT market with over 1,000,000 ETH ($1.8B) in total transaction volume.
Floor price ~ 35 ETH
Yuga Labs, the company behind BAYC, has embarked on a monumental effort in the metaverse realm with Otherside.
Otherside was announced in March 2022, but sparse information from Yuga Labs has left many speculating about its direction. Given the project's scale and Yuga Labs' enigmatic style, this ambiguity is not surprising.
While some may view Otherside as merely an extension of the existing BAYC NFT ecosystem, it introduces entirely new narratives, imagery, and the application of NFTs for gameplay rewards.
Despite challenges and community criticism upon its launch, Otherside appears to persist and over time has demonstrated the effectiveness of Yuga Labs' direction, achieving many positive aspects.
Here's everything you need to know about Otherside:
What is Yuga Labs' Otherside Project?
Otherside World Metaverse
The Otherside project is an MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) linked to the BAYC ecosystem. The Otherside world is comprised of 100,000 NFT Lands known as Otherdeed, and those who hold Otherdeed are referred to as Voyagers.
NFT Otherdeeds can be converted into playable characters in the Otherside game, accommodating over 10,000 simultaneous players. Yuga Labs plans to develop Otherside as a metaverse to offer new and exciting user experiences.
Forces behind Otherside
While Yuga Labs is widely known as the organization behind the Otherside world, it has not acted alone. Otherside is considered a leading project in the web3 game world, and to steer this ship, Yuga Labs has partnered with prominent names such as Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Animoca Brands, Improbable, and ApeCoin DAO.
Animoca Brands is a leading venture capital firm focused on the web3 gaming market and other digital assets for many years. Animoca Brands currently stands behind The Sandbox metaverse project and made over 300 gaming blockchain investments in 2022.
Similar to Animoca Brands, Improbable is a UK-based metaverse technology company pioneering new ways to build value across interconnected virtual worlds and has joined the Otherside project. This means Animoca and Improbable are both co-creators and owners of Yuga Labs' Bored Ape-centric Otherside.
Additionally, along the development path of Otherside, several investors from the ApeCoin ecosystem have supported Yuga Labs. When the games are launched, they will also be integrated into the ApeCoin ecosystem, indicating ApeCoin DAO's involvement in operating and developing Otherside.
Events in Otherdeed
Since its launch, Yuga Labs has organized two trips into the Otherside metaverse world for Otherdeed holders:
The first trip took place on July 16, 2022, gathering 4,500 players simultaneously in a cramped 3D space, featuring realistic gameplay from motion effects to 3D audio communication.
The second trip occurred on March 25, 2023, with 7,200 players simultaneously in the Otherdeed world. Despite more participants compared to the first trip, the Otherside metaverse experience remained uninterrupted, providing an exceptionally smooth experience. The official version mentioned by Yuga Labs can accommodate 10,000 players simultaneously.
Otherdeed and Koda?
Understanding Otherdeed (NFT Land)
To understand how Otherside operates and to engage in gameplay, it's essential to first grasp Otherdeed.
Otherdeed is a collection of dynamic NFTs containing all the elements of the game. Each Otherdeed NFT comes with resources, and only 10% of Otherdeed NFTs contain Koda characters.
Otherdeed is divided into 5 tiers with decreasing supply as follows:
Tier-1: Infinite Expanse
Tier-2: Cosmic Dream
Tier-3: Rainbow Atmos
Tier-4: Chemical Goo
Tier-5: Biogenic Swamp
The Otherdeed collection has a total supply of 100,000 plots, where:
55,000 plots were publicly sold on April 30, 2022, as part of a collection
45,000 plots were given to those who hold Bored Ape YNFTs and employees and partners of Yuga Labs.
Instead of using NFT Lands in a static form like many other projects, Yuga Labs designed Otherdeeds as dynamic NFTs. This means these NFTs can change over time, such as splitting into multiple NFTs or altering internal factors based on project development. The true potential of Otherdeed can only be revealed over time, adding to the project's mystery.
Understanding Koda
To enhance the allure, Yuga Labs created the character Koda within the Otherdeed NFTs. Only 10,000 Kodas are randomly distributed among the 100,000 Otherdeed NFTs.
Koda characters in Otherdeed are divided into 3 types:
Regular Kodas: This category includes 6,860 Kodas, representing the majority of the collection and featuring various designs.
Weapon Kodas: Comprising 3,140 Kodas, including Mega Koda, these Weapon Kodas feature dynamic and powerful designs.
Mega-Koda: Among the 10,000 Kodas, there are 99 Mega-Kodas (higher in value than regular Kodas). Mega Kodas will have IDs from 9901-9999.
On April 6, 2023, Otherside announced the start of allowing holders to access the website to separate Kodas from Otherdeed (NFT land).
Following this announcement, there was a renaming of the NFT collections under Otherside:
Otherdeed Otherside: This was the original name of the Otherdeed NFT, which did not include Koda.
Otherdeed Expanded: The name of Otherdeed after Koda was separated.
Otherside Koda: The name of the Koda NFT collection.
Koda is a fictional character built by Yuga Labs, each Koda acting as a wandering entity in the Otherside metaverse world. They are said to have been created during the Big Bang explosion and resurrected from cosmic energy.
Koda has discovered life on Earth and observed the evolution of our species, awaiting the right moment to reveal itself. There is limited information about Koda, and no one knows exactly what they can achieve. Hence, Yuga Labs advises caution if encountering Kodas in the Otherside world.
Understanding Vessel, Kodamara
On March 27, 2023, Yuga Labs announced an extended game of Otherside called Legends of the Mara – a 2D strategy game based on the Otherdeed and Koda collections. To play Legends of the Mara, players will need at least one Otherdeed, one Koda, and potentially a novice Mara. Each Otherdeed holder can request a Vessel NFT.
Vessel can be seen as eggs hatching into Mara characters.
There will be 3 types of Mara with different functions:
Farmer: Collecting resources in the Otherdeed world.
Hunter: Protecting and combating threats to the Otherdeed world.
Enchanter: Providing support spells and bonuses.
During gameplay such as resource collection and battles, Mara will evolve into Kodamara. Along with Koda, Mara will be essential characters needed to unlock the true potential behind the Otherdeed plot you own.
Understanding Otherside Relics
The Otherside Relics collection represents a series of unique digital and physical items honoring achievements and collaboration within the Otherside universe.
Winged Helmet: A historical relic awarded exclusively to Team Glacia led by Jimmy Wong for winning their second trip on March 25, 2023. This accessory enhances your avatar uniquely, representing your achievements and strength.
Kodapendant: This special relic represents the intriguing intersection of fashion, entertainment, and web3, showcasing creative collaboration between Yuga and Gucci. Originally limited to 3,333 KodaPendants, they were not entirely sold out during the 24-hour sale, so there are currently 3,013 left. Each Kodapendant costs 450 APE, equivalent to $1,940, and is an NFT that pays homage to the origins of Otherside with a necklace shaped like a bottle containing a blue liquid that gave birth to Otherside.
Conclusion
Otherside is currently the most distinguished project in the market developed by Yuga Labs, recognized as a Midas king as each project it develops generates significant success. Looking at the technology Otherside possesses to develop the metaverse world, it is clear this project is currently a top contender in the market, surpassing 95% of other projects.
However, Otherside's drawback lies in its high entry cost, such as requiring at least 1 Otherdeed NFT (approximately 0.7 ETH) to enter the Otherside world and additional requirements like Koda (5.5 ETH), novice Mara, etc. For these reasons, Otherside is suitable only for players with relatively large capital and readiness to explore the novel aspects this project aims to achieve.
If you are looking to embark on a journey into Otherdeed, make sure to thoroughly research the attributes of NFT Otherdeed, Koda, etc., as they are crucial during gameplay. I also found a comprehensive tool for Otherside statistics here: https://www.otherside-wiki.xyz, where you can view complete attributes of NFT collections and select the NFT that best fits
