This past weekend Yuga Labs, the owner of popular NFT collection Bored Ape Yacht Club, hosted the ‘Second Trip’ to its Otherside metaverse, with thousands of users taking part.
The maiden journey to the Otherside metaverse took place last July and Yuga Labs have sold over $1 billion worth of NFTs to digital land prospectors known in its ecosystem as Voyagers. So there was a good bit of hype ahead of this second voyage.
According to Otherside, some 7,200 users participated in the Second Trip and many more watched along on the official live stream. This compares to 4,500 for the First Trip, with refinements having been made to the 3D visuals and audio thanks to software partner Improbable.
Take a Walk on the Otherside
The Second Trip was an opportunity for Voyagers – holders of NFTs from supported projects – to explore the Otherside realm, complete challenges, and receive airdropped prizes. After joining from a web link, participants were divided into four groups led by influencers Jimmy Wong, Champ Medici, Brycent and Lowbellie.
After gathering in the game’s lobby Infinity Space, day-trippers were compelled to collect golden blobs for giant toads to win points for their squads – Jimmy Wong’s crew, Team Glacia, came in first and received Winged helmets as a reward. Later, voyagers were teleported into another mystic realm and given a tour by BAYC mascots Curtis and Blue.
Thanks to every one of the 7,200+ concurrent Voyagers who joined us for 2nd Trip, anyone who watched along on our official live stream, and @jfwong, @brycent_, @champmedici, and @lowbellie for leading their teams through the Trip. We hope you enjoyed your time in Otherside. pic.twitter.com/BOfKhnGPPg
— Othersidemeta (@OthersideMeta) March 25, 2023
Feedback has been rolling in for the experience.
VentureBeat writer Dean Takahashi, who participated in Second Trip, observed that it was “almost more like a virtual concert, a shared experience where you could marvel at how many people were there.”
He added: “We did busy-body tasks and sped around the environment. It was an accessible game where everybody got to contribute and it was akin to a kind of Subway Surfers experience in an open world… But it was a pretty amazing technical achievement, and it shows the kind of experiences that will come when the metaverse finally gets here.”
Ross Macdonald, CEO of web3 marketing company Focus Web3, said it was “a level up from the first trip” and commended “the smooth operation from my Mac mini M1” and the “special [sic] audio.”
Brent Bushnell, co-founder of LA-based experiential entertainment firm Two Bit Circus, was equally impressed, saying “Otherside might combine the organic landscape of Burning Man, the multiplayer collab of Warcraft, the questing richness of Breathe of the Wild, and the cross platform competition of Fortnite.”
Not all responses were positive, though. One user commented, “To be frank, I expected something better for the second trip. Yes it had us divided in 4 teams and gathering stuff, but after that many months, I think people expected more. A lot more.”
WTF is this thing?!?!?@OthersideMeta #Otherside2ndTrip pic.twitter.com/euSAtYTiFL
— pm0721 (@pm07211) March 25, 2023
Showcasing metaverse potential
One person who seemed satisfied with Second Trip was Improbable CEO Herman Narula, who stated his belief that Second Trip was the “highest ccu (concurrently connected users) event in one spot with real humans in any game ever.”
A virtual world developed as a massively multiplayer online game linked to the Bored Ape Yacht Club ecosystem, Otherside remains under development and big things are expected given Miami-based Yuga Labs’ mammoth $450 million raise last March.
One of the investors was doomed exchange platform FTX, which subsequently went up in smoke after evidence of dodgy dealings emerged. BAYC Co-founder Garga, meanwhile, assured the community that Yuga Labs does not have any funds on FTX.
Whatever one’s thoughts are on the Second Trip, it definitely showcases the possibilities of bringing a large number of users together in a virtual space, at the same time. Given the aforementioned raise, of course, backers will want more than a showcase as they seek a return on their investments.
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