2021 | Before Xai: a blockchain-game studio in the garage

Market conditions at the beginning of 2021: BTC is consolidating around US$29,000, and ETH is around US$730. In a studio that is half garage and half office in San Francisco, several people from Ex Populus, founded by Tobias Batton, gathered around a whiteboard to discuss the core loop of an automatic card battle game - no one takes a day off on the first day of the new year.

BTC exceeded 30,000, and Twitter was full of celebrations; the studio group was talking about deck balance.

On the twelfth anniversary of the creation block, Ah Zhen retweeted a paragraph of the original text of the white paper with an "awe" emoticon.

Monday regular meeting: Final Form prototype determines the direction of "automatic battle", saves operations, and restructures.

With $1,000 on the ETH site, gas takes off simultaneously, and deploying a test contract is more expensive than a dinner.

The artist handed over the first draft of the cards, which had a darker style, and was approved by internal voting.

BTC is approaching 40,000, and the coffee shop owners downstairs are asking how to buy coins.

BTC surged to 41,900 and then fell back; Ah Zhen ran through the first version of the battle contract on the test network.

On Saturday, the studio opened a small Discord server, with a dozen or so first members, mostly friends of friends.

On Sunday, someone posted CryptoPunks on the server, but no one took it seriously.

BTC retraced more than 20% in a single day to around 30,000, and the group experienced the "bull market squat" for the first time.

Regular meeting question: Why do players need to install wallets? If no one can answer it, write it down on the whiteboard first.

Ah Zhen did an experiment: every step of a complete card battle was uploaded to the chain, and after running the test network, it cost dozens of dollars to switch to mainnet gas per game. The conference room was quiet for a few seconds, and someone said, "That player is still having fun." This number was later written on the first page of many documents.

Decision: Put the battle settlement off-chain first, and only put key assets on the chain. Lesson 1 in Compromise.

The new account posted its first tweet, with mediocre content and single-digit likes.

On Sunday, BTC fluctuated at 36,000; the artist worked overtime over the weekend to correct the frame.

A new column "Chain Problems" has been added to the whiteboard. The first one: Confirmation is too slow, interrupting the rhythm of the game.

The first version of the card values was released, and I planned to play fifty rounds with myself.

There is only one topic in the regular meeting: how to prevent cheating in random numbers for automatic battles.

BTC fell back by 31,000, and panic spread; no one in the studio looked up at the market.

A new person came to Discord, with a K in his ID. He claimed to be a veteran player of traditional games. His first sentence was: "Do I want to play your game even if you don't have a link?" The group was quiet for a long time. Later everyone called him the Night Watchman. This problem is more acute than that of many investors.

On Saturday, the Night Watch sent twenty card balancing suggestions to the group, and the planner silently took screenshots.

On Sunday, BTC was trading sideways at 32,000; the word LAMOverse appeared on the note for the first time.

Regular meeting: Pre-research on the idea of multiplayer PvP, tentatively codenamed LAMOverse.

A Zhen evaluates various public chains: Ethereum is expensive, sidechains are rough, and none of them are easy to use.

BTC bottomed below 30,000; someone in the group was cutting meat, and the night watchman said that he had just entered the market and did not panic.

DeFi mining pushed gas into triple digits gwei, and the test budget was exceeded again.

Musk added "#bitcoin" to his signature, and the price of BTC rose to 38,000; the entire network watched.

On Saturday, the aftermath of the GameStop war was still lingering, and retail investor sentiment spilled over into the currency circle.

End-of-month inventory: The code base is beginning to take shape, and there are five "chain issues" on the whiteboard.

February starts: BTC stabilizes at about $33,000, and ETH approaches a new high of 1,500. The studio’s goal for this month is written on the whiteboard: run through the first complete human-on-human battle of the Final Form combat prototype. The gas budget is listed on its own line, and the numbers are ugly.

ETH hit a record high of over 1,500; Ah Zhen smiled bitterly: The more expensive the chain, the less affordable the game is.

The card rarity system is finalized: four levels: common, rare, epic, and legendary.

The planner and the artist argued about a vertical painting all afternoon, and finally settled it by tossing a coin.

Friday internal trial night: The prototype of the automatic battle was played against humans for the first time, and bugs filled the screen.

On Saturday, the night watchman worked all night to help organize the trial feedback and sent a three-page document.

On Sunday, NBA Top Shot transactions hit the screen, and the signals of NFT’s exit became increasingly dense.

Tesla announced that it had purchased $1.5 billion in Bitcoin, and BTC surged to 44,000 in a single day. Someone in the office shouted, and then everything fell silent - everyone knew clearly: the entry of giants is someone else's story, and the story of a small studio must be written by oneself, line by line.

46,000 on the BTC site; instead of talking about coins at the regular meeting, we will talk about how to announce the probability of drawing cards.

Musk has been tweeting about Dogecoin in recent days, and the group has followed suit and discussed it; Night Watchman: Let’s wait until the game is ready.

On Lunar New Year's Eve, Chinese members paid New Year's greetings online; the test network ran another night of battles.

During the Spring Festival, the currency circle was full of calls for "New Year's market"; BTC was around 47,000.

On Saturday, the first version of the LAMOverse pre-research document: the direction of adding multiplayer brawls to the battle royale.

On Valentine's Day, I posted a sketch of the card couple's skin on Discord, and the response was surprisingly good.

Regular meeting: The wallet threshold issue was raised again, and the conclusion was still "no solution, just remember it first".

BTC broke through $50,000 for the first time; the coffee shop downstairs put up a "Bitcoin Accepted" sign.

A Zhen investigates side chain solutions such as Polygon: It is cheap, but the security and finality of the assets are questionable, and he himself is not at ease when players put their assets on them. The conclusion of the survey was only one sentence: "No chain is designed for games." This sentence later appeared on countless occasions.

The battle contract runs through the side chain and is ten times cheaper, but the confirmation time still interrupts the rhythm.

In the second period of Friday trial night, the number of crashes dropped from double digits to three.

On Saturday, BTC reached 57,000; the night watchman showed his holdings, but none was sold.

BTC hit a new high of 58,300; author's note: When the market is the most enthusiastic, the people who do things are the most silent.

BTC retraced more than 10% in a single day, and the leverage was wailing; the studio released the version, but no one watched the market.

The big correction continued, and ETH fell back to 1,400; the group panicked, and the night watchmen increased their positions.

Regular meeting: Final Form card assets are determined to be NFT, and issuance details are to be determined.

Art production capacity was tight, so we started interviewing a second painter.

On Friday, the prototype battle data was released: the winning rate of the first player was 62%, and the values ​​will be readjusted.

On Saturday, we planned a retreat to adjust the values; the group guessed the winning rate of the first player, and the night watchman guessed the most accurately.

End of the month: BTC fell back to 43,000; the prototype can run, and the seventh question on the whiteboard is listed.

March begins: BTC rebounds from pullback above 45,000, ETH back to 1,500. The popularity of NFT has increased visibly, with artists and celebrities queuing up to enter. The first serious discussion within the studio: On which chain should card NFT be issued? The answer remains blank.

The second version of the card has been put into closed beta testing, and the winning rate of first move has been reduced to 54%.

Some VCs take the initiative to send emails to chat; in the bull market, money is chasing projects.

Regular meetings set the tone: we can talk about financing, but the rhythm cannot be carried away by money.

On Friday trial night, the new values ​​were well received; Night Watch: finally felt like a game.

On Saturday, NFT avatar projects emerged one after another, and the group posted pictures every day.

On Sunday, Ah Zhen wrote an internal memo: What an ideal game chain should look like.

BTC hit 50,000 again; the regular meeting agenda was disrupted by a cooperation email from an NFT platform.

Discussing the possibility of celebrity IP co-branding, direction: sports heavyweights.

BTC is approaching 57,000; the testnet gas monthly bill is released, and finance frowns.

Beeple's NFT collage sold for $69 million at Christie's, and headlines around the world asked "What are NFTs?" Dozens of new people flooded into Discord overnight. The night watchman said in the group: "A picture can sell for 69 million, why can't game cards?" No one answered, but many people remembered it.

Inboxes are flooded with hot invitations to collaborate, and the response is always "see the product first."

BTC hit a new high of 61,700; the office was actually full of people on Saturday.

On Sunday, LAMOverse released its first concept image: neon wasteland style.

Regular meeting: resources are concentrated on Final Form, and LAMOverse maintains pre-research.

A new artist has been hired, and the card painting production capacity has doubled.

On St. Patrick's Day, the trial night will be changed to a green theme, and the card back will be temporarily changed to green.

Ah Zhen tested a new public chain: TPS is eye-catching, but the ecology is desolate, and it fails again.

On Friday, the first internal competition league kicked off, and the winner’s prize was a meal of sushi.

In the league final on Saturday, the planner lost to the customer service guy, and the numerical team reviewed the results overnight.

On Sunday, BTC fluctuated at 57,000; NFT artists and galleries were at odds with each other on Twitter.

Regular meeting: The first draft of the metadata standard for card NFT is completed.

During the celebrity IP brainstorming, someone wrote the words "Mike Tyson" on the whiteboard - a boxing legend, top traffic, and heard that his team is interested in NFT. After the meeting, we decided to try passing the call through an intermediary. No one knew how long that line would go, but the seeds were planted.

Tesla announced that Bitcoin can be used to buy cars, but BTC fell back by 52,000; the market did not understand.

BTC bottomed out at 51,000; the panic index in the group rose, and the studio issued a new patch.

Friday Trial Night: Added deck saving function, well received.

On Saturday, the Night Watch organized a community emoji contest, and the winning entry was used for many years.

On Sunday, Ah Zhen’s memo was updated: the game chain should be gas-free, confirm in seconds, and have a senseless wallet.

BTC returned to 57,000; Visa announced a pilot stable currency settlement, and the group was hotly discussed.

First quarter review meeting: the prototype meets the standards; second quarter goal: art pipeline plus NFT solution.

End of quarter: BTC closed above 58,000, doubling in the first quarter; there are nine whiteboard question lists.

April started: BTC was about $59,000, ETH stood at 1,900, and the market shouted "60,000 is just the starting point." What seems most like a joke on April Fool's Day is the real thing: a small team of about ten people wants to make an NFT card for a boxing champion, and also wants to solve the blockchain game infrastructure problem of the entire industry.

ETH breaks 2,000 for the first time; A-Zhen: The more valuable the chain is, the less players can afford to play it, which is ironic.

On Saturday, the number of Discord users exceeded 200, and the night watchman named himself "non-staff customer service".

On Easter Sunday, the group was quiet; Art secretly uploaded a bunny egg card.

Regular meeting: The Final Form art pipeline is finalized, and the output of a single card is reduced to three days.

Card NFT review: Ethereum mainnet issuance cost is ridiculously high, so put it on hold.

There was a response from the Tyson line: The other team is willing to take a look at the art and gameplay first.

All staff worked overtime to prepare presentation materials, and one coffee machine was scrapped.

On Friday, demo materials were sent out; demo night went on as usual, with no focus on winning or losing.

On Saturday, BTC reached the 60,000 mark repeatedly; the group started betting on whether it could break the previous high.

On Sunday, LAMOverse pre-research resumed and a mobile operation draft was released.

Regular meeting: If the Tyson line is negotiated, the NFT card series will be independently established and promoted in parallel.

BTC reached 63,000; the countdown to Coinbase’s listing flooded the screen.

Coinbase landed on Nasdaq, and BTC hit a record high of $64,800 on the same day. For the first time, the encryption industry has entered the living room of mainstream finance with a market value of hundreds of billions. The studio opened a bottle of sparkling wine - not to celebrate the currency price, but to celebrate "this industry looks like it will last a long time."

Tyson’s reply: If you are interested, make an appointment for a video conference. Low-key high fives in the office.

The video will be rehearsed three times; the demo machine will have a blue screen once and everyone will have a cardiac arrest.

On Saturday, Dogecoin skyrocketed, and retail investors went wild; night watchman: Don’t touch it, do something.

BTC flash crashed to 51,000, setting a record for liquidation; the group’s screen was filled with “gone overnight”.

The regular meeting remains as usual: the flash crash has nothing to do with us, and the materials for the Tyson meeting will be polished again.

In the first video meeting with Tyson Fang, the other party commented positively on the card art, and we will discuss the follow-up.

Post-meeting review: The IP party is most concerned about "where do players buy it?" - another wallet issue.

Ah Zhen researched the "player-less wallet" solution, and found that all existing solutions failed.

On Friday, BAYC started minting, and someone in the group bought a monkey for 0.08 ETH, which later became a legend.

On Saturday, BTC fell back by 49,000; the team building was hiking, but there was no signal at the top of the mountain and it was clean.

On Sunday, BTC bottomed at 47,000; Night Watch: The pullback is the breath of the bull market.

Regular meeting: During the mid-term inspection of the second quarter, the card production capacity is up to standard, but the chain plan is still unresolved.

BTC rebounded by 54,000; LAMOverse level editor released the first version demo.

The internal code name for Tyson's project was "Iron Pigeon", taken from his story of raising pigeons.

The trial night has been temporarily moved to Thursday, and a remote presentation to investors will be conducted on Friday.

End of the month: BTC closed at 57,000; the Tyson line is advancing, and financing contacts have begun to heat up.

The beginning of May: BTC is about 57,000, ETH is approaching 3,000, and NFT and Dogecoin have pushed market sentiment to a boil. The studio received its third term sheet. A line of small words was added to the whiteboard: "In a bull market, money is the least scarce thing, don't let it deform you."

On Sunday, ETH broke 3,000; Ah Zhen lamented: deploying one contract is enough to pay half a month’s salary.

Regular meeting: Financing negotiations are officially launched. The bottom line: only get money for understanding the game.

ETH is approaching 3,500; a batch of card NFT tests were minted, and gas consumed 30% of the budget.

The test draft of Iron Pigeon's art style was completed, and the direction of pigeon anthropomorphism was well received by the other party.

On Thursday trial night, newcomers tortured old players and the matching mechanism was put on the agenda.

On Friday, BTC reached 57,000; the "house selling stud" joke was popular in the group, and the night watchman poured cold water on it.

On Saturday, Musk appeared on a variety show, and Dogecoin surged and fell; a week of entertainment to death.

On Sunday, group friend statistics: Discord has 500 people, 30% of whom came because of NFT.

Regular meeting: LAMOverse will be suspended for two weeks to fully support the Iron Pigeon demo version.

ETH broke 4,000; author's note: Infrastructure is ridiculously expensive, but no one stops to build roads.

ETH surges to new all-time high of $4,370. On the same day, Musk announced that Tesla was suspending Bitcoin payments, citing energy consumption. The market did not react immediately, but the wind direction had quietly turned at high altitudes. The studio was adjusting the frame rate of the card animation today and knew nothing about the wind on the top of the mountain.

BTC fell below 50,000; for the first time, the words "Did you support it?" appeared in the group.

On Friday, the Iron Pigeon demo version passed the internal acceptance and was sent to Tyson.

On Saturday, the market was in turmoil; the night watchman said: "I only entered the market this year, why should I panic first?"

On Sunday, BTC was 44,000; planning a retreat to change the matching algorithm, but turned a deaf ear.

Regular meeting: market conditions deteriorate, the financing rhythm remains unchanged, and the product rhythm remains unchanged.

BTC 43,000 is weak; rumors about China’s tightening of regulations are rife.

Aftershocks: BTC fluctuated violently between 36,000 and 42,000; Discord lost dozens of people.

The domestic policy of eliminating mining was implemented, and the great migration of miners began; the community was in mourning.

Bitcoin Pizza Festival, order pizza for the office to celebrate the festival; the sense of ritual is more important in a falling market.

On Sunday, BTC tested 31,000 again; the night watchman posted the record of adding positions with the text "Faith Discount Day".

Consensus at regular meetings: A bear market may be a good time to build products.

Tyson feedback demo version: Positive, the cooperation framework is entering into detailed consultations.

BTC rebounded by 40,000; the group survived and talked about restoring card balance.

The new matching algorithm has been launched on the test server and is waiting for inspection on Friday.

The demo night resumed on Friday, and they reunited after the robbery; VCs took the opportunity to lower the price in financing, and the negotiations collapsed.

On Saturday, ETH returned to 2300; Ah Zhen: Gas is finally cheap, but it’s a pity that it’s cheap.

On Sunday, the group reviewed 5.19, and the night watchman said: "Those who didn't sell it raised their hands" - raised a row.

End of the month: BTC ended at 37,000, nearly halved in a single month; no one in the studio resigned.

The beginning of June: BTC is weakly consolidating at about $37,000, ETH is breathing near 2,600, and the wounds of 5·19 have not yet scabbed. Instead, the studio has entered the most focused month of the year - when the market is quiet, the sound of code seems louder. Iron Pigeon negotiations and financing are progressing in parallel.

The third version of the card has been numerically tested: the winning rate of first move is 51.8%, which is close to ideal.

Regular meeting: Another round of evaluation of technology selection for "low gas issuance" of card NFT.

On the trial night on Friday, two investors came to watch, and they were very happy to lose.

On Saturday, the Miami Bitcoin Conference was crowded with people; the group watched the live broadcast and complained.

On Sunday, BTC was 36,000; LAMOverse resumed development and added vehicle concepts.

Regular meeting: The number of cards in the Iron Pigeon series is initially determined, and the tiered release plan is discussed.

BTC bottomed out at 31,000, which is a frustrating weakness; the studio releases releases as usual.

El Salvador legislated Bitcoin as legal tender, a moment in history; the group was flooded with news.

A Zhen dismantled Ronin: Axie built its own side chain specifically for games, and the idea is exciting.

On Friday, there was an extra line under "Chain Problem" on the whiteboard: "Do you want to build one yourself?"

On Saturday, the group debated whether building a self-chain was delusional; Night Watchman: Make the game first.

On Sunday, Musk relaxed about the energy consumption issue, and BTC rebounded by 39,000; sentiment swayed with Twitter.

Regular meeting: The issue of self-building chain is recorded, conclusion: the time has not come yet, continue to pay attention.

The second batch of iron pigeon card samples was released, and the other party praised the pigeon's feather texture.

BTC rushed to 40,000 and lost it again; financial reminder: Based on the current money burn, the runway will be fourteen months.

The trial group has expanded its recruitment of community players, and the night watchman serves as the "community test captain".

On Friday, financing due diligence materials were submitted to both companies; the due diligence and trial period coincided with each other and were fought separately.

On Saturday, the group was deserted and had the flavor of a bear market; the live broadcast of art drawing cards made the popularity pick up.

It’s Father’s Day on Sunday, and I’m showing off my baby in the group; BTC is 35,000, and no one cares.

China has stepped up its efforts to decommission mines and has seen a massive migration of computing power; BTC is under pressure of 32,000.

BTC fell below 30,000 to 28,800, and "The bear is coming" flooded the screen; the night watchman silently decided to invest.

Internal discussion of extreme plans: If the bear market lasts for two years, how will the product line be arranged?

BTC repaired 34,000; the first version of the Iron Pigeon cooperation term sheet was received.

On Friday's demo night, a record number of 100 people were online at the same time, and the server held up.

On Saturday, a group of friends spontaneously built a deck strategy wiki, and the prototype was launched online.

On Sunday, Ah Zhen took a day off and was brought back to fix a matching bug.

Regular meeting: Review of the first half of the year - the product exceeded expectations and the chain side stood still, which is not a crime of war.

BTC 36,000; the prototype of the LAMOverse vehicle ran through, and a preview image was posted in the group.

The end of the first half of the year: BTC 35,000, nearly half of the high point during the year; a list of twelve whiteboard questions.

The beginning of July: BTC is trading sideways at about $34,000, ETH is at 2,200, and the bull market has entered the garbage time in the middle. But blockchain game created another wave of excitement - stories of Filipino players relying on Axie to make money to support their families began to fill the screen. What the studio smelled: games may be the door that brings ordinary people to the chain.

Axie’s income curve is as steep as a joke; the regular meeting was dedicated to discussing it for half an hour.

On Saturday, someone in the group posted about the gold gains from Axie, and Night Watchman wrote a long review after trying it out.

There was a holiday on Independence Day; there was no holiday on the chain, and the testnet ran all night long.

Regular meeting to study Axie revelation: it runs on the self-built Ronin, not mainnet.

Ah Zhen dismantled the Ronin architecture, and the title of the note: "The game requires a dedicated chain."

Negotiations on Iron Pigeon terms are advancing; card issuance platform selection has been started simultaneously.

BTC fluctuated at 33,000; a new viewing mode was added on the trial night, and friends of the host came to try it out.

On Friday, a VC entered into terms negotiations; the valuation talks lasted three hours.

On Saturday, Discord exceeded 800 people; the most common question among newcomers brought by Axie was "how to make money."

On Sunday, the author's note: When "playing" becomes "earning", is gaming the antidote or a fig leaf?

Regular meeting: Final Form insists on "fun first, then talk about chain" and writes it into the product constitution.

Rumors of Axie earning tens of millions of dollars in a single month are spreading; blockchain game summer officially begins.

VCs began to collectively pursue the blockchain game track, and the mailbox was filled with twelve letters of interest a day.

The fifth version of the card NFT issuance plan: mainnet is too expensive, the side chain is too rough, and it is still riding a wall.

On Friday trial night, two blockchain game colleagues came to visit and complained about gas until late at night.

On Saturday, the group's first "Cloud Card Design Competition" opened, and the night watchman served as the judge.

On Sunday, BTC dropped 32,000; the blockchain game sector was busy alone.

Regular meeting: LAMOverse positioning adjustment - lighter, more people, faster round.

BTC bottomed out at 29,300, testing 30,000 for the second time this year; the studio is changing the UI.

BTC rebounded; Musk confirmed at the "B Word" conference that Tesla did not sell coins.

The details of the Iron Pigeon contract are half finalized; legal fees are rising faster than art fees.

There were 150 people online on Friday trial night; the waiting time for matching was shortened to 20 seconds.

On Saturday, a group of friends crowdfunded to upgrade the server, but they were declined: the studio would pay for it.

On Sunday, BTC was 34,000; rumors that Amazon was hiring for crypto jobs sparked market expectations.

The BTC short squeeze reached 40,000; the group was lively and the studio was holding a review meeting.

Additional games in regular meetings: The scale of the card launch will be reduced, and the entire process will be completed first before increasing the volume.

A Zhen rated the mainstream second-tier networks one by one: they are still far away from "game-level experience".

On the public test preparation day, all staff stress-tested the server until early morning.

On Friday, the first community-wide public test was held, with a peak of 200 people online.

End of the month: BTC recovered 41,000; there were 200 public beta feedbacks, classified all night, with 70% positive reviews.

August started: BTC stood back at 41,000, ETH 2,500, and the market burned from the fire of Axie to the prairie fire of NFT. The studio is moving forward on two fronts: the Iron Pigeon contract is in its final tug-of-war, and the financing terms are being closed simultaneously. The owner of the coffee shop downstairs started asking about coins again - the pendulum of the cycle has returned.

Regular meeting: The theme of August is "Closing" - contracts, financing, and public testing are all combined.

The schedule for the second round of public beta has been finalized; orders for server expansion have been placed.

On the eve of the London upgrade, the group popularized EIP-1559, and Ah Zhen gave a small class.

Ethereum London upgrade is online, and EIP-1559 begins to destroy ETH. The group cheered that "gas is getting cheaper", but Ah Zhen poured cold water on it: the mechanism has changed, and it is still expensive. Sure enough, a wave of NFT casting that night pushed gas back to three digits. Infrastructure diseases cannot be cured by patching them.

The trial night on Friday overlapped with the second round of public beta, and the online peak was 300.

On Saturday, BTC rebounded by 44,000; NFT transaction volume was close to the May bull market.

On Sunday, BAYC’s floor price took off and hit the screen; the person who bought the monkey at 0.08 in the group became a celebrity.

Regular meeting: The public beta data was reviewed and 41% was retained the next day, exceeding expectations.

The theft of US$600 million from Poly Network shocked the entire industry; security classes were scheduled overnight.

The hackers began to return Poly assets, and the plot was magical; the security plan was followed.

All the main terms of the Iron Pigeon contract have been negotiated, leaving only the signing process.

On Friday, a revised version of the financing term sheet was received: the valuation gave way and the conditions were clear.

On Saturday, the crowd exceeded a thousand people; the night watchman posted a long article "Why am I guarding a game without token launch".

On Sunday, BTC was 47,000; NFT weekly transactions broke records, and fine arts were poached with high salaries.

Regular meeting: Use options to retain people; the artist stayed and said he wanted to see the cards go online with his own eyes.

The first internal trial of LAMOverse: a game of three minutes, chaotic and happy.

Three rounds of public beta were launched; the reporting system was launched, and two cheaters were caught on the first day.

Financing has entered the legal process, and we will see the outcome in the fall.

On Friday, BTC was 49,000; the guest on the trial night was a second-tier network engineer who was asked the blockchain game question.

On Saturday, the group met offline in San Francisco, and the vigilante attended remotely via video.

On Sunday, everything is NFT; author’s note: The tide is full of bubbles and full of boats.

Visa bought a CryptoPunk as a "collectible"; the institution stamped the NFT.

Internal tone setting: The public release of Iron Pigeon will be postponed to next year, and the quality will be polished first.

BTC fluctuated 48,000; final selection of card NFT technology: there are only two chains left as candidates.

Ah Zhen Stress Test Candidate Chain: Confirmation is delayed to minutes during peak periods, which is a headache.

Loot came out of nowhere, and a string of text sold for a sky-high price; the group discussed it until dawn.

On Saturday, Loot became extremely popular; planning: leaving blank space in gameplay is both art and metaphysics.

On Sunday, generative art broke out of the circle, and Art Blocks’ monthly sales set a record.

Regular meeting: In August, the three lines are closed and the two lines are completed - financing is waiting to be signed, and the contract is waiting to be signed.

End of the month: BTC closed at 47,000; NFT transactions hit a record in August; runway extension is in sight.

September starts: BTC is gaining momentum at 47,000, ETH is around 3,800, and NFT’s huge volume of transactions in August is still lingering. The studio has three things to do in the fall: signing Iron Pigeon, signing financing, and polishing the open beta into an official roadmap. The list of whiteboard questions stops at number 14: "Players are not supposed to know what gas is."

ETH is approaching 4,000; the roadmap for the official version of the card has been announced internally, targeting next year.

There are four rounds of open beta on Friday trial night; catching cheats has become a repertoire.

On Saturday, the Loot derivative project was popular in the group, and each person was a "literary archaeologist".

On Sunday, the Night's Watch held a poll for "Most Wanted Card Mechanic", with hundreds of people participating.

Regular meeting: Tyson agreed to sign a video contract this month, and the countdown began.

On the day when El Salvador's Bitcoin legal currency came into effect, BTC flash crashed from 52,000 to 43,000, a textbook scene of "good things are bad when they are implemented". The group was wailing, and the night watchman calmly said: "The country has entered the scene, why are you panicking?" The studio worked overtime that night, and no one was watching the market - the signing materials were important.

Aftershocks of flash crash, BTC 46,000 was repaired; final legal review of signing documents passed.

Iron Pigeon release strategy meeting: warm up on a small scale first, then release it publicly next year.

On Friday, the trial night was suspended once, and everyone was preparing for signings next week.

On Saturday, a group of friends spontaneously compiled version 1.0 of the "Final Form Newcomer's Guide".

On Sunday, BTC was trading sideways at 45,000; the artist worked overtime to catch up with the display card for the signing ceremony.

Regular meeting: Rehearsal of the signing process; three backup machines were prepared for this demonstration.

Ah Zhen fixed the last known crash of the demo version and delivered it before the deadline.

On the eve of the signing, the office lights were on until early morning; the night watchman was counting down in the group to set the rhythm.

A hangover-like day; a confidentiality order is issued: before the public release, Iron Pigeon is just a code name.

On Saturday, the group smelled that something big was going on; the night watchman took the lead and didn't ask, just said wait.

On Sunday, BTC fell back by 47,000; the Evergrande crisis spilled over, and macro clouds came over.

Evergrande's panic spread, and the US stock and currency markets all fell, with BTC 43,000; the regular meeting will continue as usual.

BTC bottomed out at 40,000; the financing signing process reached the final level.

The market breathed a sigh of relief as the Fed's interest rate meeting came to fruition; BTC rebounded by 43,000.

The first draft of the official version of the UI was unveiled, and the community received mixed reviews.

China announced a complete ban on cryptocurrency trading and mining, and the boots were completely lifted. BTC once reached 41,000. The domestic members in the group were silent for a long time, and the night watchman said: "The chain is still producing blocks." Every heavy blow this industry has received has finally become a footnote to the decentralized narrative.

On Saturday, the UI controversy continued, and a two-hour live broadcast was planned.

On Sunday, BTC 43,000 was repaired; LAMOverse new demo: one game was reduced to two and a half minutes.

Regular meeting: Review of the third quarter - Tie Ge has signed, financing is on the way, and the product is on track.

The final choice of card NFT has come down: issue it on the side chain first, retaining the ability to migrate; a helpless choice.

BTC is weak at 41,000; Ah Zhen’s memorandum has been updated again, and the “migration ability” has been bolded in three places.

End of the quarter: BTC ends at 44,000; partners, runway, and products are ready, all we need is the east wind.

The beginning of October: BTC surged above 48,000 in a single day, cheers for the "Golden Autumn Market" came online on time, and ETH returned to 3,300. The autumn of the studio has entered the harvest chapter: only the final signature and payment are left for financing. Finance changed the schedule from "Fourteen months" to "To be updated", and everyone pretended not to see it and was happy.

On Saturday, the group posted pictures of "Golden Autumn" memes; the night watchman: The cow is back, so we have to keep an eye on things.

On Sunday, the official version of the art resource inventory: it is still 40% short and will be scheduled until next year.

Facebook was down globally for six hours, and Twitter was flooded with "decentralization" for a whole day.

Internal discipline was reiterated: freeze all new expenses until the money is received.

BTC exceeded 55,000 in a single day; the group was excited and the studio was fixing bugs.

The first tripartite joint meeting of the Iron Pigeon project is scheduled to be released next year.

Friday Trial Night: The prototype of the qualifying match is online, and the Night Watchman rushes to third place in the closed beta rankings.

On Saturday, BTC was 54,000; the number of people in the group exceeded 1,500, and blockchain game newcomers accounted for half of it.

On Sunday, LAMOverse finalized the "light sports plus social" route.

Regular meeting: Ranking data is healthy; official version naming discussion, Final Form reserved.

The fifth round of card balancing: the usage rate of legendary cards is too high, so it will be cut. The community wailed.

Ah Zhen submitted a performance work order to the candidate side chain and responded with a schedule of "next quarter." Shake his head.

BTC 57,000; rumors of ETF approval are flying everywhere, and the market holds its breath.

The news of the release of Bitcoin futures ETF is confirmed, and BTC returns to 60,000.

On Saturday, Ah Zhen gave another small class on the differences between futures and spot ETFs in the group.

On Sunday, the card shaving patch was launched, the usage rate of legendary cards dropped, and the reputation reversed.

Regular meeting: The final financing documents are sent out today, and the countdown is measured in "days".

The first Bitcoin futures ETF was launched, with a turnover of nearly US$1 billion on the first day.

BTC hit an all-time high of 66,900; the office was as quiet as a library, working on versions.

The announcement of the first season of ranked matches has been released and will start on Friday. The prizes are limited physical cards.

The qualifying season starts on Friday; the financing counterparty signs back and only the payment is missing, no one dares to celebrate.

On Saturday, the bets in the group will be up to the date; the night watchman is the banker, and the bets are emoticons.

On Sunday, BTC turned back 61,000; the first batch of scene pictures of the official version of Art Sprint.

Regular meeting: The budget will be reviewed after the funds are received - 70% will be invested in products and 30% will be reserved for winter.

On the first day after financing, the stand-up meeting was as usual; the only change was the new coffee machine.

Facebook changed its name to Meta and went all-in on the Metaverse; the blockchain game circle valuation collectively took off.

On Friday, BTC reached 62,000; hot money from the "Metaverse Concept" poured in, and mailboxes were filled again.

On Saturday, the group debated the definition of the metaverse. There was no conclusion for three hours, but the happiness remained the same.

Halloween community card back painting contest; BTC at the end of the month was 61,000, a record high for the holiday.

The beginning of November: BTC is consolidating at a high of 61,000, ETH is about to reach a new high of 4,300, and the Metaverse market ignited by the name change of Meta is burning through every sector. For the first time, the studio has food for the winter in its account, and five positions are listed on the recruitment page. Write a new line on the whiteboard: Money can buy time, but it cannot buy a chain created for games.

Two hundred resumes were received on the first day of recruitment; in the bull market, talents are also chasing the track.

Regular meeting: Priority is given to replenishing engineers on the chain side; Ah Zhen will finally have a teammate.

ETH 4500 is around the corner; the second batch of card sidechains has been tested and minted, and the cost has reached the standard.

On Friday trial night, the first ranked season came to an end, and the champion was a college student.

On Saturday, during the championship exhibition match, the commentator was a night watchman with frequent quotes.

On Sunday, BTC was 63,000; author’s note: In the air at the top, everyone is a genius.

BTC 67,000 is approaching the previous high; the Sandbox plot sold for a sky-high price.

ENS airdrop flooded the screen, and everyone in the group checked their qualifications; the identity narrative on the chain heated up.

BTC reached a record high of $68,900, and ETH peaked at $4,878 at the same time. The double top was formed on the same day. No one knew at the time that this was the ceiling of this bull market. The studio is interviewing the third chain-side engineer today. The question is: "If you were asked to design a chain for the game, what would you cut?"

The interview questions at the regular meeting became memes, and the answers were all kinds of and all were recorded in the memo.

BTC fell back by 64,000; the three parties of Iron Pigeon jointly held the second meeting and the release schedule is locked for next year.

On Saturday, the crowd exceeded 2,000 people; all the newcomers asked "token launch?" and the unanimous reply was: playing games.

On Sunday, BTC reached 65,000; LAMOverse multi-person pressure test exceeded 100 people on the same screen.

Regular meeting: Finalize the sprint goal at the end of the year - the official version of vertical slicing will be completed within the year.

BTC fell below 60,000, and the correction began; the "bulls are gone" and "get on the train" quarreled in the group.

A new engineer on the chain side was hired, and Ah Zhen took him to read all the memos until midnight.

BTC 58,000; the vertical slice art of the card is frozen and enters the integration period.

The second season starts on Friday demo night; the naming of new ranks is subject to community voting.

On Saturday, a night watchman was elected as the first member of the community's "Hall of Fame," and the prize was a hand-drawn card.

On Sunday, BTC 59,000 was withdrawn; the Metaverse sector continued to party alone.

Regular meeting: Vertical slicing is more than half integrated; chain-side interaction delay is still the biggest shortcoming.

The Azhen team initiated an internal project: "Ideal Game Chain" technical specifications.

BTC 57,000; Dinner in advance on Thanksgiving Eve, turkey with code.

Thanksgiving: The Night Watchman thanks "a team that still makes games seriously without token launch".

Panic over the Omicron variant swept across global markets, with BTC falling more than 7% to 54,000 in a single day, and U.S. stocks plummeting on the same day. The cracks at the top of the bull market are getting tighter. Someone asked at the regular meeting whether to save more cash for the winter. The finance minister pointed to the budget: 30% had already been saved. stable.

On Saturday, the market was in shock; the vertical slice ran through completely for the first time, and there was cheer inside.

On Sunday, BTC 57,000 was repaired; plans were made to start writing a public beta plan for next year.

Regular meeting: slice acceptance is scheduled for mid-December; annual meeting is scheduled to be held in the tavern.

End of the month: BTC closed at 57,000, down from the beginning of the month; the studio bucked the market and expanded its staff to double digits.

The beginning of December: BTC 57,000, the shock intensified, and ETH was around 4,600. The market repeatedly jumped between the two narratives of "Christmas market" and "bull market peaking". The studio enters the year-end sprint: slicing acceptance, iron pigeon scheduling, and chain side specifications are carried out in parallel. The first rain of winter falls in San Francisco.

Slice up bug fix weeks; hang a counting board on the wall, counting down from 47.

On Friday, BTC 53,000 weakened; the trial night was as usual, and the ranking competition was fierce.

Flash crash in the early morning: BTC fell from 53,000 to 42,000, the entire network liquidated more than 2 billion US dollars, and the leveraged long positions were cleared overnight. On Saturday morning, the group chat was full of candles, and the night watchman sent a screenshot of his fixed investment: "In week 46, buy as usual." Discipline in a falling market is much rarer than courage in a bull market.

Sunday's aftershock consolidation; no one hurt in the studio - no one on leverage, house rule.

Regular meeting: Market conditions have nothing to do with scheduling; bug count board dropped to 31.

BTC rebounded by 51,000; first draft of chain-side specifications: gas-free, sub-second confirmation, non-sensory wallet.

Tie Ge’s release schedule for next year has been confirmed by three parties; Art has entered mass production.

The bug count board dropped to 19; the planner invited the whole group to drink milk tea.

On Friday, BTC was 48,000; the trial night ushered in the last version update of the year.

On Saturday, the annual card popularity vote was held, and the winner was a zero-cost minion.

On Sunday, the night watchman posted his annual long article "Watching at the Garage Door for a Year" and it was pinned to the top of the group.

Regular meeting: Slice acceptance drill; BTC 46,000, no one mentioned it.

The acceptance drill was passed; the formal acceptance was scheduled for the 16th, and everyone held their breath.

On the night of the Federal Reserve's interest rate meeting, the hawk's voice became stronger; BTC reversed at 49,000, indicating that a macro turn is imminent.

Vertical slicing was officially accepted! Open the champagne - a product-level milestone, worthy of it.

On Friday, BTC reached 46,000; the celebration was co-organized with the trial night, and the number exceeded 400 online.

On Saturday, the group asked about the date of the public beta next year, and the official account responded in a nonsensical manner.

It was a rainy Sunday; Ah Zhen wrote down the conjecture of "building a second layer on top of the second layer" in the specification book.

Regular meeting: Three major battles next year - public beta, Iron Pigeon release, and chain side conclusion.

BTC 49,000 repaired; preparations for the annual meeting, the card Mortal Kombat is in the program.

The chain side specification 1.0 is frozen, with a line of small words added under the title: "It will be useful one day."

Annual meeting: reserved venue in the tavern, exhibition games, awards, and video link speech by the night watchman.

On Christmas Eve, the group sent each other electronic greeting cards; the artist painted the back of the Christmas limited edition card overnight.

On Christmas, BTC is enjoying the holiday quietly around 50,000; the chain is producing blocks as usual, and the group is blowing water as usual.

On Sunday, the community's annual statistics: 2,300 people, and more than one million comments.

BTC 51,000; the annual review document was started, and the author was hired as an editor.

Annual review meeting: The list of whiteboard questions finally stopped at item 17.

BTC 47,000 fell back; Annual financial report: The runway is more than 20 months, and winter food is sufficient.

Clean up the office, take photos of the whiteboard, archive it and then erase it, leaving only one sentence unerased.