A new indie game, “Only Up,” has been taking video streaming platform Twitch by storm, with over 109,000 total viewers at its peak. Developed by SCKR Games, this 3D platform-hopping game is inspired by the classic “Jack and the Beanstalk” story and is filled with quirky elements, such as floating orange and avocado halves, and Shiba Inu dogs. Interestingly, the game also features a significant amount of artwork and logos from the notable NFT project, Goblintown.
Despite the extensive player base, reviews for “Only Up” on leading PC marketplace Steam are quite mixed, with criticisms focused on the game’s clumsy controls and awkward player physics. However, this “wonky” atmosphere is perhaps what makes the title so appealing to Twitch streamers, who have attracted tens of thousands of viewers with their engaging struggles through the game’s landscape.
Eagle-eyed viewers familiar with the Web3 world would notice the prominent Goblintown artwork plastered throughout the game. The character’s clothes even bear a Goblintown creature face on the back and a logo from the project on the front. Launched as a free mint in 2022, Goblintown is an Ethereum profile picture (PFP) project that generated a staggering $101 million in secondary trading volume, according to data from CryptoSlam.
Goblintown’s creator, Truth Labs, released the project under an open-source Creative Commons 0 (CC0) license. This allows anyone to use the artwork for commercial purposes, even without owning any of the NFTs. As such, it remains unclear whether there was any official collaboration between Truth Labs and SCKR Games in incorporating the Goblintown artwork within the game. Decrypt reached out to both parties for clarification but has not yet received a response.
The incorporation of Goblintown artwork into a highly popular game like “Only Up” raises questions regarding the future interactions between NFT projects, gaming, and the broader entertainment industry. As NFTs gain traction, more such crossovers between different creative fields may become commonplace, opening up new opportunities and challenges for creators, collectors, and users.
As “Only Up” continues to draw crowds and the Goblintown NFT project rides on the fame, it remains to be seen whether this collaboration model will gain momentum. What does the growing popularity of games like “Only Up” signify for the NFT market, and will other indie game developers follow suit by incorporating various NFT projects into their games? The future opportunities and potential pitfalls of mingling NFTs with gaming remain to be explored as we watch this space evolve.
Source: Decrypt
