What is Pixels Online, you may ask? Pixels Online is a 2nd generation crypto-gaming project centered around integration with existing NFT projects. The 5,000 unit genesis NFT mint, land plots, will drop January 26th, 2022, and features a novel play-to-whitelist mechanism.
In the play-to-whitelist model, users have to put skin in the game by playing the game. A bare-bones early access version of the game is currently live, and users can earn points by playing it. The top 2,000 leaderboard slots will receive whitelist access.
Pixels Online – Ultra Early Access Review
The game is playable here. On loading in, I got strong Stardew Valley vibes. At the moment there’s not a lot to do. The movement is incredibly clunky. Like, bad. Assuming you can navigate around the terrain with laggy controls, you can walk around, talk to villagers, and complete a few quests.
It took me probably 15 minutes to complete the available content. The team has an aggressive roadmap for new content, publicly available on their website. Their targets show intent to release around one feature a day for the next month or two. The team has completed a $2 million USD seed round, and is hiring developers.
Interface issues aside, the project does show some promise. Stardew Valley was wildly popular, and part of that appeal was the ability to go to an idyllic farm with your friends, grow some parsnips, and chill out. Owners of the farm plot NFT will be able to construct their own farm, and fulfill that agricultural escapism themselves.
What’s the fun if you can’t bring along your friends, though? Users will be able to let others into their land, and work the guests do will be split between the land owner and the worker. Exactly how this will work is up in the air, but the possibilities are endless. Start a cooperative commune. Rent out your land to sharecroppers. Sip tea as you survey your vast estates.
the NFT Metaverse?
The other aspect of the project that could be a moon or a flop is the NFT integration. Pixels Online brands itself as an NFT metaverse. If you own a supported NFT, you can import it and use its appearance in the game.
Will this be important to users? Who knows? The answer is probably yes. While many NFT holders are price speculators, we all have a few that we’re in for the art (tongue-in-cheek or not). Some projects, like Cryptopunks, can become entire online personas for their holder.
Wen Moon?
The project is still in pre-launch phase at the time of writing. Users can still whitelist, and mint the land plot NFTs on January 26th. The project is doing a few unique things (notably play-to-whitelist), and is executing the NFT integration concept capably so far.
The roadmap also indicates that a few other 2nd generation NFT features are coming down the pipeline. This includes a native token.
It is unknown at this time whether the project will be a free or paid mint. As always, do your own research, and ape responsibly. The author has no stake in, or ties to, the Pixels Online project.
