Meet the team behind Ancient Oasis

I have been chatting on and off to the team lead for this project since January and it was only up to this week we finally got a chance to talk this project also featured in my advent calendar this year and the piece they brought was amazing but all there NFTs do have a high value finish but don't listen to me have a look for yourself.

Hey man

Hi

How's things?

Doing well, finishing up the last few things for our Arctic Series release next week, how are you?

Cant complain busy busy as always . What brought you into the crypto world?

I remember when I first heard about bitcoin years ago as part of a design community (TheRoot42) - it seemed really interesting to me, because I had grown up using torrents and was always fascinated by the decentralized nature. Life got busy with school and work, so it took me a while to actually jump in, but when I did - wow! It was like discovering a whole new world; one that was challenging, yet rewarding. Although there have been some rough patches since then (which we can laugh at now), I've been following it ever since. Crypto has opened up my eyes to how you can use decentralization to create something powerful and meaningful - it has truly been such an exciting journey!

How did you discover NFTs?

It really began in the summer of 2021; I had been engrossed in the cryptocurrency craze, following all the news, but started to become disenchanted with the slow transaction times and high gas fees of Ethereum. It all felt out of reach. It wasn't until my boss introduced me to Funko Digital Pops and WAX that my interest was reinvigorated. I was impressed by the exciting opportunities WAX provided for blockchain transactions, allowing for near instant transfers at a low cost... and the added benefit of considerations for the environment. That's when I really discovered the value and benefits that NFTs could bring.

And did you have a project in mind when you discovered wax?

Discovering WAX was an eye-opening experience, allowing me to see how blockchain technology could be used for collectibles, vIRLs, tabletop games and other assets. I had always been annoyed with buying skins or completing in-game challenges without ever feeling like I could actually 'own' the digital items... and then getting tired of the game 3-months later only to find myself with an empty bank account, haha. My wife also became interested in the collectible aspect of Funko Digital and Graffiti Kings (and Queens), and had always been interested in fantasy stories and mermaids. One night we decided rather than just collecting, we should create our own world, one that we hadn't seen before, filled with Mermaids! We both bring different skills to the project and I loved her story telling, so we jumped in! She would say, it all started with Disney.

Lol of course it would be Disney I am one does guys who try to earn the skins and never use them lol . So what your project all about?

I'd love to share a little about the project. And I want to mention that we actually just did a big overhaul of our website and discord community to help streamline info and link to the packs, blends and resources you'll need for your adventure.

Ancient Oasis is a fantasy world filled with epic creatures and mythical mermaids, created on the WAX blockchain. Join the community and start your collection, then help balance the power of light and shadow for legendary rewards. In Phase 1, you’ll be able to upgrade your common creatures and stake your rare and epic creatures. This will earn you NOLA, our token, which you can use to take more expeditions and unlock exclusive items on the NOLA Shop. You’ll also have the chance to collect limited creatures through “collection rewards” earned by completing rare and epic sets. Look for a UI/UX redesign in early 2023. Phase 2 brings the action to the sea, with ships that can be loaded with up to three creatures based on their class. You’ll embark on Trade Routes throughout the world, facing fierce foes and earning epic rewards. The mix of creatures and class of your ship will determine your fate. Trade Routes will be the first form of Ownership and Governance introduced in the World. Launch target: 1st half of 2023. Phase 3 brings the battle card game to life, with a development preview coming mid-2023. Stay tuned for more information!

Right now, we're building an amazing community of supporters and Journeys & Trade Routes will kickstart the NOLA economy ahead of the game launch. I also want to share that a portion of all of our pack sales are donated to help Cleanup the Oceans as part of #TeamSeas . We thought this was a great cause to pair with the project and community!

What's is the NOLA economy?

NOLA is the primary token of Ancient Oasis and a healthy economy will be important for the project, game and community. The ability to stake and purchase items via the NOLA store has been a good introduction, but Journeys will have activity costs that will be shared with Trade Route Owners and and an Oasis improvement fund. Once these a running smoothly, we're looking to list on Alcor and Taco for swaps... many of the in-game acceleration tools will require NOLA, so it will make sense to make it easily accessible by swapping for WAX.

When did you officially launch the project?

We were in planning mode for Fall of 2021 and we officially launched the project in January of 2022. We were whitelisted with NeftyBlocks soon after and then Atomic Hub whitelisting was completed early Q2 2022.

What was the first NFT you launched?

Our first NFT was a Promo Launch with Octavia, the Octopus Queen. We wanted to introduce a few of our primary Leaders early on and where we were going with Mermaids being a key element. This was part of a multi-part blend for our Infinite Lives whitelisting.

How did the community react?

The community loved it - they've always been supportive of our Art and say that's one of the strengths of Ancient Oasis. We take a lot of pride in each Leader and Creature we release, and our first NFT was no exception... shoutout to our talented Art Director, WolfPackLove.

How many NFTs have you dropped since?

I had to look that one up, haha. We've dropped quite a lot between our upgrades and blends. We're at around 85 different NFTs, and almost 13,000 Mints.

Oh wow that is some amount . What is the process of creating them?

After numerous weeks of brainstorming, building story boards and sketch refining our art style, WolfPackLove's spectacular vision for a mermaid world eventually came to fruition. We were very fortunate to commission exceptionally talented digital artist Khairul Sukmanudin, who not only has done work with NeverRift TCG, Xander Games, and others, but he has also lent his creative expertise for parts of this endeavor. Joining forces with several other skilled artists from around the globe, each serves as an integral part of Mermaid's majestic journey--from creating enthralling Creatures to breathing life into a visually stunning world of animation. Most recently, we have added another dimension of captivating visual detail by experimenting with generative designs and paintovers that echo the fantasy vibe we are striving to craft. We're also working towards Unity development and bringing our amazing Mermaids and Creatures in to the Platform for our Battle Card Game Modes, targeted for later next year. It's definitely a process, and we're having a lot fun on the way, but it's all possible because we have a passionate team!

How many different programs you guys use for creation?

I think I've lost count, haha. We use all the usual suspects for design, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and After Effects. Our more exciting addition to the mix has been the iPad Pro with Procreate and other animation apps - it really changes the way you work. We're also experimenting with many different generative design and writing tools, which has accelerated our ideation process. With regards to minting, we primarily use NeftyBlocks since we're Level 3 and use BountyBloks drop and contest tools frequently. As a finishing touch, we invested in a NFT screen last year, and we test all of our NFTs before minting - our standards are high! I'm sure I'm forgetting a bunch that helps us with little things here and there... it's a creative machine.

What has been your favorite NFT to create?

Favorite Leader/Mermaid so far has been Victoria, the Flesh Eater. We have a lot of fun thinking how we can make our Mythical Creatures different than what people have seen before. My favorite creature as probably Tuca, Aviator of the Light

Oh wow the details in them is amazing . Is there room in your project for collabs?

We're open to collabs, though we have our focus in front of us right now. In the future, we'd love to bring another Project's character in as a Mythical Creature or bring some exclusive merch to the NOLA Shop. If other Projects are interested, reach out and lets jam. With our upcoming Journeys & Trade Routes, we are also thinking about integrating Partner projects in the loot system, though this piece is still in early planning.

Who would be your dream collab?

teamseas.org

It be great to do something directly with one of the social causes we're supporting. With each pack release we give a portion back to help cleanup the Oceans #TeamSeas. https://teamseas.org We'd also like to find a project with similar fantasy themes to do some cross-over in the future... any suggestions?

Have you looked at sea life trust there is so many?

We're only able to make a small impact now, but every dollar donated is a pound of trash from the great garbage patch. We'll definitely take a look at the one you suggested!

What is the long term plan for the project?

Our journey has just begun in the amazing mythical fantasy world we've been building. We are constantly enhancing our vibrant community, which is an integral part of any successful endeavor. Soon, we will be unveiling more creative Journeys & Trade Routes that will take us to the next level in our epic saga. Then, with the help of our talented game developers, we look forward to releasing what is sure to be an exciting battle game - one that could eventually bring together players from all corners of the globe in competitive tournaments that will test their creativity and skill. Get ready for an amazing ride!

What's been the best part of doing your project?

Creating something together as partners (IonicVoid & WolfPackLove) has been an amazing experience! We've had so much fun imagining what could be, bouncing ideas off each other to make something unique, and seeing our World come to life - basically the entire creative process. Watching the community be inspired has also been extremely rewarding; their enthusiasm and appreciation makes all the hard work completely worth it!

What's been the hardest part?

We've definitely learned a valuable lesson about not making mistakes on the Blockchain, haha. We were fortunate that we figured it out early on and discovered the TestNet, otherwise we would've ran into more costly issues! The Blockchain community has been incredibly helpful throughout our journey. We've seen people from all types of projects and organizations reaching out to lend a hand; it's honestly been heartwarming to see so many individuals coming together for a common cause. One of the most challenging aspects has been striving through unpredictable crypto markets; there're times where it seems like we're taking two steps back for every step forward. But that doesn't discourage us either; during periods of uncertainty, we keep going and find creative ways to overcome obstacles in order to progress further. It shows that despite these setbacks, our team can still build and create something meaningful without fail!

Have you brought many people into NFTs?

We’ve brought many of our friends and family into a space that they typically may not have experimented with. Unfortunately, the onboarding process is still a huge obstacle for a lot of users to even get started. It's definitely not what we want them to experience, and part of our mission is finding ways to make it more accessible and user-friendly.

What does your family think of the project?

They’re supportive and encouraging. They think the Art is great and our Son actually helps out with some of the animation, or gives us tips if it looks good and is cool from a Gen Z perspective.

Where can we keep up with the project?

Community - Best place to stay informed & stay ahead: https://discord.gg/ancientoasis

Website https://ancientoasis.world

Twitter https://twitter.com/AncientOasis

Where can we buy your NFTs?

https://neftyblocks.com/collection/ancientoasis…

https://wax.atomichub.io/market?collection_name=ancientoasis…

Or you can use our coin, NOLA at https://play.ancientoasis.world/shop

When is the next drop?

Early Q1 2023 - Journey Series

When is the next big update about the project?

Keep an eye out in the coming weeks

Is there anything you would like to leave us with?

We are grateful for the incredible support we have been getting from our amazing community at Ancient Oasis! It’s been a great source of encouragement and positivity, and we can’t thank you all enough. We invite your audience to come to be part of our journey, witness the growth of Ancient Oasis and experience firsthand what makes it so special. 2023 promises to be an exciting year, with some exceptional things in store, and we're just getting started...

We have an going competition check below

https://twitter.com/Crackers832/status/1605869186085003265?s=20&t=22Cfqj5fhQumcSaoYWt1iA