We recently held an AMA session with Al Morris, the founder of Koii, and DKleine, the creator of Atomic Zombies – the first large-scale generative NFT project to explore the unique attention-rewards opportunities of Koii and Arweave.
Below is a written summary of our conversation, moderated by Sandeep Singh, Events Marketing Manager at Koii.
Welcome DKleine, please introduce yourself!
DKleine: Hey everybody, I’m thrilled to be here with you today. I come from a career as a full-time teacher, and am now an NFT artist and podcaster. While I still teach, I’ve become enamored with NFTs over the last couple of years and began creating my own NFTs about a year ago. I’ve always enjoyed drawing since I was a little kid and I still get a kick out of drawing silly things like zombies and laughing at my own drawings - it’s a lot of fun.
I’m really excited about my Atomic Zombie NFTs and I’m looking forward to this launch.
We’re excited to have you as well! Where do you see NFTs and digital art playing a role in the global artist/creator economy?
DKleine: I see NFTs being the mechanism by which people all over the world access previously unattainable wealth. I find it very appealing that we live in a time where anyone, anywhere who has the passion to create something has the opportunity to reach a global audience. And as a teacher, I hope I inspire my students to go after their passions and to not stop themselves with fear of failure, but instead to pursue their passions in a way that perhaps wouldn’t have been possible in the past.
Regarding my DKleining NFT concept, I love the dynamism enabled by Koii’s Atomic NFTs, versus static NFTs. I’m really interested in the potential applications of attention-based token rewards and the concept of rewarding owners with attention-based tokens for their zombies. From what I’ve seen in the past, NFTs are for the most part a fixed image or video that you can consume, but I really like the idea of NFTs changing over time depending upon the audience’s interactions with it.
For example, if you look at something like baseball cards, only a few exist in a particular condition, such as mint condition. But with the technology enabled by KOII, it’s possible to create NFTs that can change over time, perhaps breaking down or having elements added to them over time much like a baseball card might break down over time, with only a few existing in perfect or near mint condition while the rest would break down. This, to me, makes NFTs more physical in a sense.
Following the success of your first DKleining NFTs zombie series, what was the impetus behind this Atomic Zombies launch?
DKleine: After talking with Al, we came up with the idea of using my cartoon zombies in a unique way, whereby one could enjoy zombies that change depending upon its viewer reactions. I’ve enjoyed drawing zombies for a long time, but this adds an element of fun and interaction that wasn’t otherwise possible.
Also, zombies tie into the concepts of death and darkness, and I enjoy turning that into something that’s funny and visually appealing. I enjoy the irony of playing with something that should be kind of dark and sad – taking these themes and making them more amusing.
Al Morris: One of the best parts of this project has been seeing the way it has evolved. When we first started talking through the idea, Darren had a few concepts mapped out, but as we built out the NFTs themselves, it became apparent that there was an opportunity to make these more than just a 10k drop.
So, kudos to Darren for a seemingly infinite ability to imagine and create this world of zombies that you’ll all get to enjoy soon! Stay tuned for some fun surprises over the next few months (and years) as more features are released and these zombies continue to evolve.
We’ve heard from a number of artists that are concerned about which ecosystem to choose for their digital art and ownership. What made you choose Koii network?
DKleine: I find the attention-based economy of the Koii Network very intriguing. Most of my work is on Ethereum, but I have felt stuck in that network in some ways. However, with the ability to bridge between these two networks, I feel that there are more opportunities for creators and for consumers to enjoy NFTs in a more open environment.
In my opinion, the whole concept of the Koii Network being more open and more decentralized gets to the heart of what makes blockchain technology special. It is not a system that gatekeeps and contains users via a proprietary technology, but rather a portal that allows for users to move freely between blockchains. I feel this is the future of Web3.
We’re all together in this with you! Are you working on something else? What can we expect next?
DKleine: I will continue to add elements to this growing zombie horde. I’m looking forward to adding interesting attributes that can be unlocked in the future, whether it be in certain batches or perhaps tied to attention-based rewards. I also look forward to dropping some pleasant surprises for token holders — perhaps this will be in the form of custom zombies that get dropped to users or maybe it will be custom attributes that get airdropped to certain users. There are so many possibilities because these are dynamic NFTs. It gives me the freedom to continually enhance these creations in a way that just isn’t possible with traditional static NFTs.
I’m also creating works on KnownOrigin and OpenSea with different themes. I create images of beautiful feminine portraits and my Cube-Pop portraits, as well. While I love zombies, sometimes I need to take a break from themes of death and flip over to beauty.
Thanks for all the great answers DKleine! Now, a couple of quick questions for Al.
With Koii gaining traction among artists, creators, and influencers, how has the rise of popularity in NFTs influenced Koii? Also, what sets Koii apart from its competitors?
Al Morris: Our primary goal is and has always been to onboard as many people as possible to the decentralized future of the internet. The NFT community has been really receptive to our work with the Finnie Wallet, and it’s given us a chance to explore the benefits of building open-source tools and other efficient options for our community.
Ultimately, it’s becoming clear that this is the most important thing for the long-term value of the Koii Network. We are here to help all of you use Web3 and to make sure you get treated well in the process. The bridge we launched today will be the first of many, and as our cross chain IDs launch next month, hopefully many of you will have a new kind of decentralized experience which pays you just for participating!
Exciting! Will the KOII tokens that have been earned and NFTs that are currently uploaded in testnet be transferred to the mainnet?
Al Morris: Yes, of course! Everything on Koii right now has been designed to be forward-compatible. We would launch the token right now, but it will be better for everyone if we wait until the network is a little bit larger. In the meantime, we are actively working to give you as many ways to earn tokens as possible so our node operator community will have as many early adopters as possible.
So, the short answer is — get lots of tokens now so you’ll have some to stake once the node is available next month!
That’s great to hear! Speaking of which, what role does the KOII token play in Koii’s ecosystem?
Al Morris: The KOII token is designed to provide a cross-chain compatible and highly efficient medium for the exchange of value with middlemen. What this means in the short term is that you can use your tokens as collateral for any activity within the network (we call these Koii Tasks) and your node will be the hub for everything on that front.
We are also working on adding as many partners to this network as possible, so that in addition to registering your NFTs, using bridges, and other tools like Galleries and DIDs, we will soon be onboarding a wave of third-party providers who will offer a range of additional services.
With all of this flowing in, what should we expect in the coming weeks?
Al Morris: The next couple weeks will be jam-packed. We’ve got:
- Atomic Zombies
- Koii Cross-Chain IDs
- Koii Nodes
- Lots of hackathons and airdrops
Also, don’t forget that the zombies will continue to grow and evolve as they receive more attention over time, so if you check them every day, new things will appear!
There’s so much to look forward to! Moving on to community questions, @alterego087 wants to know more about DKLeine’s immediate plans and whether any new zombie collections are coming up.
DKleine: I pretty much create art every single day. Sometimes it’s zombies, sometimes it’s beautiful portraits, sometimes it’s something weird. I will continue working on the Atomic Zombies for the long-term. Whenever an idea pops into my head I might add an attribute or an attention-rewarding token that makes it more engaging for users.
What blockchains will these Atomic Zombies live on? Will they have girlfriends and children (i.e., Atomic Zombie subcollections)?
DKleine: Zombies are broken down by nature, but certain attention-based rewards may never be enjoyed if the zombie doesn’t get enough views. You have to pay attention to them to see certain unlockable attributes. Zombies can move freely between blockchains with bridges that are being built… For example, an ETH buyer can bridge their zombie to Koii and back again as they desire. More bridges to other blockchains are in the works!
Girlfriends and children? Hmm interesting… I’ll have to think about that possibility!
Al, @mmguru wants to know how many tokens they need to run a Koii Node.
Al Morris: Voting power is defined in our gradual consensus model as the time staked multiplied by the amount being staked. This means the more loyal you are, the higher your voting power. If you stake a small amount for longer, you can earn just as much as someone who stakes a lot, but for a shorter time.
Our goal is to reward reliable node operators, not just the ones who stake the most tokens. You can find more details here.
Last question for Al: @Likeme asks “Will our earned test tokens be swapped with 1000x in the mainnet?”
Al Morris: Yes! They will. Any tokens earned from attention rewards will be rewarded with an additional 1000x. This is intended to allow us to expand the supply while ensuring that none of our existing users’ holdings are diluted as a result.
However, the important thing to understand here is that it does not matter if you spend your tokens. We are basing the additional tokens you receive on the daily attention rewards, so you are free to spend your tokens in the meantime without it affecting the multiplier. Your additional tokens will be dropped to you before the mainnet goes live.
Great, a lot of folks in the Koii community are excited about that! With this, I’d like to conclude today’s AMA and thank our wonderful speakers DKleine and Al Morris, as well as our super great audiences for their wonderful questions and contributions. Don’t forget to check out the Atomic Zombie NFT Drop!
Atomic Zombies Bring NFTs Back to Life with Attention Rewards and Generative Characteristics