Digital technologies have changed a lot about human interactions within the past decade. Today, people from different cultures can seamlessly exchange ideas, art, music and fashion through social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter. More importantly, the world has adopted a ‘remix culture’ where information is shared as ‘read and write’ meaning that users can engage with online content.
Following the emergence of the remix culture, people no longer have to rely on a single source of knowledge ‘professional’, which was previously the case in the ‘Read Only’ media culture. This has created room for the masses to share innovations, ultimately introducing a society that is driven by various cultures. Even better, the remix culture gives an opportunity for societies to evolve faster depending on new information and trends.
This culture is not only influencing social interactions but other sectors such as gaming where players leverage ‘personalized’ avatars to participate. That being said, the most recent intersection has been with Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the metaverse. Innovations within this niche made headlines in 2021, with stakeholders from the art and gaming industries taking a keen interest in the developments.
Remix Culture on the Crypto-verse
By definition, NFTs are indistinguishable blockchain-based assets; each NFT has unique on-chain metadata and underlying value. Meanwhile, the metaverse is a virtual world where people can replicate real-world activities. Though still in the experimental stages, NFTs and the metaverse have proven to be fundamental in building the futuristic era of society (people can now live, and exchange ideas and cultures within a digital world).
Popular for the play-to-earn (P2E) model, NFT-oriented games are gradually leveling up to integrate the ‘remix culture’. For instance, a Solana-based game dubbed MixMob combines several cultural aspects, including music, art, fashion, and movies to enhance user experience on the crypto-verse. This NFT-focused game is designed in a technological setting where a mysterious AI has deleted the inhabitants’ (MixMob) culture.
According to the gameplay, the goal is to retrieve the lost culture by joining the MixMob creative resistance force. Players can engage with this ecosystem through an NFT-built avatar that allows them to earn P2E rewards as they progress. The first phase is a Card Strategy Battle Racing Game that involves Racing (training mixbots), Mining (collecting NFTs) and Looting (hacking A-1). On the other hand, phase II features an MMO Fortnite-style game mode.
MixMob’s remix culture also allows players to pet mutable NFT collections whose composition and value keep changing as one advances within the game. With the platform set to launch an Alpha version of the Card Racing game, early entrants (Gen0 mask holders) will receive a portion of the MXM token airdrop. The project will further debut a staking program, enabling gamers on MixMob to generate a passive income from their digital collectibles.
As we can see, the remix culture is playing an integral role in the crypto-verse. While most of the focus is currently on NFT games, the metaverse at large will greatly benefit from this culture. In the future, people will be able to attend virtual events or meetings through a ‘culturally’ intelligent avatar that can evolve based on the digital environment. This will be a game-changer in virtual interactions following the paradigm shift to remote working and digital concerts.
Final Thoughts
Thanks to technological innovations, the world keeps changing by the day. Societies are no longer confined within a limited knowledge base, it has become possible to integrate some aspects of original ideas to form more advanced cultures or innovations.
In addition, Millennials and Gen Z are digital nomads, making it simpler for this upcoming generation to mix different cultures. That being the case, one cannot ignore the potential of the remix culture in enabling citizens of the future to game and live in the metaverse.
