NoPixel is the most fascinating virtual world on the internet.
NoPixel is a role-playing game in Grand Theft Auto. You have to apply to get in, and you must stay in character the whole time.
Here's how it works 👇
1/ First, you create your character. You customize your hair, your clothing, your accessories.
Then you fill out an application. You answer questions in character, like "You’ve found what looks like a random car in the street with a load of drugs inside. What do you do and why?”
2/ The goal of role-play is to create an immersive experience—basically to create a realistic, robust virtual world.
At all times in NoPixel, you must talk and act as your character.
3/ Like in the real world, players need to earn money in NoPixel.
Some people choose to be civilians. Others choose a life of crime.
You can make your money honestly, or you can rob a bank or plan a heist.
4/ If you choose civilian life, you can be a car salesman or a garbage truck driver or a bartender.
If you choose a life of crime, you can be a drug lord and run a meth lab. (Yes, this is an image of a meth lab in NoPixel.)
5/ There are real consequences for a life of crime. There's a police force run by real-life players who are out to arrest you.
6/ You may actually find yourself in court, pleading before a judge (who is also another player). And you might end up in jail.
7/ All players start with $5K and then have to earn money from there.
When you make money—whether through honest work or through crime—you can spend it. You can buy a new house or a flashy new car.
NoPixel has a robust digital economy.
8/ NoPixel also functions like a real society.
Everyone has to pay taxes. If you're unhappy with your tax rate, you can vote for a new Mayor with new policies.
9/ NoPixel is a tight-knit community. Recently, the streamer who played the character Misty Mocha died in real life from cancer.
Fellow players held an in-game funeral for her and grieved.
10/ A day in the NoPixel world can range from the mundane (getting a traffic ticket) to the thrilling (a high-speed car chase).
It's mostly a more exciting form of reality that lets you take on a digital persona of your choosing.
11/ As we spend more time online, we might all have digital personas to go alongside our real identities.
You might be a police officer in real life and a drug kingpin online.
You might be a teacher in the analog world, and a professional gambler in the digital world.
12/ NoPixel is a vibrant world with a robust digital economy. It lets people try on new identities and new lives.
It unlocks new levels of self-expression.
13/ To glimpse the future of the internet, look to gaming.
Soon, virtual worlds won't be just for gamers. Everyone will have a digital identity to go alongside their real one.
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During the pandemic, unemployment in the Philippines hit 40%.
Thousands of Filipinos without jobs—like Howard, pictured here—turned to blockchain-based online games as a way to make money.
Here's how it happened 👇
It started with Axie Infinity, a popular blockchain game with cartoonish creatures called Axies.
Axie is what’s called a play-to-earn game: if you win battles you earn a resource called Small Love Potion. You can exchange SLP for the cryptocurrency ETH & then convert to dollars.
This man used to drive a taxi, but he had no customers during COVID.
He started playing Axie and making up to ~$300 a month. For reference, minimum wage in the Philippines is about $170 per month.
The most important trend of our generation is the disaggregation of work.
In 2027, America will become a majority freelance economy for the first time.
👇
Young people today are skeptical of "traditional" career paths. Many watched their parents lose jobs during the 2008 financial crisis. Many lost their own jobs during the pandemic.
This skepticism is breeding a distrust of institutions and a backlash to centralized authority.
Millennials & Gen Zs don't want to "rent" time to a corporation or work within "the system".
They'd rather use their own hustle and savvy to dictate their own fortunes.