Today we’re excited to announce a major new partnership with Metaversal, Clubhouse Pictures, and their joint Omega RUNNER project.
The first result of the partnership is that the RUNNER project has integrated the Darkblock Protocol for decentralized unlockable content as a way to engage with their community and reward holders of its initial NFT collection.
The Omega RUNNER team includes veterans of Hollywood and the comic book industry and is dedicated to reimagining how the world tells stories. They are building a web3 media franchise based in a world known as Omega, where it’s not the strongest who survive—it’s the fastest. The project released a comic book last year that introduces the world of Omega and sold out its initial NFT collection, which was limited to 1,000 tokens. Holders received a physical copy of the comic, but the team was looking for an innovative way to also deliver the digital comic to their holders.
That’s when they heard about Darkblock… The RUNNER team immediately saw not just how Darkblock would enable them to deliver the comic book in a web3-native way, but also the game-changing potential for how they could leverage decentralized unlockable content to tell more engaging and interactive stories, engage their community in co-creating the Omega world, and explore new monetization opportunities like giving holders the ability to rent access to the unlockable content.
By integrating Darkblock, the RUNNER team has created a Comic Vault on its website where its NFT holders can connect their wallet and unlock the digital comic book to read without leaving the website. What’s happening under the hood is that via the Darkblock Protocol, the RUNNER team was able to encrypt the comic book, which was then permanently stored on Arweave and immutably attached to each NFT in the collection. Because Darkblock permanently stores content in a decentralized way, holders have forever-access to the comic book without the risk of losing access to it—a risk that’s inherent with existing, centralized token-gating options for providing exclusive access to content.
The nice thing about a decentralized protocol like Darkblock is that these NFT collectors can access the comic book on any other platform, marketplace, native app, wallet or website that integrates the protocol. While that’s not an extensive list at the moment, we are confident that as more high-profile projects like Omega RUNNER integrate the Darkblock Protocol, more platforms will see the benefit in integrating with us and we will become an integral piece of the web3 tech stack.
Below is the announcement from Metaversal, which is a web3 venture studio leading the project. If you have an NFT project and see the value in integrating decentralized unlockable content as a way to reward holders or explore new monetization opportunities, don’t hesitate to reach out at info@darkblock.io or join our Discord.
Metaversal integrates Darkblock to power unlockables for its Omega RUNNER franchise
Omega RUNNER opens the door to a new era of interactive entertainment, driven by unlockable content pathways that immerse fans in the canon and empower fans to contribute to the lore with their own unique storylines.
NEW YORK, NY – Omega RUNNER, the franchise from Clubhouse Pictures (Kate, Birds of Prey) and venture studio Metaversal, launches its new Comic Vault, a token-gated portal to the Omega RUNNER comic universe that will evolve into a new layer of interactive entertainment.
The integration is the first touchpoint enabled by Darkblock, an encryption protocol that enables anyone to lock multimedia content, metaverse assets or other digital goods inside NFTs so that the assets are only accessible to owners of those specific NFTs. For instance, holders of an NFT with a trait based on a specific storyline could access an entirely different backstory than someone with a different NFT.
“We call it decentralized unlockable content, but what we offer is essentially a web3-native way to token gate any type of digital asset,” says Darkblock CEO Chris Seline. “These RUNNER comics — and any additional multimedia content the team (or fans) add in the future — will be immutably attached to these First Edition NFTs. Holders will be able to unlock and read this content on any marketplace, wallet or website that integrates the Darkblock Protocol.”
Future iterations of the Darkblock Protocol will allow NFT owners to create their own lore—whether in the form of written stories, videos and animations, or audio—and encrypt and immutably attach them to their individual character NFTs. By layering that lore into their character NFTs, they can not only contribute creatively to the project but add value to their NFT, which can eventually be rented to others who want to dive deeper.
And, thanks to blockchain functionality, these storylines can be embedded immutably within the backstory of individual character NFTs — potentially as their own unlockables that individuals create as part of their contribution to the lore.
“Fans have always been the lifeblood of Hollywood,” says Blaise Hemingway, writer of the RUNNER comic series. “With these types of tools, storytellers can now encourage fans to pen backstories that could become part of the official canon. That process from lore to canon is one of the most exciting aspects of unlockables, as it gives us new pathways to co-creation with our fans.”
As Omega RUNNER helps drive this evolution of interactive entertainment with NFTs and unlockable content, Darkblock will also provide new monetization models that benefit both the project and the community. These models include enabling community members to rent access to their NFT’s multimedia content, including any character backstories they might write or record, or potentially even creating entirely new experiences based on specific facets of a story.
“These versatile digital content controls allow project creators to provide more interactive experiences to their communities and choose the best content distribution and monetization models that work for them,” says Darkblock CEO Chris Seline.
With control over distribution and storytelling mechanics, creators can transform themselves into a niche Netflix of sorts. They distribute their own content that goes deep into a specific storyline, with a variety of different content types and experiences for fans to enjoy.
“We’re excited to build the next wave of Hollywood-style storytelling, using the power of NFTs to unlock entirely new storytelling opportunities,” says Metaversal co-founder Yossi Hasson. “We’re equally eager to own the distribution and create an interface for collectors and fans alike to experience the Omega RUNNER story. The Comic Vault is just the first step towards this vision of a more engaging, deeply creative story experience.”
Holders of the Omega RUNNER First Edition NFT will be first to experience the new Comic Vault, which includes both Issue #1 and the next issue in the saga, Issue #2. First Editions are available on the secondary market here.
###
About Omega RUNNER
Omega RUNNER is building a Hollywood IP brand and franchise led by Clubhouse Pictures’ Bryan Unkeless (Co-Producer of The Hunger Games), Bryce Anderson (Creative Development for Mad Max: Fury Road), Blaise Hemingway (Lead Writer from the Disney Animation Story Trust), Cedric Nicolas-Troyan (Director KATE and The Huntsman: Winter’s War), and co-founder Metaversal. Omega RUNNER focuses on creating a web3 interactive storytelling experience for holders in the world of Omega and IRL. As we expand our brand, we will co-create new virtual worlds alongside our community, with RUNNER characters at the center of this universe. First launched as a limited-run comic book, the project expands to a complete character collection in early 2023.
About Metaversal
Metaversal partners with brands, creators, content holders, and IP owners to identify, execute, and underwrite evocative NFT projects. Backed by CoinFund, DCG, Galaxy and other leading investors, the Metaversal team is uniquely positioned to identify the requirements for success in the web3 ecosystem and remains platform and blockchain agnostic.
About Darkblock
Darkblock, a web3 pioneer in adding utility to NFTs, enables creators to use NFTs to control the distribution, accessibility, and monetization of their content without making it right-click-savable. By repurposing NFTs into tokenized vaults for digital content (e.g., music, videos, podcasts, films, comics, ebooks, 3D metaverse or gaming assets, or even HTML files), Darkblock provides the encryption infrastructure creators need to harness the power of web3 technology, unlock new storytelling and community-building tools, explore new business models and ultimately build a new creator economy free from platform control.