Bored Ape, Doodles and other NFTs star in ‘Real World’ Metaverse Parody Show

It sounds like a normal day on Crypto Twitter: a Bored Ape Yacht Club avatar chats with a Cool cat or Doodlewith Women’s world or Robotos avatars in the mix, too.

But it is also the premise for a new parody of the reality show R3al Metaversea show with characters based on NFTs from the remarkable collections. It is a scripted video series that begins with the premise of MTV The real world— but instead of actors, the housemates are Ethereum-based NFT avatars that adjust to real-world settings after exiting the metaverse.

And there’s an interactive twist: thanks to an upcoming NFT producer pass, fans will be able to help shape the content of the show. In addition, owners of other avatars from these five projects will have a chance to get their own character on the show in a cameo role.

R3al Metaverse comes from Invisible Universea tech startup that CEO Tricia Biggio described to Decrypt as an “internet-first animation studio.” Invisible Universe’s backers include Seven Seven Six, the VC firm of Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian — which owns Bored Ape on which the show’s character Pete is based.

The startup has previously created animated characters in collaboration with celebrities, such as Qay Qay with tennis legend Serena Williams (Ohanian’s partner, also an investor) and Squeaky & Roy with TikTok’s viral D’Amelio family. Invisible Universe is establishing its characters on social media first, with plans to expand them into books, movies, games, toys, NFTs, and more.

“We believe that the next Woody and Buzz will be introduced to you on TikTok rather than on the big screen,” Biggio said Decrypt.

R3al Metaverse refines that approach: instead of developing original characters from scratch, they are based on owned or licensed NFT avatars. Beyond Ohanian’s Bored Ape, Doodle belongs to a pseudonymous NFT influencer Oh, shinywhile Invisible Universe owns the World of Women, Cool Cats and Robotos collectibles.

Many NFT profile picture projects allow holders to use their own photos to create and profit from derivative works of art and other projects. Bored Ape Yacht Club is arguably the most famous example, and this past weekend, rappers Eminem and Snoop Dogg used their monkeys during an appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards—and then sold items based on them.

Each original NFT illustration has been fully fleshed out and transformed into a 3D model for the show, which Biggio said sparked some internal struggles.

For example, the team argued over whether a bored monkey should have a tail, reflects a recent debate in another Bored Ape-centric society. (In either case, the monkey will have no tail.)

Of course, the NFT-powered characters will all have unique personalities, each crafted to provide story options and the potential for drama – the key to any true reality TV gem. “We want to have the right ingredients in the studio to create fun, conflict and entertaining content,” explained Biggio.

The Real Metaverse’s community collaboration

R3al Metaverse will begin rolling out its first 34-episode season starting today across a variety of platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Discord. Invisible Universe aims to get the micro-episodes in front of as many eyes as possible before bringing in community partners – and potentially expanding the cast next season.

Granted, not everyone is on board with NFTs or the metaverse, and there are vocal critics of both out there. Biggio claims that the show is not specifically aimed at die-hard fans and collectors – a relatively small group despite eye-catching sums generated by NFT to date.

It may serve as an introduction to the NFT community for some, she said, but the main mission does not seem to be to convert skeptics. For most viewers, R3al Metaverse is simply meant to provide a quick pop of humor in their social feeds with a quirky, colorful cast.

But for those who collect NFTs or are fascinated by Web3 community collaboration, there will be an opportunity to get more deeply involved in the form of an NFT Producer Pass. They will be in place on September 7, and owning one of the 7,200 NFT passes will enable viewers to help shape future episodes and seasons of the show.

We’ve seen other NFT-powered projects attempt to tap into a community of creators, including animated series The gimmicks from actress and producer Mila Kunis, Shibuya from well-known NFT artist pplleasr, and Adim from It’s always sunny in Philadelphia star Rob McElhenney.

The challenge with opening up creative collaboration to hundreds or especially thousands of people is that it potentially creates a lot of noise. Without structure, it can be extremely difficult to sort out quality material or contributions from the flood of content.

Biggio said Invisible Universe has streamlined the first form of collaboration, welcoming future NFT holders to fill out Mad Libs-style forms to develop character interviews that can be filmed and included in future episodes. In other cases, NFT holders can vote on outcomes.

“It’s not just crowdsourcing the whole story – we wrote and produced 34 episodes,” she explained. “But I think we’ve found some very innovative ways to allow community input while still being able to stay on track with our story.”

And that’s potentially a big advantage for people who buy an NFT producer pass that also hold a Bored Ape, Cool Cats, Doodles, World of Women or Robotos NFT. Those owners can enter their avatar in a vote for a potential cameo in the first season, plus there will be a casting call for NFT avatars – from any project – for the second season.

“The idea of ​​being able to express your creative ideas and then see them reflected back to you through animation — I think that’s pretty sticky,” Biggio said. “Collaboration is really important, and I think by allowing a community to do that, you build a stronger fan base and a stronger sense of belonging.”

And you can expect Invisible Universe to pursue similar types of Web3 initiatives with its various original characters, who have collectively amassed millions of social media followers to date. Biggio said the firm plans to launch its next NFT project in early 2023.