A letter from the Founders: The Future of DFZ Labs
Hi, Betty and Psych here, co-founders of Deadfellaz & DFZ Labs. As we push into an exciting new phase, it seems appropriate to sum up our origins and where we are now going. Leading this brand since 2021 has been one of the most rewarding & challenging experiences of our lives, and we’re only just getting started.
The breakneck speed of NFTs means we have far too much to say about the last 3 years, and you have far too little attention span for us to say it within. So here is our journey recapped quickly, with some exciting updates to show you we’re here continually developing the Deadfellaz IP, storytelling through innovative gaming products and as of right now, we’re more excited than ever.
The Rise of Deadfellaz
Deadfellaz launched as an art project, and exploded into something much more special, we became an industry leading community of creators & collectors that wanted something different for their web 3 experiences and digital identities - authenticity, honesty, free speech, representation, respect for anonymity and a fuck you I’ll be whoever I want to be attitude.
We achieved a lot in the age of royalties (2021-2022 RIP), hosted some of the best events web3 has ever seen, such us our Brooklyn NFT NYC event ft. Princess Nokia and a host of web3 native musicians in 2022, collaborated with some of the largest brands in the world, such as Rolling Stone, The Chicago Bulls, The NFL, The Hundreds, Wrangler, Ledger, Giuseppe Zanotti and just generally did a ton of cool shit that was fun to do for our collectors.
Things change, and we change with them or die. So, post royalties we moved heavily into IP licensing and entertainment. This is when we moved the business to LA and hired some great people to see over a green lit animated motion picture (the first of its kind) with a major studio.
Deadfellaz in Hollywood
This was a secret (NDA) & wildly exciting time. As a character IP driven brand, this was a golden bullet. Unfortunately that turned into devastation, as the strikes in Hollywood led to a pause over several months, then ultimately, cancellation of ours and many other animated productions.
Strikes were an unforeseeable event which wasted an untold amount of progress across Deadfellaz lore, gaming & merchandising. It was however, a necessary moment for the industry, with creatives needing to voice their concerns around the rapid rise of AI and other issues that had been long standing.
Now armed with a war-chest of groundwork that went into the first production, we are continuing with this development through numerous new opportunities. We are also still with UTA who kick down endless doors for us.
Deadfellaz in Gaming
Following the pause in movie production, 2023 saw us focus our attentions to our longstanding gaming ambitions. Games, gamification and interactive had been in our blood since the moment our Discord opened with a bootstrapped chat bot forming the base of our OG survival game.
So came RIP TCG which had been in prototyping (pen & paper) since the release of Deadfrenz some months before. We sealed a development deal with Unity and began work on the digital prototyping.
This had to be privately restructured shortly after, as we were caught up in Unity’s layoffs after their pricing model shift. Though, every setback has a silver lining, and we were able to instead sign a great direct partnership months later with a new world class development team (while still working with the Unity team in a different capacity).
RIP TCG is now a month of development away from digital demo state.
What Next?
After some unavoidable setbacks, our focus is still on building the Deadfellaz IP through three focus areas:
1. Storytelling through Gaming, Entertainment & Media.
2. Building a global audience through the proliferation of DFZ IP.
3. Rewarding our collector community.
Right now we are focused on using our IP to propel a variety of gaming startups in various locations and at various scales. RIP TCG is lead by us as a flagship, and our other titles are equal partnerships led by talented co-development teams, such as Wallhugger & Detach (previously titled BITS)
What lessons have been learnt?
We have always sold our products and collectibles at a price that can sustain us and reward our collectors best we can — and while this approach has resulted in difficulties in a post-royalties Web3, we are proud to have always done right by our collectors.
While yes, the strength of our IP & collector community has seen up next to the largest IPs created in web3, we have in reality been a scrappy startup without the financial backing of chains, protocols or VCs that these other groups have enjoyed.
What does this mean? It means we’ve been through the trenches & have learned all there is to know about surviving as a web3 start up and now with new financial backing, we’re cooking.
Kill your darlings.
One of the hardest lessons as a web3 startup is knowing when to quit or pivot, when to bury that idea you so badly wanted to see come to fruition. For us, this was our Metawrapz & DAO efforts, which while they were close to our hearts from the beginning, they had no scalability or sustainability.
So, we pack our pride away and put them on ice. Existing Deadfellaz asset extensions (pixelfellaz, voxelfellaz, front facing fellaz etc) will be downgraded into a simplified IPFS asset portal as part of our website.
Here is what is being publicly produced by DFZ Labs right now:
RIP TCG
RIP is our flagship action TCG. A mobile-first TCG that’s a remedy for the endless card based games that are just reskinned table top simulators. RIP is centred around fast Marvel Snap inspired gameplay, 3D fighters & an innovative turn-based cinematic combat system.
Wallhugger
Wallhugger is a spin-off Deadfellaz story developed in partnership with The Sandbox & Tempest Studios. A horror title built completely within TSB that aims to facilitate hilarious & scary co-op gameplay. Wallhugger is a case study in IP incubation from within metaverse UGC platforms.
Detach (previously BITS)
Detach is a violent retro rogue-lite originally launched with an independent team that has now been brought directly into DFZ Labs. A rogue-lite that is being built with the intention of becoming the grittiest and most challenging offering seen in web3 gaming.
DFZST Stream Team
DFZST is the manifestation of the Deadfellaz community into a grassroots gaming content team. DFZST will be slowly scaled & built upon across multiple channels until it is a heavyweight content production team for DFZ & gaming as a whole.
Why is DFZ so focused on Content?
Content is key. Gaming titles live and die based on user acquisition, and in a world where F2P mobile titles are laying down hundreds of millions for paid ads, anyone outside that gravy train is reliant on more organic means for user acquisition, such a unique & fun gameplay, which yes, delivers a more satisfying experience to the player, but, just as important when it comes to building a player base, it delivers an experience that is worth sharing & watching someone play.
This is why we not only have an art & gaming focus, we have a content focus — and the fly wheel that exists between the two will be the power we leverage to ultimately disrupt the gaming industry with fucking amazing games and leagues of players that enjoy playing and watching them.
What does this mean for DFZ NFT collectors?
Everything we have outlined around IP, gaming & content is what creates opportunities to honour, reward and platform those who have supported us from the start, our collectors.
Rails to fold in collector IP will also be implemented wherever we can, with plans such as Deadfellaz collectors being able to unlock their own TCG cards with profit share, being implemented as soon as we are able.
Why be bullish on DFZ?
We’re now hardened pros with over 9000 collectors, the best web3 IP, the best collector community, and an unwavering vision.
DFZ Labs can, and will disrupt gaming & media in huge ways. We love zombies, we love crypto, we love games and we love the horde. ❤
If you aren’t already a Deadfellaz collector, grab one here
See you in the horde,
Betty & Psych
