The Meebits are 20,000 unique 3D voxel characters, created by a custom generative algorithm, then registered on the Ethereum blockchain. The NFT contract that governs ownership is a standard ERC-721 that works with any compatible service or exchange. Also included in the contract is a custom marketplace that supports like-kind trading of up to 100 Meebits per transaction, along with all the standard buy, bid and ask transactions. Market and pricing data, as well as a web interface for the trading system is available at meebits.larvalabs.com.
The Generator
We love low-poly and voxel 3D graphics. The style has been made popular in the last decade or so by games such as Minecraft and Roblox. We think that, just like 8-bit pixel art, the minimalism and accessibility of voxel art will prove timeless and endearing for generations to come.
Writing a generator of voxel characters was a lot more challenging and involved than writing a 2D generator. We've been tinkering with voxel generation for a few years and are really proud of where we ended up. There are lots of little details we hope you notice, including Autoglyphs-style generative tattoo patterns on certain Meebits. And of course there are some cool rare types of Meebits, you can see the full list of types and rarity here.
Meebit owners have access to an asset pack for each Meebit that allows them to take a "T-pose" version of the avatar and use it in any game engine, 3D studio, or virtual world that supports the rigging of humanoid avatars for animation. This will allow owners to bring their Meebits to life. The example shown here was made in just a few minutes with Adobe Mixamo.
The Integrated Market
The Meebits are a standard ERC-721 token so they work with any of the popular marketplaces, but it also has its own marketplace built in. This marketplace not only allows you to buy and sell for ETH, but also offer complex trades, with any number of Meebits on either side of the deal, plus some ETH on either side as well.
Being able to trade Meebits for Meebits opens up a whole new type of NFT transaction that has previously been missing from other marketplaces. For us, this evokes the kind of collecting we did as kids, where money was rarely involved in transactions. Furthermore, proposing a trade simply involves signing a message with your wallet. No Ethereum transaction is required, and therefore no gas expenses. Only the 'taker' of the deal pays a gas fee. This allows negotiation to happen quickly and easily off-chain, which is both cost and energy efficient. And as with the Cryptopunks market, it is decentralized and we charge no fee on offers or completions of deals.
The Future
While the Cryptopunks have become an ideal 2D avatar for Discord, Twitter, and other social media, the Meebits are designed to be the 3D avatar for virtual worlds, games, and VR. We are bullish about the metaverse future, and we look forward to seeing how the Meebits are used in such environments.