Welcome back to The High Life.

We're starting this edition with an announcement on behalf of Gudchain: A new staking pool is now open. Holders of DAR — the token of Mines of Dalarnia, an action-packed dungeon crawler game — can now make deposits to earn gud seeds. The staking pool opened on July 25 and has already attracted the participation of DAR stakers. It's a great opportunity for anyone who wants to bump up the rate at which they earn rewards on Gudchain. Visit gudchain.com/my-seeds to check it out!

Now, onto this edition's read. We've prepared a Q&A with Highstreet's game director, Matt Fleming, as part of our journey to introduce the folks who are building Highstreet World. It's a long interview, but packed with gems for anyone who is interested in how our VR MMO is being made. Then, we have a new comic page ready for you, as we find out what's next for our Pelican protagonist.

Let's dive in.

Meet the Team: Matt Fleming, Game Director

It isn't every day that you encounter someone who can lift the veil on how games have been made for close to two decades. But Matt Fleming, Highstreet's game director, is a walking encyclopedia who knows about all things gaming. We chatted with him to find out where he's taking Highstreet World, and how the MMO and metaverse components complement each other.

First things first, please tell us a little bit about yourself.

I'm Matt Fleming, and I'm Highstreet's game director.

I have been in the game industry for 17-ish years, mostly as a game designer and a fair chunk of that as a lead in some form. You can find some of my work in Rift, Defiance, and Ultima Online. The big thing I worked on before Highstreet was Conan Exiles. I was the lead content designer over there for a little over a year.

I started at Highstreet as a game designer and worked my way up as the team saw that my skills were needed.

What takes up most of your time at Highstreet?

These days, it's a lot of high-level managerial stuff coupled with providing the direction that our MMO and other games are looking for. My job shifts from day to day. Sometimes, it's managerial and I deal with different departments to make sure that everyone is going in the same direction. On other days, it's just me, head down, headphones on, loud music going, writing documentation for high-level features that I want the team to put together.

And then there are days when a fire or twelve suddenly break out, and it's my job to make sure everyone is pointing their hoses in the right direction. Right now, we are working on a demo that will be shown off in a few months. And we'll be taking a lot of the data from that demo and moving it forward to a fun little surprise that will be revealed by the end of this year or early next year, depending on the fates.

Speaking of the MMO, what will players get to experience in the initial release of Highstreet World?

We're very much going the early access route.

The good news is I have a list of specific features that I consider minimum-viable. The players will be able to pop into Highstreet World, choose from the available classes, and explore the first of many zones.

There will be plenty of combat and a bit of crafting. You'll be able to loot, make friends, and run around a bit in Highstreet City, which is partly MMO and partly the metaversal content that Highstreet as a company is creating.

Highstreet World will be available as a VR game. How is building a game in VR different from a standard console or PC game? From a game director's perspective, what are the extra steps that you need to take to get the project moving?

Learning about VR has been a unique challenge. Even if you're used to working in first person, VR is fundamentally different just because of the control scheme.

There are some best practices in VR, but integrating those into an MMO has been challenging in a lot of ways, so we're breaking new ground. We've looked at VR MMOs that other companies have released; honestly, we think we can do a little better.

It's also worth noting that one of the key pillars of our game and what we're trying to create is immersion. We want the players to feel like they're role playing. We're going to make LARPing cool.

That sounds incredibly fun. Aside from being an MMO, Highstreet World operates in the web3 and crypto world. How does what you do as the game director link up with that?

That is a super interesting problem that I've been working on.

To be honest, if you ask a gamer what they think about a retail-centric metaverse and crypto and web3, you won't get a good response. There have been way too many games out there that have treated NFTs and crypto as a get-rich-quick scheme. All you have to do is take a quick look at almost anything that's gaming plus crypto, and you'll find plenty of cases where the game failed to materialize or wasn't great if it was indeed released.

We are actively taking this on a different track.
The thing that I have been pushing is to make a fun game first.

If you enjoy the game, then there will be ways for you to put money in so you can have even more fun.

Could you share an example?

Keep in mind that what I'm about to discuss isn't 100% done yet, so it could be changed.

Let's say you managed to find a cool sword, and you've managed to enchant it. But you'll be able to do more with it. You'll be able to mint it and, congratulations, you've turned that weapon into an NFT.

From the game's perspective, you have taken that sword and turned it into something that can become truly mythical. Once you've minted the sword, we really care about what you do with it. If you go and kill a dozen goblins, you could get a title, like “Goblin Slayer.” If you beat a bunch of bosses with it, we keep track of that. We'll keep track of things like how much damage you've done with that sword, and bestow titles or buffs. We can find ways to put different hues on it.

Suddenly, that weapon could be worth a lot if you decide to trade or sell it.

In your view, what's a major benefit to having blockchain technology in Highstreet World?

There are a number of MMOs where players have gotten robbed because they were trying to sell an expensive piece of equipment. But with this, the system can handle the trading of minted items. We're providing a reason to use that technology by creating a good game.

What's your favorite part of Highstreet World?

Long story short, I'm a lore guy. I love stories and I love the stories that are going to be part of Highstreet World. There are the Ducks, but they haven't really had a story told through them yet.

The design team, the art team, and the engineering team work together pretty closely to figure out the flavor and the feel of a place that the Ducks would inhabit, and of some of the creatures that would be in that world. There are Pelicans that will be relatively common there.

There's a dichotomy between the FOMO Ducks and the more stoic, earthy feel of Pelicans. There's a bit of conflict in there, and there's a story we can tell.

For anyone who's played Pokémon or Palworld, you'll know that cute and horrific can go hand in hand. The stories we tell can cover the full gamut, so I'm really looking forward to helping everyone tell those kinds of stories.

Here's a curveball. What's a common belief related to gaming that you disagree with?

“Gaming is for ___.” “Gaming is not for ___.”

Gaming is for everyone. Every single person, from the 14-year-old shy girl to the 24-year-old dude to the 50-year-old grandmother. Gaming is for everyone.

Your gender, race, and socioeconomic status don't matter. There are games out there for you to play, and it's fine and good and awesome that you play it. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. If anyone says, “You can't play this, you're a ___”, then they can get stuffed.

That's a great sentiment. What's an unusual habit or absurd thing that you love?

One of my favorite musical genres is Eurobeat.

It used to be ska, but I feel like I've weaned myself off that. Instead, I went right down the Initial D rabbit hole, and I have not looked back. If I need something to pump me up, that constant, repetitive, almost jubilant music going through my head is what I go to.

What are some fun or interesting things you do outside of Highstreet?

If I'm not working on games, I'm playing games. My Steam library has over 4,000 of them. They're things that catch my fancy as someone in game design.

Some aren't great, but I look for games like that because I'm curious about where they thought the fun was going to be. Every time I find a nugget of cool, I file that in my mental toolbox.

That's such an interesting way of looking at it. It's optimistic.

Yeah. I'm assuming writers read lousy fan fiction because every once in a while, you'll find an interesting turn of phrase.

My degree is in creative writing. I like stories. And a story is only meaningful if you can make it useful in the world one way or another, right? It's all about that dichotomy of finding ways to merge form and function.

Here's the last question for you, as a creative writer. You have a billboard and you can put any message on it — what does it say?

I would probably just write in really big letters: HYDRATE.

Drink some damn water. Even if you're feeling great, when you're about to do something that's brain-intensive, get hydrated first. Our bodies are 60% water, and if that starts dipping, it's going to inhibit your functions. So, if you want to be operating at a high percentile, suck down some juice.

Highstreet Chronicles: Origins

Thank you!

That's all for this edition.

Don't forget that HIGH token holders also have staking opportunities with Gudchain. Now's the time to stack those gud seeds. The earlier you start taking part, the more rewards you'll earn. Plus, keep an eye out for announcements about how FOMO Duck holders will benefit from Gudchain. Something's brewing…

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