Illuvium Beyond - Your Next D1SK

This marks the very first blog post I've (mostly) written myself! Some of you might remember the region-specific posts I had a big hand in writing, but this is officially my first solo post—and definitely not the last. I’ve already got another lined up about Asset Optimization, which, while a bit more technical, might be just as interesting!

A quick intro for those who don’t know me: I’m Rogier van de Beek, Illuvium’s Art Director since August 2023. I’ve been part of this project from the very beginning, helping with the pitch deck and hanging out in our Discord back when there were only about a dozen of us in there. Long enough intro for now - right? If you have more questions you know where to find me.

Let’s talk Beyond! I’m going to first give you my original Pitch and give you some insights into my thought process to understand where we are now.. and why.

During the NFT-Craze there was a call from Kieran and some community members to create a PFP-project that was based around Illuvium. The BAYC and Punks where making headlines everywhere, Eth’s where thrown around, wallets got emptied - and we wanted in on the action!

We quickly did some POC version of an Axon portrait and see if that would work, so we could scope out the time and effort needed to make this happen.

In a previous job I worked on developing a portrait generator for RPG’s so this wasn’t entirely new to me! The only problem we faced is that all our illuvials look vastly different. I can't pose an Atlas and with a simple skin-colour change turn him into Squizz.. So we quickly came to the conclusion that whatever we would do - we would have to do in waves (or batches.. as it used to be called!) due to the large amount of time it would take to make all the portraits, backgrounds and fit all the accessories everywhere.

We created a small project - scoped it all out - hired some illustrators - and started working on it!

The project called - Illuvitars - was born.

Proof Of Concept - Axon Illuvitar

Then during the Summer of 2022 I was on vacation in Italy, and here I came across a tiny little shop that was selling everything ‘Panini’. When walking through this Nostalgic Oasis I was surprised how popular it actually was. For those that don’t come from the 90’s - Panini - Was selling all kinds of collections and sticker albums. Every year the national football league had an album, every World Cup football, every season had its own TMNT sticker albums and what not.. It was massive.

And in this little shop they were selling little old closed sticker packs for 20$ a piece that would’ve been 1$ 20 years ago, and even a fully collected World Cup 86 Album (if i recall correctly.) that had an insane price-tag on it.. but also a little red sticker saying ‘SOLD’ to it.

Then it start to slightly dawn on me… For illuvitars, it would be much cooler if people were able to collect all of these portraits instead of just 1 and make it your PFP. Not only is the userbase a lot smaller with that approach, having all portraits is just a lot cooler. We can turn it into a real collection game, and create this digital sticker-album that people can use to fill their sleeves. To me, this started to make more and more sense.

The ideation of Illuvium Beyond started that afternoon. I couldn’t wait to get to my hotel and start typing/sketching it up.

You see - As illuvium Beyond sits outside of our Lore-heavy-universe, we can do a lot of cool and silly things with it. We can make it the main ‘thing’ where people collect anything Illuvium - that isn’t illuvials.

This way we can leave the Core of the IP in tact while we free ourselves up to do all kinds of secondary things that we want our IP and Characters to touch. Illuvium Beyond is a perfect marketing tool to onboard all kinds of partners and companies into the IP-Universe without touching its lore!

But overall - Illuvium Beyond became a product where people fall in love with our Characters. Where you open D1SK’s get random contents - try to complete collections and chase the Illuvitars you haven’t found, and trade off the one you have double. Much like how we used to with our Panini sticker collections and albums.

Early Concept / ideation for the Album

Set 1 Wave 3

With a date announced for Wave 3 it is finally time to get back to cracking open D1sks and sorting my Album!

We have a whole range of cool new illuvitars to be released into your albums and a whole bunch of new collections to be completed.

Wave 3 will mark the start of a new period for Illuvium Beyond. Finally the Album Overhaul will go Live! This is mostly just a visual upgrade from the current version of the Album but it is more important than it seems.

Not just that it brings out all the art better - it also forms a large part of future plans for Illuvium Beyond. (On that a little bit more, a little later.)

Album-Rewards! Inside of the album there will be all kinds of rewards to unlock. These are account-bound rewards that you unlock by completing certain collections. For example - If you have all Tier 0’s you will unlock the Doka’s Dojo battleboard skin for Illuvium Arena. If you have all of the Atlas you’d for example unlock a bunch of Emote’s of Atlas. Getting all Warpaint accessories collected gives you a Camo-Ranger skin.

This are the type of unlocks that will go live with Beyond - Wave 3.

But, important to add, is that we will want to keep things dynamic. More rewards and unlocks will be added over time, keeping all illuvitars and collections, relevant for a long, long time!

Doka’s Dojo

There will be a new personal progression page that keeps track of your journey in Illuvium Beyond and which rewards you are close to unlocking. This effort is part of Preparing the systems for more features that are coming down the line.

Let’s Compete!

With the fantastic news that IIP-69 passed last week, we’re now ready to dive deeper into the competitive side of Illuvium Beyond!

First off, for those already familiar with Illuvium Beyond and participating in the leaderboards: the Set 1 Leaderboard will see an increase in rewards, jumping from 100 to 250 ILV per week! Plus, we’re expanding the leaderboard slots from 100 to 200, giving more players a chance to compete and win.

Next up, we’re introducing a Wave-specific leaderboard with a unique reward structure. This leaderboard will span the entire Wave, rather than awarding weekly rewards. Over three months of competition, players will be vying for a growing prize pool that will reward the top 250 participants by the end of the Wave.

As more ETH is spent, the prize pool will continue to grow, creating a substantial reward everyone will be excited to compete for!

But here’s the best part: with the community’s support, we’ll be able to reward all participants! We’re thrilled to announce a variety of community and personal stretch goals, featuring emotes, battleboards, drone blasts, and exclusive Illuvitars.

Thanks to the restructured Wave 3 sale, we’ll also be able to crown a Wave Winner, who will receive a special, one-of-a-kind Illuvitar to commemorate their achievement.

Wave 3 brings a host of thrilling changes to Illuvium Beyond—the possibilities are limitless!

Which leads me to the main reason for this blog post: sharing my ideas on where Illuvium Beyond could go next!

Beyond’s Future Features

G0GH - Keeper of the Beyond Universe

Meet G0GH, the Beyond Universe Curator

Introducing G0GH, a brand-new, never-before-seen drone with an impeccable eye for detail and a passion for perfection. As the Curator, G0GH’s role is to ensure that the Beyond Universe remains stable and visually stunning. He’ll be guiding you through your collecting journey, bringing both challenges and rewards to enrich your experience.

In G0GH's world, everything matters. The floating Illuvitars, the flash of emotes, d1sk openings, and even the dazzling Meme Glass Sparkles all impact the universe's delicate balance. And G0GH? He needs your help to keep things in check.

G0GH will give you daily, weekly, monthly, and special tasks centered around collecting, showcasing, burning, exchanging, and even battling. By assisting him, you’ll unlock valuable rewards, and, more importantly, gain Soul-Power (working title).

What is Soul-Power?

Soul-Power is an essential element tied to your album’s progression. It allows you to level up your album by accumulating points from Illuvitars and collections, with additional boosts from Soul-Power itself. While a “soulless” album may sit at 0 Power Points, a fully leveled album might boast an impressive 10,000 Power Points to start, allowing you to unlock unique features as you progress.

These features could be aesthetic enhancements, like new color schemes, special effects for thumbnails, unique VFX, and soundtracks. Some rewards, however, will be functional, like exclusive, Soulbound Illuvitars that can support you on your journey to becoming the ultimate collector.

Along the way, you’ll encounter and collect a dazzling array of Illuvitars and characters, each adding depth and wonder to the Beyond Universe.

Imagine the transformation: a Level 1 Collection Album, modest and simple, compared to a magnificent, Level 54 album, alive with movement, glowing effects, and immersive music. As your album’s power grows, so does its allure, with animated visuals, dazzling VFX, and exclusive Mods that reflect the prestige of a high-powered collector.

And, of course, you’ll be able to show it all off!

With future updates, social features and “show-off” options will let you share your album's unique flair with others. From personalized themes to special effects, your Collection Album will be a testament to your journey, a masterpiece that evolves with every level you reach.

G0GH helper drones to keep you album power under control!

With each new Wave, the power infused into this universe grows, opening pathways to other dimensions through promo collections and partnerships. As the Illuvium ecosystem expands, its connection to the Illuvium Beyond universe deepens, drawing these worlds closer together and amplifying their influence on each other.

Who knows—perhaps one day they’ll even collide in a game, merging worlds in ways we can only dream of!

An exciting future lies ahead, and it’s all possible because of you—the passionate, dedicated community that fuels Beyond. Thank you for being the incredible fans you are; working on this project wouldn’t be the same without your enthusiasm and support!