EXCLUSIVE: In Rare Interview, Bored Ape Yacht Club Co-Founder, Garga, Says Playing Video Games Was Key To Success

Greg Solano (Gargamel or Garga), co-founder of Yuga Labs, made a rare public appearance to close the day of Web3 content at Benzinga’s Future of Crypto summit. In a fireside chat-style interview with moderator Chris Katje, Garga shared details of the thinking behind Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and CryptoPunks.

About The Top NFT Project Of 2022

BAYC has been ranked the top NFT project of 2022 by Nansen in terms of both market cap and cultural impact.

“We got into NFTs because we think digital property rights matter. It’s a tricky dichotomy where there is true ownership and scarcity, but we can make it as inclusive a thing as possible. Owning more can give you more access, but we are not capping the number of people to access the full experience,” said Solano.

When asked about BAYC’s metaverse project, Otherside, Garga was clear about the inspiration and roots for Yuga's metaverse stemming from the gaming world.

“I think the reason we were able to grok NFTs is we grew up obsessed with 'World of Warcraft' (WoW), and if you’ve been chasing after a sword at the bottom of a dungeon, you know digital assets matter,” he explained.

Garga said that gaming was an important part of childhood, and early adulthood, for him and the other founders of Yuga. However, it was their Riverboat Casino Grand Opening on Decentraland that showed the project how the inspiration from gaming could be extended into a more fully interactive experience reminiscent of the early MMORPGs (massively multiplayer online role-playing games) that they loved.

“In the history of gaming, the best things that have come out of gaming are mods and UGC. But some of these creators had to go outside the game to gain value for their work. Those are the core values of what guides us, a community,” Garga said.

Otherside

When asked about the future of BAYC’s metaverse, Otherside, Garga was vague on future plans but very specific about the tone and focus of the metaverse game.

“Some people want their metaverse as a place to go to work. Or go to the metaverse doctor. We think it’s about fun,” Garga concluded.

BAYC’s Otherside is described as both a virtual world and a multiplayer game that supports up to 10,000 players.

Watch the full interview on Benzinga's YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/cABs4mq_Vd0?t=28967