NFTs
Meet the visionary CEO who is transforming the Web3 entertainment ecosystem
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Web3 Entertainment Group, Imaginariesis a project with a mission: to redefine the Web3 entertainment landscape, with a focus on games.
Clement Chia, co-founder of Imaginary Ones, points out that the challenge of Web3 games lies in their complexity, often featuring intricate mechanics that prevent a wider audience from participating. Imaginary Ones has introduced a layer of casual gaming tailored for mass appeal through Bubble Rangers, its mobile gaming app. “This approach allows Web3 players to engage with aspects of Web3, such as tokens and NFTs, at their discretion, while focusing on providing a more accessible and enjoyable gaming experience for everyone,” he said.
Imaginary Ones was founded in 2022 with its fully animated 3D Bubble NFTs that sold out in four minutes. These vibrant, joyful characters have captured the hearts of collectors around the world with their “feel-good” vibes, evoking a sense of wonder and childlike creativity.
Imaginary Ones is the brainchild of serial entrepreneurs Clement Chia and David Lee. As co-founders, the pair have been in the creative and technology industry for nearly a decade, working together at OFFSET, a motion design agency with a notable list of clients including Coca-Cola. Cola, Heineken, Unilever and Google, as well as OFFEO, a SAAS-based video creation platform that has achieved revenues in excess of US$20 million.
Chia, an award-winning animation artist whose pieces have been auctioned at Sotheby’s, explains that the idea behind Imaginary Ones’ artwork is to promote positivity and happiness in the world. “Spreading positivity in the way we build our communities and engage with the world is the goal.” Leveraging its success in digital art and a robust community of followers, the Singapore-based company has evolved beyond its origins as just an NFT collection. It has now become a Web3 entertainment powerhouse, with a strong emphasis on creating diverse content, offering merchandise and engaging in gaming initiatives.
Now, their goal is to create a dynamic entertainment ecosystem powered by $BUBBLE that integrates NFTs, blockchain, games, merchandise, user-generated content (UGC), and strategic partnerships.
“Our Web3 entertainment roadmap brings together games, merchandise and content to create the Imaginary World,” said Chia. This will allow users to bring their real-world experiences to “play, interact and build together” in the Imaginary World metaverse, he explained.
The company teamed up with fashion giant HUGO BOSS in 2022, becoming the first Asian NFT project to partner with a global fashion brand. The collaboration saw the release of 1,001 specially curated 3D NFTs titled Embrace Your Emotions, accompanied by 500 limited edition HUGO t-shirts featuring the artwork. All NFTs and merchandise sold out within 10 minutes and Chia attributes the success to the message. “We wanted to inspire people to express their emotions freely and to be true and authentic,” he said.
Part of the Imaginary Ones’ strategy is to continue to work with “like-minded” brands like HUGO BOSS and others to “create unique collectible merchandise that has value in both the Web2 and Web3 worlds,” Chia said.
To that end, the company recently unveiled a new customizable denim jacket for the HUGO BLUE denim campaign. The special edition item features exclusive NFT-inspired artwork of HUGO and Imaginary Ones. It also comes with an NFC tag that unlocks a Web AR experience that can be used as an avatar skin in Roblox.
With this partnership, HUGO wants to engage with Gen Z audiences through games and metaverse spaces, and exploring the Imaginaries community achieves this goal.
In addition to customizing your web3 jacket and redeeming your Roblox skin, each jacket comes preloaded with the native Imaginary Ones token, $BUBBLE. “These elements allow us to surprise and engage our users in new and creative ways,” said Chia. “[They] open new avenues for interaction and personalization.”
More recently, Imaginary Ones released a series of Web3 games titled Bubble Rider and Bubble Rangers. The latter, in particular, was very well received by the gaming community, accumulating more than 6 million games in three weeks. It has also accumulated over 2 million downloads to date, with over 220,000 daily active users.
The Bubble Rangers game is an endless runner with NFT elements in the future – much like Temple Run or Subway Surfers. Chia says this was deliberate, as he wanted to create a family game that was easily accessible, allowing players of all ages to jump in and have fun.
In collaboration with Samsung Singapore, Imaginary Ones has enriched the gaming experience by introducing exclusive Samsung maps for Bubble Rangers. The game also features exclusive Samsung skins that add new excitement to the game.
So what does the future hold for Imaginaries?
Imaginary Ones will also continue to establish its presence in the blockchain gaming ecosystem by collaborating with Web3 venture capital firm Animoca Brands in April. “Animoca Brands’ support will accelerate our plans in the three areas of utility, currencies and development,” said Chia. “This will help unify the Web2 and Web3 worlds and build on our promise that if you can imagine it, we can build it.”