Blueprints

ORDO is introducing a new concept to the NFT space called Blueprints. New concepts can be complex initially so we have created this detailed document to help explain these concepts. Let dig in!

What are Blueprints?

A blueprint, like in any other industry, are a set of plans that act as a guide when building. For ORDO, they perform a similar function. They are a set of immutable instructions that tell software how to construct an NFT, a contract, or even a program. For simplicity, we will focus on how ORDO Blueprints work with NFTs as it's the easiest to conceptualize.

How NFT mints work currently

When you connect your wallet and click the mint button, you might think that in real time your NFT is being randomly built. That's actually not what happens. An NFT collection is prebuilt by the creators, typically days in advance. On Solana, this is most commonly accomplished using Metaplex's on-chain program. Once the collection is built by the owner, they may fine-tune it manually or add unique 1 of 1s etc. When that is complete, the actual mint contract is built and deployed to the blockchain. By the time you connect your wallet and mint, the only thing that is randomized is which edition you get. If the creators built a collection of 10,000 NFTs, you are essentially reaching your hand into a hat of numbers between 1 and 10,000. The on-chain program then transfers that randomly selected edition to your wallet.

Let's talk about Rarity

Rarity is, in most cases, the biggest factor in determining the value of a project’s NFT collection. Each NFT will typically have a set of traits assigned to it. This could be a hat, shirt, pants, or shoes, or really anything the creator wants to do. Within those traits, there will be variations. There could be different styles of hats or different colored shirts etc. You get the idea. During the creation of the collection, a computer program randomly assigns these traits to each NFT. Because it's random, you end up with a collection that may have 1000 red shirts, but may only have 10 of a silver shirt. In a collection of 10,000 NFTs, having only 10 editions that have a silver shirt would make that edition rare and desirable to own. This rarity is what typically creates value. As with all collectibles in the world, the rarer the item, the better its resale value. The same rule applies to NFTs. However, this randomization isn't without its issues.

The Downside of Randomization

This randomization is both a blessing and a curse. While ultra-rare NFTs can be produced in this fashion, it does come with some drawbacks.

• Unappealing - The collection can become hard to visually theme. When you can't control how it looks you can be left with some odd or unappealing editions. The last thing a creator wants is for their artwork to look as though a toddler put it together.

• Branding - Also difficult to do on a purely randomized selection, leaving creators with the task of manually building NFTs that look a specific way. This is typically only acceptable when building 1 of 1s, which are entirely unique NFTs that contain unique traits only found in that specific NFT. Outside of that, tampering with a collection can lead to all sorts of trust issues with your followers, resulting in a poor performing mint.

• Misaligned value - When value is primarily due to rarity, and the system aligns value in the things that are visually unappealing, it can lead to a collection slowly fading to black. Aka... The Soft Rug. A collection initially gets its hype from high volume flippers. This is great initially as it drives volume and keeps the hype train moving. Flippers don't care about anything other than the rarity score of what they hold and how quickly they can flip it for a profit. When that hype dies down, only the collectors remain. Like any collector, most of them accumulate based primarily on appearance, nostalgia, loyalty to the creator, and/or benefits attached to owning the edition. The secondary factor is rarity. Most collectors won't buy something that is rare if it doesn't also meet their primary needs. This leads to many initially popular collections dying a slow and painful death because, outside of the initial hype, collectors don’t have any primary need to own one. Flippers initiate markets, collectors make or break them.

Customization to the Rescue... or Not...

What is a customizable NFT?

In response to a lot of odd-looking editions, many projects have begun creating platforms that allow you to fully customize your NFT. The easiest way to visualize this is to imagine playing a video game and building your character. You can manually select all your traits. Hair color, eye color, body size etc...

This sounds great right? Well, sort of...

Customization is great because it allows the user the freedom to build exactly what they want. You can create beautiful works of art that look stunning to the eye and are visually desirable to the masses, except for one critical element, rarity! Flippers won't touch these types of collections because there is no genuine rarity. And, as we learned above, flippers initiate the market. Without flippers, there is no market. Customization destroys the long-term investment value of collecting as well because collectors too need an element of rarity to be interested. Most customizable NFT projects are so unpopular that they never fully mint out and die the same death. Customization definitely solves some important issues; however, it takes with it a necessary element. As with all things in life, moderation is the key to success.

The Blueprint has entered the building

What if you could have both? Seriously, what if you could harness the hype of rarity, while also creating a system that allows just enough control to create more visually appealing collections? AND what if you gave that control to humans instead of a computer? AND what if those humans could earn money indefinitely for participating? Welcome to the world of blueprinting!

How does it work?

Like all mints, the mint is generated first by a program. For the purpose of explaining, we will use the same parameters as above. The collection size is 10,000 NFTs. Let's say each NFT has 10 traits. It doesn't matter what these traits are. We just know that there are 10 of them. Hat, Head, Shirt, Necklace, etc. With the traditional mint, the 10,000 NFTs are minted into 10,000 individual metadata files that contain the information about each NFT. For example, if it randomly has red socks or blue socks, red shirt or blue shirt, and so on and so forth for all 10,000 NFTs, that's traditionally the end of the process.

The first step

Blueprinting adds in some extra steps into the middle of the process. If you were to look at each of the metadata files, you could count how many red shirts vs blue shirts, or how many brown shoes vs black shoes were generated via blueprinting. Our software takes the initial mint and treats each trait in each NFT as an individual asset, converts, and stores it as an inventory item. In the case of our example, 10,000 NFTs with 10 traits each, 10,000 x 10 = 100,000 inventory line items. No more, no less. Think of the inventory as a ledger of all the available items required to build that randomized collection.

This step essentially deconstructs the entire collection and converts it into an inventory ledger. Each item with its own unique identifier. This means that, if the collection had 1000 shirts that were red, our inventory ledger now has 1000 line items for that shirt that are red. However, each of those 1000 lines is its own unique record that is distinguishable from the others.

The second step

Now that we have our inventory built, it's locked and sealed and can't be changed. At this point, the original mint files are deleted permanently. It's straightforward from here on out. Our system creates a game-like experience to allow users to use elements of user control and randomization to create the actual blueprint.

What's the blueprint again?

The blueprint is the file that represents what the NFT will look like once it is minted. It's not an actual NFT. Just a set of instructions that are stored and tracked for one edition of a collection. If a collection is to mint 10,000 NFT editions, then that collection would need 10,000 sets of blueprints. We have three terms that you will learn to know and love. They are:

• Rolls - Think of this like rolling dice. A user has a balance of rolls. Each roll invokes the program to create a randomized edition utilizing the available inventory explained above. Each time a user rolls, the inventory is randomly selected and temporarily made unavailable. Sort of like buying a concert ticket. You pick a seat and that seat gets reserved for a short period of time to prevent someone else from getting it. The same applies to trait inventory. If our NFT has 10 traits, when you roll, you pull 10 traits out of inventory for a short period of time. Each re-roll will release the previously selected inventory items and will randomly select a new set.

• Locks - A lock is not just a clever name. Like rolls, a user has an available balance of locks that they can use. One lock represents the ability to lock 1 trait and protect it from changing. If a user only likes 1 trait they randomly rolled, they can lock that trait and use another roll to re-randomize the traits EXCEPT the trait they locked. If you really like the black suede pants, but can't stand the pink furry hat, you can lock the pants and re-roll everything else. You can continue this process until you have spent all of your available locks and rolls. This allows you to pick the things you like, but in a manner that doesn't give you absolute control over the design. A user is still subject to random selection.

• Builds - Once a user has either run out of locks and rolls, or finds the perfect set of traits, the user locks that build in place. The build is... wait for it... the blueprint. Builds are similar to rolls and locks in that you have an available balance. A user could have X number of builds of which each they would utilize the available rolls and locks to complete out each build.

Lets summarize - For example, a user has 50 rolls, 15 locks, and 4 builds. That user has the ability to create 4 blueprint builds. As they are creating each build, they are utilizing the available rolls and locks to fine tune their blueprint. Once all builds have been created, the process is complete and that user just contributed to the design of 4 out of 10,000 soon to become NFTs.

Wait isn't this just customization with extra steps?

Not at all! And here is why. Remember when we created that inventory? Each build removes that inventory from the ledger which does something critical to the NFT collection, it protects rarity. If the original mint produced 10 blue hats, making blue hats ultra-rare, the blueprinted collection will still only have 10 blue hats. From a trait-by-trait measurement, the rarity of any given trait is identical and immutable from the moment the process began. What we changed was the arrangement of traits, NOT the rarity.

Couldn't I just keep re-rolling indefinitely until I had all ultra rare-traits?

I like the way you think, but no. You can't. For starters, you are limited to the number of times you can roll. And let me math you for a moment. We can use ORDO's NFT collection in this example. Our collection has 14 traits with a range of 10-30 variations of each trait. This equates to over 100 billion possible combinations that you could roll. Not even Do Kwon could buy enough rolls to game the system. And that's the point. Rarity is critical, but a healthy spread of that rarity is also critical, which is why the system is designed to prevent a user from cherry-picking the best of the best traits. On top of the enormous number of possibilities, time is NOT on your side. Everyone is building simultaneously, creating an ever-changing inventory pool. The available inventory can swing harder than DOGE after a tweet from Elon Musk. So from the moment the gates open, everyone is fighting the clock and the available inventory.

Now for the mint event!

Once the blueprinting event has completed, the mint event takes place. The minting is no different than a traditional mint. Our program takes all the blueprints created and compiles them into the new NFT collection and pushes that mint on chain like any other mint. From there, the process is identical to what we are all used to except with a few added perks. Read on to find out!

Ok this sounds cool...I want to participate

ORDO's blueprinting process starts with the sale of Blueprint Card NFTs. Each Blueprint Card has an allocation of rolls, locks, and builds locked to that card. When the initial sale of these cards goes live, users will know how much that allocation is prior to purchasing. We will then have a blueprinting event where card holders will have to connect their wallet and redeem their credits into the system to be used for blueprinting. Once the event begins, there will be a fixed amount of time for card holders to create the builds. Each build gets recorded into a public ledger for full transparency of who built what. But remember, these builds aren't NFTs yet. And to really throw you for a loop, you also don't own the NFTs you just designed.

Hold on, I just paid to build NFTs and I don't own the NFT's?

That's correct. You paid for the opportunity to help build out the collection. Now you might be wondering... did I just get rugged? Not at all! Here‘s why...

Show me the money!

Creating a blueprint does cost money to participate. That money is how we fuel this company. But wait, there's more! That Blueprint Card you bought, it's also an access key to an account that only the holder of that specific card can access! Think of it like a bank account, except it's not owned by a person or a wallet. It's owned by the Blueprint Card NFT. Having that card lets you open the vault. What's in the vault you ask? After you built the blueprints, the NFT launch is initiated and users are allowed to purchase those NFTs like any other traditional mint. However, we hardcoded that bank account address as a creator on the builds you designed. Meaning that a percentage of the secondary market royalties go straight to that account. That means, if your build is rare or just bad ass and is selling like hotcakes, as long as you hold that Blueprint Card, you can open that vault and withdraw those royalties to a wallet of your choosing. And the best part... ORDO has zero control of that account. In fact, literally only one person can interact with the account... the person holding the Blueprint Card. If ORDO dies and those NFTs keep trading for the next 20 years, that royalty account will continue to receive royalties from the secondary market autonomously.

But wait! There's more...

If you have been a good student, you will remember our talk of inventory. Specifically, that each record on the ledger is its own independent item with its own unique identifier. In a collection where there are 1000 red shirts, each of those red shirts, while visually are identical, represents a unique identifier. The ORDO collection will have 14 traits. This means that 1 edition has 14 uniquely identifiable traits.

Why is that important?

It's important because one of ORDO's core missions is to expand NFT infrastructure to pave the way for emerging technologies. The most obvious is NFT Gaming. NFT gaming is a monster of a task. Currently, the majority of projects that launch "Gaming NFTs" aren't actually doing that. They are promising it and then never talking about it again. Since the dawn of in-game purchases, there has been a battle of ownership. Currently 99% of game developers own the things you earn. And they certainly aren't cross platform or even cross game compatible. The blockchain has opened up the world to the concept of decentralized control and ownership. The days where game developers control the things you purchase is coming to an end and NFTs will be the vehicle that gets us there.

How will ORDO play a role?

We are building core architecture that will enable game developers to build games that can allow for actual NFT gaming. This will allow independent game developers to build their games in a manner that will permit NFT characters or identities to traverse multiple games. This involves creating new standards that expand the existing Metaplex token standards allowing for complex deconstruction and reconstruction of NFT data. The first step in this process is to be able to properly deconstruct an NFT and rebuild it while maintaining data integrity and the original token. Many projects have created "mutated" versions of NFTs that burn one token to build another. This is not ideal when we are talking about a player’s gaming profile. The token must remain immutable while allowing the data to be flexible.

Can this be done?

Absolutely! And we are doing it currently. Our ORDO NFT initial launch is a character that was built to be integrated into a game and utilize this new infrastructure design. That is why each trait has its own identifier to distinguish itself from other traits that are visually the same. In fact, SPOILER ALERT, each trait of our character NFT is designed to be an immutable NFT itself. The character as whole is merely a container which holds and displays each NFT trait associated with it at any given point in time. What this will allow a user to do is add/remove traits to their base character in real time. Not only that, it opens the door to a whole new layer of commerce. If someone owns our character NFT and doesn't like the pants, they can swap pants with another user who has pants they want. Or even better, if an artist or a promotor wants to build a limited release of traits for our character they can. People owning traits unattached to the character itself allows a user to swap out traits in real time.

What about rarity? Won't this destroy the value of the NFT?

Actually, it doesn't! The value that rarity brings to an NFT has always been in the traits. If the NFT as a whole didn't have that rare trait, the NFT isn't as valuable. Value will always follow the trait, as it should, because it is in the traits that purpose, utility, or visual appeal is derived from. What we are doing is allowing that value to break away from its container and change hands at the will of the people. Additionally, there will always be the same number of traits available as there was during the mint. Traits cannot be cloned or reproduced. They can only be traded within the ecosystem that they support. Protecting rarity is the number 1 priority as we set out on this mission and will always remain a top priority. This means that, if you have a super rare weapon for your character, you can buy/sell/trade other traits on the market without losing the rarity of your trait. Traditionally, if you possess an NFT with a rare trait, you would have to sell the entire thing. This practice is only beneficial to a flippers market, not a true collector. This allows a user to accumulate other rare traits from other collectors and build something even more unique without compromising the integrity of the collection as a whole.

Why are you doing this?

This type of use case is what is needed for games to properly co-exist in the decentralized world. So we are building the core structure that will allow this type of flexibility with assets. Combining the power of the IPFS standards with composable NFTs allows a game developer to build games without housing those assets. Games can connect to a user’s wallet and identify available assets and utilized IPFS to securely load the user’s assets and build a gaming experience that looks and feels like any other Tier 1 game out there today. The goal of our NFT launch is to provide the world a truly working demo of this infrastructure and how it will pioneer the road to the Metaverse we all are dreaming of.

Will this be available Day 1 of launch?

The NFT core structure will be built and ready prior to the NFT launch and the NFTs will have the ability to be recomposed out of the box, but it will not be enabled immediately. If we enable this feature day 1, it will not serve its ultimate mission in the best way possible. We are currently looking for game developer studios and secondary marketplaces to partner with to be the first games and marketplaces to embrace this new concept. Our plan is to enable trait swapping between holders on the ORDO platform early 2023. ORDO is not a game development company, nor a secondary marketplace, we believe that there are already excellent companies out there that are better tooled to deliver those services. It's in the best interest of the community for us to play to our strengths and partner with others who complement those strengths with their own. This will ensure a timelier rollout of these concepts and better position the space for mass adoption.

Conclusion

All of these roads are leading to an underlying mission, creating a REAL Metaverse. True interoperability across multiple platforms via a unified infrastructure. Our ORDO NFTs will be the first of their kind to embrace both immutability, rarity, and customization into one package deal. There are many projects out there doing some of the above, but none doing all of the above. That's what it will take to truly pioneer the NFT gaming space. And it all begins with a blueprint.

Core Takeaways:

• Blueprints are an additional layer of steps that fit seamlessly into the existing NFT minting process.

• Blueprints merge the flexibility of customization with the power of dynamic randomization to create an NFT experience that keeps genuine rarity as a primary goal while also allowing just enough human control to allow a user to not have to choose rarity over visual appeal. We believe this is what is needed to allow projects to create long term sustained value for their collections.

• Rarity of a blueprinted collection is the same as if the collection were to be minted via the traditional method alone, allowing a project to add this functionality without making ANY sacrifices on rarity.

• Blueprint Card NFT's function as both access to blueprinting events, and autonomous access to royalty distribution accounts.

• Royalty Distribution Accounts (RDA's) are trustless accounts that only the holder of an access token is allowed use to gain access to the account. Not even ORDO can control the accounts. Once created, they are fully autonomous and trustless.

• NFTs that mint using our blueprinting process will have 2 minting events. The first minting event is to sell Blueprint Cards (access cards) to users who wish to take part in the design of the collection. Once the blueprinting is complete and 2nd minting event happens, the traditional minting of the NFTs takes place.

• Users who create blueprints pay to gain access to use the system, but are then compensated for their efforts through autonomous distribution of secondary market royalties that go directly from the secondary marketplace to the RDA. There is no middleman to intercept funds. As long as the user retains control of their original Blueprint Card, they will have access to the RDA forever.

• Ownership of an RDA is as simple as selling the Blueprint Card on the secondary market. The new user can simply login with their wallet and the system will verify ownership of the Blueprint Card and grant access. Technically, the holder of the Blueprint Card could build their own code to access the RDA and bypass ORDO's frontend all together.

• The initial launch of the ORDO Character NFTs is to showcase the next wave of NFT functionality in web3 by producing an NFT with a large amount of composability. Much like one would experience in a game where they could build a character.