Iterative always has, and will continue to be somewhat of an obsession.

Have you got any memories of toys, shows, or experiences from when you were a kid that you still think about regularly? That one episode of Thundercats, that one trip to the beach, maybe something as simple as a breakfast your mom made you?

Iterative is an amalgam of over a decade of memories around computers, spanning from the late 80s into the late 90s. But it’s not just a combination of memories - it’s also a way to bridge the potentials from childhood with Blockchain tech: the current iteration of that same feeling of marvel at technology.

In many ways, it is exploring the idea of being nostalgic for something that hasn’t happened yet - and we’re all making it happen by building on, and interacting with blockchains. In the case of Iterative, we’re putting everything on the EVM.

The basics

Wen mint: March 6th, 2024
How much: 0.0555 Ξ for IMP holders | 0.0666 Ξ for AL + public

Iterative can be considered what folks call a generative art project. Consisting of 1111 tokens, the collection has 1104 p5.js generated outputs, and 7 unique traditional media pieces. Each one of the scripted 1104 p5 sketches are broken into 1 of 3 Classifications, and 1 of 30 Types. Furthermore, each one of these iterations has a potential combination of 8 (plus [redacted] more) “traits.”

With v1 of Iterative, at least 5 of the traits will be modifiable. What this implies is that the tokens are upgradeable. The intention is to blur the lines between immutability and dynamicism; yes there are non fungible tokens, no their contents are not permanent. We want to encourage folks to nurture, evolve, experiment with, and grow with their tokens.

I would like to emphasize that these are not JPEGs. I like to classify what we’re doing here as runtime art, as the art itself is visual output that is only visible while the scripts are actually running. And while the scripts are indeed running on the EVM (see previous development articles for how/why we’re achieving this), they are only activated and rendered when a user “activates” them by viewing them. It’s actually your device that’s rendering the visuals, frame by frame, using your local hardware and software resources.

As far as “utility” goes, the utility is literally the art. However, the art is an interoperable token that is capable of being a therapeutic trippy loop, an exploration of JavaScript, an educational tool, an artifact in a game, an entry pass to an event, or even a beacon on a network that allows you to connect with others…and more. We have a lot of things we’d like to do. Ultimately, we are embracing the mentality behind open source, the demo scene, ethical hacking, and ultimately: autonomy. Do whatever the fu*k you want with your iterations; turn them into a toaster if you can figure out how. Hack the everliving crap out of them.

Featured artists: CFW, Boxhead, Glowa, Everfresh, The Hiena x Images Sombres, Orb

Roadmap

Our roadmap is to literally keep doing everything we’ve ever wanted to do since we got our hands on computers during the last decades of the 20th century. That’s it. That’s the roadmap.

Essentially we want to go beyond static art and financial transactions (JPEGs + tokenomics), by exploring interactive environments, gaming, and any innovative applications that have a place for our approach and philosophy on the blockchain. There’s nothing wrong with monkey JPEGs or making money; this project just isn’t prioritizing that in any way.

In a sense, we have no roadmap because all we have are bucket list items. And the bucket is vastly endless at this point. WIth a community-centric development model, we want to champion involvement as a vehicle for growth, and as a model of inclusion for people of all walks of life. One of our greatest goals is to bridge the gap between the islands of multi-K collectible projects, 1/1 art, and generative runtime art.

Artists 🤝 Devs 🤝 Collectors 🤝 Curators 🤝 Enthusiasts 🤝 Incubators

We want you to join us in building a cultural identity together, that is both a hat tip to the oldschool and a commitment to the future of Blockchain technologies.

Ethos

We have a great sense of nostalgia for the past, and for the future; we are fully vested in the concept of marrying the charm of old tech with the potentials of bleeding edge technologies. We are, again, nostalgic for things that haven’t happened yet.

Part of making this happen is rooted in hacking ethically. You can get spoon fed the things you buy and entertain yourself with, or you can be a part of a movement and have an active role in creating things that you want to see exist. And a big part of this is being able to do what you want, with what you have ownership over. Don’t let things happen to you; be part of change by contributing your energy to the larger narrative.

This emphasis on autonomy is why we have chosen to go with an MIT license for our iterations. We want to encourage exploration - take our code, take our art, take the product, and go do whatever you want with it. We even want you to use the contracts we’ve set up and go frankenstein the sh*t out of them! Just remember to give Iterative credit for where it originated; keep the provenance intact not just on chain, but in projects that may be inspired by it; bring folks back to the community.

The goal is to credit Iterative itself - not just the devs. Instead of funneling clout to a handful of individuals, we want to see an entire community of supporters receive credit for the success of any one of its members. Yes, we’re awful capitalists. This doesn’t mean we don’t want some healthy competition; we want to be challenged, and we want to shitpost, and we want to have fun along the way (and I have more collections I want to release).

We just want to tether the gap between the original early days and the current early days we are experiencing, without losing our souls to greed. The inner kid inside us all never stopped wanting to explore. We got older, and the toys just got way cooler. (They also got more expensive unfortunately).

Get Involved

As total anarcho-punk-art-nerds, we’re all about building stuff that is disruptive. And we realize we can only do this as a community. We have learned so much in the past year looking at the communities around Mathcastles, 1337 Skulls, and even how Art Blocks adjacent groups all handle themselves. The one thing above profit profit that is holding everybody together, is conviction. Decentralization solves so much, and we are just now starting to realize and actualize the potentials that got us into this madness in the first place. There is an obsession that comes with getting into generative art, and it amplifies with the potentials of running it on a decentralized world computer like Ethereum.

So if you’re interested in any of the things we’ve outlined above, I would like to personally invite you to get involved. You can start by getting in on the mint on Wednesday, and here’s how you can do that:

• If you own an IMP, you will have 1 iteration airdropped to you on the day of mint, and will be able to mint a few more at a discounted rate of 0.0555 Ξ

• You can get on an AllowList, that will allow you to mint a few at 0.0666 Ξ

• If we don’t sell out by end end of the IMP + AL period, public sale will let folks mint however many they want at 0.0666 Ξ

If you don’t want to mint, but want to get involved regardless, hop on our discord at [redacted] and start a discussion. You can find most things you need by interacting with our website.

Iterative Minting Pass (IMP)

IMPs are sold out, but folks have been selling them on secondary markets. Since you effectively get one mint airdropped (no claim, we just send it to you), and you can mint a few more at 0.0555 Ξ, it’s up to you to decide if it’s worth buying one at current listed prices. Don’t ape into something you don’t understand and come asking us why number no go up.

The Allowlist

The list will be slightly over-allocated, as we have no idea how many IMP holders will mint max allocations. FCFS. All AL wallets will have the same mint quantity allocations.

There are a few ways to get on the list:

A. Collaborative Claims
The easiest is for those that claimed a collaborative piece from one of the following drops. If you were a holder before the dates listed below, and you haven’t claimed yours yet, you can still do so. If you’re just getting in now, GG (these projects are still worth supporting and getting involved in FYI).

1. Pillheads Generative - 9.21.23

2. 1337 Skulls - 9.23.23

3. Alphadoggg - 9.23.23

4. Mad Rabbits Riot Club 11.3.23

B. Community Raffles
Currently there are a handful of AL spot raffles occurring at these communities:

1. FeistyDAO - Discord link

2. GLHF - Discord link

3. Pirate Nation - Discord link

4. Palette - Discord link

5. [redacted] - [redacted]

6. [redacted] - [redacted]

Check Twitter for announcements about what projects may be participating in giving away AL spots for our mint.

Personal Thoughts

I would like to cap this article on a personal note.

Iterative has always been about establishing better coping mechanisms. Even my long term goals with this project go beyond NFTs; I believe that generative art can be used as a visual utility for healing purposes. The project is designed to be able to create new inputs that go beyond pre-established code, and that means extending the project into real world inputs like biorhythms, environmental audio, and more.

This project is not about making a buck and moving on to the next thing. By “buying” into this project, you are providing financial support for a long term vision. And that vision is one that encourages you to stay, and be a part of it by helping guide it.

Let’s make others nostalgic for what we’re building.

Thanks for connecting,
-o