In Dogamí, players adopt and raise a virtual pet (a Dogamí), with a unique personality and physical traits, from puppy to adult, when it then starts its own Dogamí family with new puppies to raise. The mobile game provides an evolving experience driven by an immersive story, interoperability with blockchain game partners like The Sandbox, AR/VR features that allow leaping from the player’s own everyday environment to ever-changing virtual environments, and endless customization options to make the user experience and avatar unique.
Dogamí was co-founded by Max Stöckl, Adrien Magdelaine, Bilal El Alamy, and Kristofer Dayne Penseyres, with Ubisoft alum Gregory Magadoux joining as artistic director and Neville Brody as brand advisor. Penseyres, who describes Dogamí as “a mix of Tamagotchi, Pokemon GO, and Nintendogs,” shares here about the success of the game and his plans for its continued expansion, including partnerships with brands that will give the Dogamí community access to the new accessories to fully customize their gaming experience.
L’OFFICIEL: Why dogs?
Kristofer Dayne Penseyres: Dogs are man’s best friend, so the choice was simple. Adrien Magdelaine, our COO, has also spent the last 12 years as the founder of the largest site for pets in the world, called Wamiz. He brought his know-how and his network, which played a decisive role in the development. We continue to work with two canine experts on the development of each new breed in the Dogamí world.
L’O: By mixing cryptocurrencies, NFT, Metaverse, and animals, it is said that Dogamí is revolutionizing play-to-earn and gaming. How so?
KDP: There are great projects on the market, but what I think we did differently is that we didn’t want to have an opportunistic approach. We developed a concept that we could execute, not just a concept for a Metaverse, cryptocurrencies, and NFTs without a long-term vision. We built a brand born on the blockchain but interoperable not only with other blockchains but also with real-life activities and activations.
Choosing our blockchain, Tezos, was also a forward-facing decision. Tezos consumes 2 million times less energy than traditional proof-of-work blockchains. This allows us to have a blockchain with almost no transaction fees (known as “mint fees”), allowing easy and open adoption to anyone curious about this paradigm shift in the video game industry. We wanted to learn lessons from yesterday for the world of tomorrow, which gave us access to a great ecosystem of support from both the Tezos Foundation and its community. We were also extremely ambitious and pushed our limits on small details. Our unboxing experience, for example, is something unique and original in NFT projects, where you reveal through a video your avatar after purchase, something that has been shared online by many members of the community. We have seen parents open Dogamí NFT boxes with their children, groups of friends, influencers, and couples sharing their experience online.
L’O: Is Dogamí aimed more at fans of the Petaverse or investors?
KDP: Dogamí’s audience is split almost evenly between female and male users, largely centered in the 18-34 age bracket. This group is primarily NFT literate, but as we evolve and grow, we will increasingly attract a crypto-curious market, who are slowly adapting to NFT communication tools. Twenty percent of our Discord community joined the gaming social network specifically to buy a Dogamí NFT.
L’O: Dogamí will also partner with fashion and luxury brands. What projects do you have coming up?
KDP: We have the great pleasure to announce the partnership of Dogamí x Gap wearables in the Petaverse. This will be the first collaboration with a lifestyle fashion brand and a big step forward for Dogamí and our future partners.
The Dogamí x Gap partnership will launch in July 2022 with 12,000 NFT wearables specially designed for Dogamí Avatars. The Gap accessories will have a direct impact on your game stats, which is usually only possible by earning rewards.
It is a pleasure and a privilege to work on the first range of digital accessories with a partner like Gap, which has an incredible ability to bridge the gap between individuals, generations, and cultures. With Dogamí, Gap is taking incredible steps in Web3. We would like to thank Gap for collaborating with us to be a first-player in this space, developing this range of virtual logo pet accessories together.
L’O: What else do you have in the works?
KDP: We are developing over 300 Dogamí breeds and working on a long list of gaming activities. Both are incredibly complex to develop. Before the end of the year, we are aiming for a minimum of 40,000 active users—something that was only made possible with the implementation of the breeding functionality, allowing users to find their partners to mate their Dogamí. We are also in full development on derivative products, which includes partnerships with brands that are experts in their markets.
L’O: Can we expect a Catamí?
KDP: We already have a very long roadmap of activations planned for Dogamí, but everything is possible in Web3. This is a question you should ask our community. As a user-driven company, the answer lies with the Dogamers.
