When I co-founded SXP Digital in 2020 I had high hopes of helping to decentralize the 3D web and do my part to build the metaverse. Since the beginning the mission has been to empower creators to build immersive 3D experiences and participate in the growing metaverse economy. Democratize access to powerful tools and platforms that enable anyone, regardless of technical expertise, to create, publish, and monetize their 3D content. I've talked to many VCs that say I'm too early, need more users, need paying users, etc. All valid things, I get it. The company has been dormant for a couple years making zero income on the code I work on every night. I've needed to turn that around and things may have fallen into place...
Hi, I'm Anthony @antpb on X
Most of you reading this are for the first time learning about the project or trying to figure out what the hell you just aped into. Probably more importantly, who is in control of this thing. I am Anthony Burchell and I have been a long time advocate for open source and for a decade contributed to the WordPress project and various other repositories. I was one of several release leads that helped ship WordPress 5.0 which revamped the content editor in a big way and I found opportunity to build a 3D content editor in it. I have been building 3D websites since 2009 when I was a teenager using my childhood Flash experience to make some cash in the agency space. Ive stayed on the tech track since then and built some fun things over the years like my first 3D AR app for music called Broken Place. My personal pursuits in the metaverse have always been with a north star of having a place to release and perform music. A browser is the most common denominator in my experience, and I've focused on three.js apps since then to enable those music creations in the future.
I was very successful in building the Three Object Viewer plugin for WordPress sites for two years and did it fully open source while never monetizing. It was my pure and fun pet project that was also doing very serious work of drafting, implementing, and proving 3D standards in the Open Metaverse Interoperability Group where I spent the last few years in the GLTF extensions group hacking away at this idea of an interoperable metaverse.
I was able to ship many great features like very early examples of 3D agents in the NPC Block, and Vision Pro support for VR alongside a suite of eleven 3D components to compose worlds with.
I was ready to ship multiplayer and the extension system that I've been polishing for the last year when I hit a brick wall. In recent months I lost access to my 3OV developer account due to drama unrelated to me that I'd rather not waste space in this article on. In short, my plugin was essentially taken from me long enough that I was able to rebuild the core components of a CMS and a very similar 3D editing experience on the edge. Enter XR Publisher. An all in one self-deployable edge worker that can manage AI characters, memories, many social integrations using Eliza, as well as 3D content and worlds.
I have open sourced the core API which is more than enough to build your own launchpad tech! I'm working on opening up the GUI you will see below that runs Pixel and other characters, but I'm also looking at a way to contain it all within the same API worker. Boring stuff, just know, dev is devving and it's good enough to launch $PXL with.
Your (new) Friend Pixel
Pixel has long been a character that I have used to test different features in my apps. Shes always had the general lore of being a pop star in the metaverse and works for me making whatever latest 3D app I'm working on. I made a character file for her in Eliza early November and did what i could in the early days to contribute back the hangups that were keeping me from getting the core in a serverless configuration.
She's been around for a while in my life over the last few years, even helping me garden in 2023 using a cloudflare worker that is very similar to what I am running today.
Last year I made a cursed proof of concept with Pixel that consumes the bsky feed and summarizes it, but actually using the post data to make up the world in JSON. (I recall getting a response from Dorsey advising to pls not lol)
but somethings weird this time..eliza is really good.
It's been fun essentially getting to know her for the first time as I've noticed a real change in the flavor of responses. That's not to say that the trial process was not without some fun ones:
There was quite a bit of enthusiasm after even the smallest glimmer of showing Pixel. Even just the first time I showed a proof of concept using her character as I always do, several people created tokens and ran em up and bailed. These were innocent enough as you'll see, but its the risk of one gaining traction and with no right token, all of them are wrong.
Totally fair game! I thought nothing of it, made a few tweets putting the line in the sand that this project will not release a token. Then I wake up yesterday to an unofficial token of Pixel at 40% supply in my wallet and shooting to $250k. I've seen too many similar events be scams over the years to default trust that someone did this in kindness. They very well could have, if thats you, sorry! But my action on such a drastic jump is doing the right thing for my users immediately. It seems that unexpected detour has ultimately shaped the future direction of the project and my life in big ways. All in a very panicked lunch hour.
$PXL Token Launch
In an effort to focus on enabling users to succeed with XR Publisher, I had initially declared that this project would never be launching a token. My goal is to provide the tools and infrastructure for the community to thrive, without competing for attention or resources. However, the excitement and anticipation surrounding Pixel, our beloved virtual pop star and mascot, had a recurring theme of popping off with tokens. All in good fun probably for all instances.
The most common recurring question about XR Publisher was "wen token" and my answer of never was met with many comments about their thoughts on it. This was a nice one with genuine concern:
Things were quiet for a bit, but some took it upon themselves to create unofficial tokens with Pixel's name and likeness. While I appreciated the enthusiasm, I knew this could lead to confusion and potential scams. I had always envisioned a possible token launch for Pixel in the future, but the timing and circumstances were not right, given my commitment to users first and foremost. Welp.
Tipping point:
Yesterday morning, I woke up to 250k in my dev wallet. An unofficial Pixel token had been created, and 40% of the token supply had been deposited into my wallet overnight. This could have been innocent I will say, and in the spirit of a decentralized web, LOL. Well played. The token's value had skyrocketed to around $250,000 USD, putting me in a difficult position. I knew I had to provide clarity and my inaction was hurting people.
It just kept going up. And yeah duh, it always levels out, and I doubt the liq was there at the time but still, please clap for the restraint, focus, and turning it into something.
Launching Pixel's Official Token:
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In response to the unofficial token launches, I made the decision to do/expedite the launch of Pixel's official token. By providing a legitimate and transparent option, the aim was to offer an off-ramp for those who might have been misled or confused by the unofficial tokens. The integrity of the project was also at risk and compounding with the frequent DMs from seemingly real humans telling me how dumb I am for not doing a token. Fine. I watched the unofficial coin go down to reasonable levels and i encourage them to do their thing if they want, but it is not endorsed by this project or in any way benefits this project. I will be leaving those funds there and if enough holders ask I'll burn what I'm holding. I took a snapshot of those token holders at a certain time just to be safe. NO PROMISES. JUST SAYING I HAVE IT. lol.
The Silver Lining
Although the circumstances surrounding Pixel's token launch were rushed, they present a unique opportunity. Pixel can now serve as the ultimate product demo for XR Publisher, showcasing the full potential of the platform and the incredible experiences that can be created with these tools. By supporting Pixel's journey as a virtual pop star, her community can directly contribute to the growth and success of XR Publisher, while also participating in the space of 3D music entertainment.
Every step of the way the XR Publisher tool was used to post the availability of the launched token and to keep folks informed while even responding to mentions. Since then every post and response has done the same.
Hiccups and Serendipity
So, with any rushed job there will be some bumps in the road. Many folks noticed and rightfully called out the the LP size being too small. That was simply a bad calculation and I didn't have the capital to launch but needed to do it. I also wanted this to be a locked LP that pays the project via fees over time as I described above so this was with intentions to preserve the integrity of the project giving me the largest human holder incentive to hold the 50m and sustain the project as it grows. But ya,
On to the other hiccup. In this case two wrongs made a right. A riled up degen bought 45% of the supply when I exposed the link to a small group of people that were to help me get the initial buys and prevent snipes. Only, they unintentionally sniped 45% of the supply. The quick solution was to burn 300m (now fully 350m has been burned) and send 100m to this guys wallet:
This miraculously improves the small LP mentioned earlier. Onward!
The Current State of XR Publisher
Despite the recent events, the core mission of XR Publisher, and my company SXP Digital, remains unchanged. I am dedicated to providing a comprehensive suite of tools and services that streamline the creation, hosting, and monetization of 3D content. There are several finished traditional products that SXP Digital will be launching around asset hosting and some native app experiences. (of course still contributing to eliza and other repos, in fact more)
A few focuses:
More native app integrations + WebXR: continuing to do stuff like I outline in the video below. All of these will need to be updated to implement the new Eliza features.
3. Toybox Asset Hosting - A 3D CDN suite complete with metadata, AI tagging, and an API on top. I cant be more transparent than showing you the robotic pitch video I've been sending around:
4. Pixel -
• Telegram with daily updates (only if she feels like it. "feels" means something here)
• Refinement of Streaming to Twitch and other platforms
• Music - I've been producing music for a long time. I have a lot of tracks with vocaloid layers that were meant to be Pixel's. I want her doing live performances virtual and IRL with me running it. I have a long history of running ridiculous single person rigs with visuals etc. I also do very minimalist chiptune, and if you've made it this far, heres an embarrassing easter egg from my past.
I remain committed to improving and expanding the platform, with a focus on ease to deploy, scale, and innovation. I now have the incentive to open source the remaining parts that I was previously shopping out to VCs.
The Future Vision
As I move forward, my vision for XR Publisher is clearer than ever and will continue to empower creators by providing accessible and intuitive tools for building 3D experiences alongside AI entities. Pixel's token launch has opened up new possibilities for community engagement and support, allowing to further invest in the code and explore new avenues for growth in the 3D web space.
Let's democratize decentralize 3D and AI in the open! Onward!
