Unleashing Fire: The EmberLore Era

Igniting a new legendary game on AVAX

12 min readFeb 22, 2024

“The Pokemon Go of Crypto!”

That is what the Reddit post was titled. I was immediately intrigued. I clicked through the links and saw an active Telegram chat with people panic buying into a token for a project called “Split Protocol.” But before I could figure out how to actually purchase the token I received a DM from someone named “Don” telling me to be cautious, that the project was a copy of his project and likely a rugpull. I checked out what this anon was telling me and it turned out to be true. I quickly left the Split Protocol chat and joined Dexioprotocol’s and after a few hurdles, successfully bought DEXI on the BSC on May 30, 2021; a mere 27 days after the project had launched. The rest, as they say, is history. Don Reyke is now one of my best friends and business partner. Dexioprotocol has been through two migrations and the worst bear market anyone could ever have imagined. And we not only survived the bear, but we came out with deep conviction and clear credibility for always being on the forefront in our thinking and vision, often saying and doing many things before anyone else in the space. I could not be more proud of all that we have accomplished and all that we have endured. It has been an incredible journey though certainly not one without mistakes.

The Pokemon Go of Crypto! That is where all of this started. Don had an idea that he could use augmented reality (AR) along with gamified experiences; integrating crypto, NFTs, and blockchain technology and onboard the masses into Web3. We refer to this more simply as Adoption and is one of our core missions along with Utility for our token and Sustainability for our business. Though none of this sounds particularly revolutionary, it was a unique promise in the space when we first started harping on it in the early days of Dexioprotocol. Now, after all of the ponzis and rugpulls almost every project reports to espouse these values. But we were one of the first if not the actual first project to synthesize these core concepts into a clear mantra.

So where did we go wrong? What were the mistakes?

There, of course, have been many things that with hindsight we can see were not the best choices. I will not deep dive in this post about every single one of these instances but rest assured, we are always looking at what we are doing and what we have done and how we can do it better and have more ideal outcomes.

The biggest mistake we made was allowing the excitement of all that we COULD do influence all that we ACTUALLY did. Like a kid in a candy store, we saw all of the amazing possibilities in front of us and took on WAY TOO MUCH and we took it on WAY TOO FAST. The result was that we were unable to fully focus on releasing high quality products each and every time. We felt the pressure to roll things out even though they were not ready and ended up with products that were bug-ridden and not the high quality experience that people expected and deserved. Above all, we allowed our seeding source of inspiration, “The Pokemon Go of Crypto!” to get diluted in all of the other products we were trying to develop simultaneously.

Anyone following the project will know that we had DexiGas ($DXG), DexiWallet, DexiSwap, DexiMarketplace, DXG GameEmporium, DexiKnights, DexiDragons, DexiCarnival, Legends of the DexiVerse, DexiRacer, The Smart Dexio Network, The DexiDAO/DexiGov (DGV), and even plans for our own stable coin (DexiDollar)… And it got even more complicated (and some might even say convoluted) with Reward Redemptions, DexiCash, DexiZones, and other product features, leaderboards, and stat tracking in the apps. To be honest, as I sit here writing this, I am overwhelmed just thinking about how much we were trying to do and how impossible that actually was. To be completely fair, I must assume most of the responsibility for allowing things to spiral into the mutant machine that it did. Don was always weary of the number of things we were trying to do but trusted my optimism that we could do it all. As it turned out, that optimism was misplaced and we were unable to keep up with the magnitude of the commitments we had made in terms of product development and support.

So we made a decision in the summer of 2023 to scrap everything else we were doing and focus on DexiHunter and DexiDragons. DexiCash and DexiZones would remain a part of the integration plan but everything else was either put on hold or just completely scrapped from the roadmap. At the same time, a decision was made that DexiHunter needed its UI/UX completely overhauled and rebranded to GeoQuestAR. Anyone who has even taken a superficial look at that application is completely blown away by the graphics, gamification, and UI. GeoQuestAR is actually more than “The Pokemon Go of Crypto!” It is a one-of-a-kind interactive experience that crosses all genres, generations, and styles. It is the only application I have ever encountered that literally ANYONE could use and have fun with no matter who they are, where they are from, or what they like to do… It is actually a singular product that achieves all of the goals we were trying to achieve by having dozens of different applications. It is all of those other products rolled into one; the synthesis of 2.5+ years of working on dozens of auxiliary applications.

And this brings me to the crux of this all…

Yet another decision has been made as we edge closer to the final vision of Dexioprotocol.

DexiDragons is going to be spun off into its own project with its own community, token, tokenomics, and business model. This new project is called EMBERLORE and the token will be launched on Avalanche with the ticker symbol $EMBR.

A complete overhaul of all of the UI, gameplay, graphics, and in-game economy is already underway and the relaunched/rebranded application is actually already in private beta with an elite group of testers. Part of this decision was based on an idea that Don and one of our main developers (Vitor) had about turning DexiDragons into what they called “the PalWorld of Web3.” Back in 2021, Don and I had an idea for an RPG/MMORPG style Web3 game that we called Legends of the Dexiverse. We did a fair amount of development and asset building for that game but stopped work on it sometime in 2022. Much of what we wanted to do with the game is now being integrated into EMBERLORE. Players are going to be able to create their own unique avatar, form a team of customizable dragons, and engage in an incredible open world environment where they will battle through immersive levels, contend with legendary bosses, collect NFTs, earn crypto rewards, and challenge other players around the world as they compete for prizes and spots on a leaderboard. The public beta is scheduled for after the token launch on Avalanche and will include many incredible new features including an AR function for players to interact directly with their Dragons.

Dexioprotocol will finally be the one product project it was always meant to be and all of the other amazing games that we have planned will have a path of their own. Because the truth is that each application will have many facets, integrations, and features that need to be attended to independent of the interworking of any other application. This is the fundamental lesson that we have learned throughout this whole process; a crypto project needs to maintain its focus on one product and one plan. This is not to say that there will not be integration of all of the other games including EMBERLORE into GeoQuestAR. In fact, that is still core to the general mission of Adoption, Utility, and Sustainability. But rather than each of the other games being part of a larger suite of apps that Dexioprotocol produces, they will each be downsized into mini-games and become a feature of GeoQuestAR or they will have their own community and goals and be included as partners like any other project being integrated.

Now before people freak out about this, all $DEXIO/DXVOT holders will be airdropped $EMBR and given exclusive access to the Private Sale round of the pre-IDO offering. We are doing this because everyone holding $DEXIO/DXVOT currently deserves and will receive exclusive access to the new project. Don and I will maintain ownership of EMBERLORE but will look to bring on innovators who will eventually take over key roles as we maintain focus on Dexioprotocol and GeoQuestAR.

One of the first and most obvious reactions we have gotten from people we have shared this idea with before making the public announcement is-

“Are you not just making the same mistake again? Isn’t this $DXG all over again?”

We developed the concept of DexiGas ($DXG) as a response to the problem of having a token as part of the P2E incentive structure that could sustain selling and not crush the “value” of the main token, the commodity designed to be a store of value and speculatively traded by enthusiasts. In some ways we modeled this after Axie (AXS) and Small Love Potion (SLP) but tried to improve upon that concept. In the end we decided that this was an unnecessary and potentially problematic path and in the migration from BSC to Polygon in September of 2022 ($DEXI v1 to $DEXI v2), we folded $DXG back into the main token and moved forward. It is true that we later launched DexiGov (DGV) as part of a larger plan to operate and maintain a full-blown decentralized autonomous organization (DexiDAO) but DGV was never tradable on any market and its value was simply a direct (1:10) relationship to DEXI v2. When we migrated to Ethereum in August of 2023 it was determined that we did not need to launch DexiDAO and so we moved forward again with just one token, folding DGV back into the new token on Ethereum ($DEXIO).

So how is this different?

First of all, $EMBR will not be correlated to $DEXIO, will not be part of the same tokenomics or swap, and will be completely independent from Dexioprotocol INC. Obviously, there will be some shared resources, especially in the beginning, in terms of dev time, assets, and executive leadership. However, the $EMBR token and the project behind it will stand on its own. Furthermore, it is important to reflect on what happened in September and October of 2021 when we launched $DXG: there was a massive explosion in volume, community membership, social media presence, and of course, value in both the BSC $DEXI token as well as $DXG, once it was launched. Much of this can be contributed to the conditions of the market at that time. But there were many many projects that did not see the kind of explosive growth that we did. And if we are being honest with ourselves, one of the biggest drivers of that was the $DXG private and presale and the ensuing hype.

ICO/IDO season is here. We have friends in the space that are telling us that this is going to be the biggest ICO/IDO season ever. That means the market will be saturated with mostly empty promises and Hopium. As I have said many times, it is hard to be the loudest voice in an already loud room. One way to do that is to have a microphone. EMBERLORE is a working, super fun, totally addictive mobile game with many updates and upgrades coming. That is our microphone, the piece of the puzzle that will amplify our message above all of the rest. Because it is not flowery predictions about some product that we are planning to create… We already created it! The explosive success of games like PalWorld only give us deeper conviction that there is a huge opportunity in building the Web3 version of that.

Another one of the counter-arguments that has been presented in a meaningful way is “Won’t EMBERLORE just take your focus off of GeoQuestAR, splitting your time and resources like you did during the past cycle? Won’t you guys just fall into the same trap?” And there is merit to this concern. Yes, it is true we will need to divide some of our focus and resources. But this is actually the case whether we created a new project and token for EMBERLORE or not. The truth is that DexiDragons would always live in the shadow of GeoQuestAR and could never become the full-fledged application that we all know it can be if we don’t separate it. The reality of this is actually a win-win because the ensuing hype around an $EMBR ICO/IDO and presale will bring a lot of new people to the project and we will funnel those people right back into Dexioprotocol as we integrate EMBERLORE into GeoQuestAR.

A great deal of time, money, and other resources have already been invested into DexiDragons and Legends of the Dexiverse. Dropping them completely is out of the question. Downsizing them into simple mini-games would not necessarily be a waste, but it will certainly handicap the applications’ chances of ever becoming some of the biggest games in Web3. Opportunities do not present themselves that often and when they do, we must seize them with all the vigor and enthusiasm we can muster. There is a massive opportunity here to make an incredible new project with an independent economy and ecosystem while also driving much needed attention and recognition back to Dexioprotocol. We intend to grab that opportunity and make it everything that we know it can be.

Early Details

We allocated 10 million $EMBR to $DEXIO/DXVOT holder airdrops. We will take a snapshot on March 3, 2024 (10 days after the announcement today) that will determine airdrops awarded. Because there are 10 million being airdropped and 80 million total $DEXIO in supply less the 25 million $DEXIO in the PinkSale Lockers and roughly 20 million $DEXIO in other project wallets (marketing, partnerships, Advisors, etc…)

That makes airdrop work as such — 10 million /80 million = 0.125.

This means for every $DEXIO/DXVOT you have, you will receive 0.125 $EMBR. Or in other words you will get 1 $EMBR for every 8 $DEXIO/DXVOT you have.

We know that there is DXVOT in a supply wallet to fund the staking pools. This obviously won’t be counted.

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There has been 2.5 million $EMBR allocated to a pre-launchpad “swap.” We are also going to allow people the opportunity to swap their $DEXIO for $EMBR (airdropped at TGE). That ratio will be 4:1 $DEXIO to $EMBR. In other words, for every 4 $DEXIO you will receive 1 $EMBR. This will be limited to 40K $DEXIO contributed (so 10K $EMBR airdropped) per person. This means that 10 million $DEXIO will be swapped in total for 2.5 million $EMBR and only 250 people will be allowed to do this at 40K $DEXIO max. This will happen on a first come, first serve basis and we reserve the right to deny people that option.

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The Founder/Angel Round is reserved for high-ticket buyers. The minimum purchase in the Founder/Angel round will be $2,500 (in stablecoin) with no maximum though we reserve the right to cap the purchases of any one individual or organization. We also reserve the right to decline anyone for any reason.

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The Private Sale round is strictly for existing $DEXIO/DXVOT holders. The minimum purchase will be $100 (in stable) with a max purchase of $5K (in stable).

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There is no set date for the first public presale round (which will take place with NFTs on Altura) but we plan to make more announcements about that in March.

More information will be made available in the coming days about what exactly is happening and when it is happening. But it is happening and we devoutly believe that this move will be exactly what Dexioprotocol needs and exactly what all of the other games will need in order to thrive.

In the meantime, be vigilant and don’t get scammed. We’ve already set up the official Twitter, Discord, and a Telegram Announcements channel. All updates will be posted there.

Sincerely,

Greg Gould