Forget 1969. 2022 is the year of the moon landing, as the VHS rocketship takes off and catapults ZED RUN into territories beyond anyone’s expectations. Perhaps you saw our roadmap? The team is fired up to bring you more comms this year with our new ZED RUNdown series.
To keep that momentum going, we’re introducing the Product and UX Roundups. Each week we’ll have a roundup from either the Product or UX team about what they’re working on and what they’re excited about.
As an added bonus for the inaugural roundup, you’ll also get to meet the team members (yes, like so many of us, they are human). So, without further ado…
Dan – Product Comms
Hi, I’m Dan. You may remember me from such places as the ZED RUN Discord #Announcements channel. I was a community member before I was a VHS employee – formerly ‘Wait, these aren’t goats’, now I’m Dan | ZED RUN.
I’m here for all your product comms needs. However, as self-deprecating as it may sound, I essentially want you to pretend I’m not here. Think of me as your own private gondolier as you sail, sun on your face and soft breeze in your hair, down the gentle canal of ZED RUN product news.
Don’t worry, I’ll point out all the landmarks along the way. On your left you’ll see our team of dizzyingly talented Product Managers. On your right, the whispering teasers of upcoming features and changes. Let’s begin our journey…
Luke – Product Manager
Bio: Hey, I’m Luke! I joined VHS in 2020, as ZED RUN’s first Associate Product Manager, and what a ride it has been. I have a creative background, working as a travelling artist for a few years, but have always had a passion for technology, with previous jobs in advertising technologies. For the past few years I have been studying for an MBA in applied circular economics, driving a deeper passion for blockchain, tokenomics and product development.
Current Focus: At this time, my team and I are working to improve the racing feature, which includes the promised Elo-based class system, and other racing developments alluded to in the 2022 roadmap.
I know it’s been a long time coming, but the roll-out of Elo will go a long way towards giving the ZED RUN racing ecosystem a much better base to improve the rating system. We know its broken, and it’s been the key thing I’ve been working on with our internal data team.
We are always looking for feedback, and the Product Portal is my first go-to spot for customer insights. Thank you to all those who provided their insights there in 2021. I look forward to seeing more in 2022.
Ab – Product Manager
Bio: I’m Ab. I joined VHS with a background in mobile and pc gaming, mainly building out meta game features to keep players engaged and rewarded beyond the core game loops. I’m always trying out different games to check out what’s new, what’s trending and what we can learn to innovate on.
Current Focus: Here at VHS, my team continues to further build out features for racehorse profile, skins bundling and racehorse lending. Our priority with ZED RUN is to improve the new user experience from their first time landing in ZED RUN to their first engagement with our features.
Renting racehorses is going to be the key driver that will enable us to grow the community. We want to make ZED RUN more accessible by allowing anyone to experience what it’s like to race a digital racehorse! We see this as a positive sum game, eventually opening up peer-to-peer renting and thus allowing all stable owners to rent their racehorse out and share in the rewards.
We’re always interested to hear about how we can improve the experience so drop your ideas and feedback in Discord or Product Portal!
Jon – Product Manager
Bio: I’m Jon, and I joined VHS and the Web 3.0 world after nearly 7 years at Meta (formerly, Facebook). There, I used my background in statistics to build tools and automations that were used both internally by my colleagues, and externally by the amazingly talented community of developers that used Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, and our other products to grow their businesses.
I’m constantly thinking about game theory and love watching pro-level Starcraft and Dota 2. At VHS, I’m focusing on the ecosystem within ZED RUN. My priority is to ensure that the game is fun, rewarding, and balanced for many years to come.
I’m Jon | ZED RUN in the Discord, so feel free to @ me if you have any questions.
Current Focus: Right now, my team and I are working on major improvements to the breeding experience and adding the Racehorse Retirement feature to the game.
We have received so much great feedback in this area, so thank you for being such a vocal and enthusiastic community. I’m excited to see how you all react to our upcoming improvements.
Jeff – Product Manager
Bio: Hey ZEDheads! I’m the newest member of the product team. As a crypto native, some of you may know me under my anon persona. I also come from a past life building web 2 products. I’m grateful to have had a chance to serve many different kinds of users during my time in B2B FinTech, EventTech and prior experiences working in the space.
My goal is to bridge the gap between web 2 and 3. I see a world where crypto natives, traditional gamers, and us suits have the ability to play and earn, together. Stay tuned – I love to drop alpha. As I am able to share more details, I’ll reach out on our Discord. I’m looking forward to meeting the community!
Current Focus: Ramping up! I’m currently working on the ZED RUN token alongside the Republic Crypto and the founders of VHS to ensure its successful launch. I’m prioritising the most efficient way to allocate tokens based on racehorse ownership and engagement.
Product Teasers
Hello, it’s Dan, your tour guide again. You didn’t think I’d let you leave without looking behind the curtain did you? Let’s see what we’ve got coming up.
Daily Tournaments
In order to reach the Ultimate Tournament Experience discussed in our roadmap, daily tournaments are next up. The team will be bringing you high-octane tournament entertainment with even more frequency.
A firm date and schedule for the first week of daily tournaments will be revealed shortly. However, there is likely to be a gap between the end of the Maiden Stakes 2.0 and the first daily tournament, so you’ll all be able to take a breath and compose yourselves before the tournament excitement commences again.
In conjunction with the upcoming Elo-based Class System changes, daily tournaments will go a long way to democratise racing events. The evolution of daily tournaments will soon bring in condition-based racing, giving those racehorses that haven’t spent enough time on the racetrack a chance to race again!
ELO Class System
We’re heading into the final rounds of testing for our new Elo-based class system. Designed to be a big stepping stone towards our long-term goals for the ZED RUN class system, the Elo-based system will provide a better way of measuring a racehorse’s performance and a stable owner’s skill than the current system.
This release represents Version 1 of our updated class system as we progress towards a fully dynamic and competitive long-term system. We will continue to evolve the class system as we test and gather feedback from the community.
In order to transition to the new system, a few changes will be implemented. Here’s a sneak peek:
- All racehorses, both new and previously raced, will have to complete a ‘Discovery’ process to establish their initial Elo rating
- Elo ratings will be replacing the current class points system
- The class brackets will be represented by all-new Elo ratings
- A 6th Class will be added below Class 5
Questions? Feedback?
We’d love to hear from you! Connect with us in Discord or submit your feedback in the Product Portal.
