Love Download Collect Make
We grow up with the old adage that sharing is caring. We all love to create and hold something we've made in our hands. The best part of 3D printing is that you can make it your own. You can be incredibly creative with an amazing box frame tool and a bit of plastic.
We love making these models and sharing them with everyone! I’d like to tell you a bit more about how this all came to be.
In the beginning, there was a big BANG! Whether that was God with a snap of His fingers or some cosmic reaction we can't fully comprehend, it's all bundled up in some wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff.
Who, knows... get what I did there? Haha! Do I have your attention?
What we do know is that gamification can be fantastic or devastating.
Let's get real for a moment. Like REALLY real. Sales and marketing in our own wobbly world can be sickening. We immediately expect to be taken advantage of, abused, and left wanting. Afraid daily to put ourselves out there in fear we just may be wrong.
Every day I am constantly combating the bad practices of this world, sometimes massively to my own disadvantage. I started a video game studio back in 2012, Never Sun Games, and that studio has taken a massive direction change. I wanted to make games! Not sell people drop-shipped, half-baked products. Ok, I won't get emotional here, but we have gamified everything, often to manipulate, distract, redirect, abuse, and steal. Do I need to go on...? Ok, games—I make video games first and foremost. And those games suffered from the idea that money was to be made from in-app purchases and in-app advertising. UGH. Eck. Just makes me wanna... be right back.
... ...
Anyway, there is one way we make money that can make absolutely everyone feel good. When we can be creative, expressive, emotional, and indulgent. How do we do this? MERCHANDISING!More on that later—again though, there are good and bad ways of doing it. What we do here is learn from nostalgia, history, and especially the era of the 80s and 90s, when it was done so well that it defined a generation.
We feel fantastic when we get that new toy, the excitement to have a piece of something that shows what we believe in and shares our core values. Even if we don't fully understand them, we FEEL it.
That's precisely what we are exploring here. We have seen countless versions of characters and models for printing, and sometimes, one just strikes it right.
Here on Thangs, they have done it right. They contribute to artists and designers alike and help us grow unlike anything ever done before, giving opportunities that have never been available. In turn, we all grow together. New features on this platform are guided by our input, and their team is loyal to makers and designers alike, helping us in the battle against those who wish to take advantage.
Poor gamification examples are all around us: apps that push constant notifications to keep you engaged, games that make you pay to progress, and platforms that manipulate user behavior to generate more revenue at the cost of genuine user satisfaction. These practices often leave us feeling manipulated and exhausted, rather than fulfilled and motivated.
Thangs, however, makes great efforts to practice gamification in a way that is successful, fulfilling, and rooted in good discipline and motivation. They focus on creating a rewarding experience that encourages creativity and growth. By supporting features like liking a model, downloading it, adding it to a collection, and posting a make (showing what you’ve 3D printed, painted, or produced from our models), you help us gain points for the leaderboard. This, in turn, helps us win gift cards and prizes, which fuels our experimentation, research and development, and testing.
Your support means everything. Every like, every collection addition, every make posted boosts our visibility and supports our community. It costs nothing but has a tremendous impact!
We also want to extend our heartfelt praise to Thangs and the Physna team. Your platform and support have empowered us to reach new heights. Thank you for believing in us and providing the tools we need to succeed. Your commitment to innovation and support for creators is unmatched, and together, we are creating something truly special.
Thank you for your continued support. Let’s keep growing and creating together!
-Ryan