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I’ll never forget when I first discovered Parallel. It was on the night of February 28, 2021.
Two weeks prior, I had completed my maiden voyage into the NFT abyss after successfully securing my first NBA TopShot pack. Back then, every day felt like I was drinking out of a firehose. If I wasn’t stuck at work or learning about the blockchain in Discord, I was glued to the networking app Clubhouse. It had a ton of experts hosting great discussions about NFTs around the clock, and that’s when I first heard two gentlemen, Kalos and Mr. Gone, talking about a new trading card game called Parallel.
Some of the things they shared that night went way over my head, but I was still enamored by their forward-thinking ideas. Kalos spoke of things like players having full ownership of their in-game digital assets. Mr. Gone spoke of the actual trading cards being fully compatible with the latest AR and VR technology. It was the type of game design wizardry I had dreamed of finding all my life.
That same night, I followed their new Twitter account and sent a DM eagerly pledging my support. I had no trading card game experience whatsoever, but I didn’t care because they had already sparked my intrigue and imagination. And when I saw the original yellow “pill” logo for the first time, I knew I was hooked.
Are these pills life-enhancing or something sinister? Are they filled with some type of psychedelic substance? Are they even actually pills at all? If not, what the heck could they possibly be?
I had questions. Lots of questions. And I wanted answers.
By the second week of March, I was so enamored by all things Parallel that my sights were set on their Founder’s sale. During that fateful “PS-15” event, I claimed the first two cards in my collection: Synchronicity and Revitalizing Growth. What happened after that is another story for another time, but in a nutshell, it changed my life!
Fast forward to today – nearly 18 months later – and Parallel has made mind-bending progress on multiple fronts. Not only did they successfully launch the Echelon Prime Foundation in July, but they also built a web3 native email system called Inb0x, published over 200 cards in their base deck, announced an expansion pack called Planetfall, sent rare holographic posters to hardcore fans, created a growing library of AR and VR objects, and have even gifted their loyal Prime Key holders with a free PK Hoodie.
Speaking of coveted, everyone is hyped for Parallel’s fifth pack drop, [PDV]. The public sale is set for 5:00p EST on September 10 and the odds are primed for some really sick pulls. Meanwhile, the artists are drawing. The designers are building. The faucets are dripping. And last but not least, the fearless Wardens are ravenously playtesting.
With so many awesome pieces of the Parallel universe coming to life right now, I thought this would be a great time to introduce my favorite piece of them all: the emerging lore.
When it comes to gaming as a whole, I have always loved the ways in which The Hero’s Journey is embedded into the storytelling. There are so many great examples of this, from the Legend of Zelda to Final Fantasy to Dark Souls. Every game has the power to immerse the player into a story, so analyzing and exploring the stories that drive a successful game franchise is like a modernized version of comparative mythology.
For decades, Joseph Campbell and his counterparts have taught us how archetypes found within a civilization’s mythology can mold many of our deepest beliefs, oral traditions, and modern stories. The same holds true in movies and video games. Whether you’re controlling a character or watching one on the big screen, an epic and immersive story can teach us more about ourselves, our relationship with others, and how we find purpose in the world we live in.
Similarly, Parallel’s new sci-fi universe is shaping up to be full of embedded archetypes and diverse, meaningful storylines. By moving beyond a first-person perspective and exploring entire civilizations, the team is embracing a truly cosmic scale of storytelling.
In the game, you get to play as one of five factions, each one a different type of evolved species. Imbued with various elements of the supernatural, the civilizations are all still innately human. They were born out of the same struggles we are facing today; trying to reverse the damage done to a planet that is on the verge of its tipping point.
With this premise in mind, Parallel’s emerging universe is an endless wellspring of new mythos and rich literary potential. The game is already considered top-shelf quality when it comes to the artwork and the core game mechanics, and I think you’ll find that the first taste of official lore goes down super smooth as well.
“One became many. Life in Parallel.”
Centered around five highly evolved civilizations called Parallels, the game’s official backstory begins with a novel doomsday theme. When humanity’s daring attempt to create a new form of harvestable energy quickly turned catastrophic, people wasted no time splitting up into five different groups and abandoning the planet.
This was known simply as The Event.
The Marcolians turned Mars into a thriving planet full of scientific innovation and elite human performance.
The Kathari opted for the icy chasms of Jupiter’s moon Europa and leaned on purification to secure their way of life.
The Augencore sailed into the far reaches of the Asteroid Belt and built a thriving ecosystem – and even a few upgraded body parts – out of their ship’s surroundings.
The Shroud actually left way before the Event on a totally different mission. While trekking toward an Exoplanet, they somehow got sucked into the singularity of a black hole and ended up, well, we’re not exactly sure yet.
Finally, the aptly named Earthen found a way to thrive on Earth despite The Event’s fallout, thanks in large part to a rare genetic skin trait found in less than one percent of the population.
For thousands of years after the mass exodus, all while these five factions were slowly evolving in their new environments, the global cataclysm that once rejected human life was undergoing a maturation process known as The Priming. What once was a lifeless shell of a planet had somehow been transformed into an endless and immeasurable supply of raw energy.
This was not only an unfathomable happenstance. It was a miraculous second chance.
Many generations of genetic evolution have woven their way through the fabric of time, so each Parallel now has its own distinct culture, language, belief system, purpose, and Pantheon of god-like leaders. Eventually, all five factions discover the signals coming from Earth, and all five quickly prepared for the inevitable.
The race to reclaim Earth had begun, which is exactly where the origin story ends.
Alas, no Hero’s Journey is complete without some supernatural aid. Sure enough, there’s a heaping dose of it in Parallel, lending credence to the team’s strong commitment to detailed sci-fi storytelling. At the same time, I love how there is still so much realism embedded in each Parallel’s history. Each one has a tinge of surrealism. Out of reach today, yet eerily possible tomorrow.
This unique and fresh blend of sci-fi storytelling has already captured the interest of thousands of fans around the world, and since the game has such a strong web3 ethos, there are plenty of ways to get involved.
“You aren’t just a witness of the Parallel universe, you’re a part of it.” – CaliPnL
As the game continues to be built out, it has been fascinating to watch the growth of many community-driven elements. From the glorious memes in their Discord to the Breakfast Club and Trivia Nights, the mutual respect between fans and team members is really cool to witness. The genuine passion that everyone has for bonding over trading card games and sci-fi has risen way above the doom and gloom of the current bear market.
I also love the amount of agency and sharing that the Parallel team provides on a regular basis. You will often find them asking for feedback on topics like compatibility and future game modes. Or they’re dropping sweet teasers of the game’s latest VR objects. They also recently shared the first set of Landscapes, which brings even more context to the mysterious ecosystems.
It almost feels like Parallel isn’t being built for you, but with you.
Your ideas, your imagination, and your passion for card games can absolutely play a role in how Parallel and the Echelon Foundation continue to evolve. You have a voice if you just speak it, and you don’t need any prior TCG or NFT experience to do so. For, left to the devices of a diverse and passionate gaming community, the collective thoughts and ideas that naturally emerge from it will surely bear valuable fruits.
As you can see, there is an endless stream of storylines and characters to explore in Parallel’s vast new world. It’s so easy to lose myself in these stories, but at the same time, I feel like I’m finding a new side of myself as well. Like many others in the community, I’m here for the long haul, I’m drooling over the game’s long-term potential, and I’m so excited for whatever comes next.
Suffice to say, we really like the cards.
And if you’re new to Parallel, we think you will like them too.