“Terraforms” is a dynamically generated on-chain world of virtual land parcels whose structure and interactions are stored and mediated entirely by Ethereum, a programmable blockchain. The ASCII/Unicode character aesthetics recall games like Rogue and Dwarf Fortress, foundational games in direct lineage to communal world-building games like Minecraft. But I believe aesthetics are secondary to the ambitious use of a new computing paradigm for a networked artwork of “lego block” components in “Terraforms,” released independently by anonymous duo Mathcastles in December 2021. Ethereum itself was inspired by the desire of its founder for game primitives to persist outside of centralized control. Smart contracts can be thought of as a type of digital primitive: autonomous, extendable, composable. Looking to this promise, Terraforms land parcels are skeletal abstractions encouraging remixing and re-interpretation through meaning making social activities of the active community around it. The success of gen art paired with blockchain, imho, is due in large part to the capacity for online communities to develop around the works. A programmable blockchain is a common reference point for participants, a “gameboard” in a sense, to be used as a proxy for social interaction. — 0xDEAFBEEF