The new virtual social app Bondee has been trending on Philippine Twitter for a week now, as Filipinos signed up and created their own cute avatars and designed their own rooms in this social metaverse platform created by Singapore tech firm Metadream.
Described by several users as resembling The Sims but with a social media aspect, members of Bondee have spent time personalizing their avatars’ rooms — but one artist in particular has taken to raising the Pinoy pride flag a bit higher by creating Bondee-inspired rooms that resemble conventional Filipino settings.
Jhanrell Cortez dela Cruz, who goes by Rell, went viral on social media for his creative take on Bondee rooms — featuring just about everything in a typical neighborhood. There’s the humble Filipino apartment complete with a bedroom, kitchen, and a bathroom; the local barbershop and carinderia (diner); as well as the quintessential village computer shop home to regular DoTA gamers.
It was Facebook user Juan Marco who brought people’s attention to Rell’s NFT artwork after Bondee exploded in popularity — helping the artist gain more fans in return.
Classic Filipino settings are a popular source of inspiration for online designers and modders, with several artists using games such as The Sims 4 to create highly detailed virtual worlds.
