The ASCIIPunks grew out of a realization that many of the NFTs we trade and collect today are nothing more than tokens with a hardcoded link to a centralized server containing metadata. With many NFT's on the market, you have to trust that whoever is hosting the actual image keeps their promise to host the artwork for the entire life of the ethereum blockchain.
As an on-chain maximalist, I find the idea of trusting centralized services to host artwork that I own entirely too custodial, and against the overall ethos of crypto and decentralization. What value can an NFT really have, so long as the token itself is not inseparable from the art in question? It is this question that led to the development of ASCIIPunks.
So if you are an on-chain maximalist, a decentralization junkie, or a real OG crypto head, this is the project for you.