Please describe your proposed solution.
Please see attached Whitepaper for a full breakdown of the proposal. The answers within this ideascale template are subsets of the whitepaper found here : <https://bit.ly/3xHZRHv>
Problem Description
Traditional DCCGs are unbalanced and unfair due to their pay-to-win structure. Players who can afford better cards have a stronger deck and thus disproportionately win games. Companies developing pay-to-win DCCGs are financially incentivized to release new, stronger cards in order to increase player purchases and maximize company profits. Additionally, purchased cards are confined to a player’s account and only exist within the game client. This limits the authority a player has over their cards as they have no agency outside of the game. Fundamentally, players do not own the cards in this sense, but rather they are paying to use them in the game client. Centralized ownership of the game also gives developers the power to manipulate balance changes for profit maximization. By buffing (increasing the power of) underpurchased cards to overpowered status, developers can stimulate their uptake in the game’s store. However, if game developers do not walk this line carefully, players will stop playing resulting in a reduction of profit. Proposed solutions to these problems need to address how one can lower player costs, balance playing cards and the game in general, and implement game updates the player base wants while securing funding for game development. Simply, a pay-to-win structure solves the problem of funding the continuous development of a game but renders the game unbalanced and unfair. Centralized game development allows for profit exploitation through balance changes but solves development logistics.
Proposed Solution
The three requirements, outlined in the Problem Description, must have proposed solutions for their respective issues as shown in the figure above. The requirements are Game Development Funding, Balance Change Logistics, and Store Logistics. To solve for Game Development Funding, the project will rely on Catalyst Funding. Catalyst is an on-chain decentralized governance platform that allows ADA holders to deploy funding to proposals they support. Naturally, if this project is valuable in the eyes of the voters, the funding is made available. An outline of proposed funding is found later in this paper. Another mechanism for funding, with a proven track record, is the sale of governance tokens. This mechanism provides a potential solution to both Development Funding and Balance Change Logistics. It allows for the game to transition from pay-to-win to pay-to-earn where users are rewarded in governance tokens for playing. These governance tokens grant voting power that individuals can use towards game balance changes. Therefore, the authority of balance changes is out of the hands of the developers and into the hands of the players, and thus developers are unable to exploit the game for profit. A proposed distribution mechanism for the tokens is outlined later in this paper. For the final requirement of Store Logistics, one can leverage the power of blockchain technology to allow true ownership of cards. In our case, all cards will be available to all players and thus not included within the wallets as it would be redundant. We have chosen this method to ensure that there is no advantage to players who have more disposable income. Instead, alternative card art, commonly known as skins, will be collectable and owned within a Cardano Wallet. Skins provide no in game power and are only cosmetic. Naturally, we will be leveraging the Cardano Blockchain for both the skins as well as the governance tokens. Any Cardano light wallet with DApp Connection Capability will be able to sync with the game for alternative card art ownership detection. With these three novel solutions, we propose the DCCG.
Please describe how your proposed solution will address the Challenge that you have submitted it in.
As It Stands
Goal is to drive Adoption to Cardano via Gaming Stream which directly aligns with the Challenge description
Currently as it stands, Cardano has a limited on-chain gaming scene. The games that currently exist prioritize Cardano integration but forfeit game quality to achieve it. Naturally, this does not drive adoption of the game and it becomes obsolete. This proposal prioritizes game quality to ensure adoption and longevity of the game while simultaneously taking advantage of the blockchain through the use of decentralized voting and fungible tokens. This proposal aims to provide a game rivaling the DCCG giants we see in the modern gaming scene while driving adoption into the Cardano Community and Ecosystem.
For The Artists
Idea is to have decentralized governance and decentralized art where artists, voted by the community, are paid to create Card Face Alternatives commonly known as skins, along with the Standard Card Art for future packages. This seems to be a novel way of decentralizing the game, providing additional value to governance tokens, while also providing a source of income for artists.
What are the main risks that could prevent you from delivering the project successfully and please explain how you will mitigate each risk?
Two main risks that could prevent delivery or success of the project.
First, if we are unable to fill the currently vacant roles listed below. To proactively solve this problem, we have created job descriptions for each role to assist individuals in determining whether or not they would like to join the project.
Secondly, the project could be unsuccessful if one of the DCCG Giants in the modern gaming industry decentralized their balance changes, and transitioned to a blockchain based game. There is no active solution to this issue besides creating a better game. This is an unrealistic feat in the short term, thus active development over the long term while being first to leverage the Cardano Blockchain in this manner is the best approach. Naturally, choosing Cardano positions the game much ahead already.
Below are the currently vacant positions.
See the Whitepaper for more: https://bit.ly/3xHZRHv
Unassigned - Front End Developer
Frontend Developer - Q4 2022 & Q1 2023
The Frontend Developer’s is responsible for the look and feel of the game within the game client. This individual is to develop an excellent web application using a Frontend JavaScript Framework (Likely React/Vue/Angular/Svelte). Expectation is robust and intuitive user interface that the average person can use without difficulty. This time horizon is five months at the salary of $4000 per month.
Unassigned - Artist Initial Pack One
Unassigned - Artist Initial Pack Two
Game Artists - Q4 2022
The Game Artist’s role is to create the playing card art for a starting pack. A pack consists of 12 cards. This breakdown works out to $425 per card. Expectation is quality art that enhances the game experience. Time expectation is three months.
Unassigned - Documentation & Logistics
Documentation & Logistics & Community - September 2022 - June 2023
This individual is primarily responsible for communications between the DCCG developers and the Cardano Community. They will work to give routine updates to the community on the progress of the project. They will write reports and Catalyst Applications to communicate the roadmap and request scheduled funding based on project progress. Additionally, the are responsible for the creation and upkeep of user-friendly game documentation. They must work with the developers to understand and better communicate real-time progress of the project and accurate game documentation. They should be comfortable and highly sufficient in English and report writing. This time horizon is ten months at the salary of $750 per month.
Unassigned - Lore Writer & Social Media
Lore Creator & Social Media - September 2022 - June 2023
This individual is primarily responsible for writing engaging game lore. They must thoroughly research the playing card packs so they are able to write a detailed background on the pack to enhance game experience. They must also provide the developers with details about the lore of the packs so that developers can make the cards statistics and game mechanics inline with the lore. Additionally, this individual is responsible for managing the social media accounts for the DCCG. They should be comfortable and highly sufficient in English and report writing. This role could potentially be combined with the Documentation & Logistics & Community role depending on the amount of time the tasks of the role require. This time horizon is ten months with the expectation of the first three months being lore heavy as initial launch packs are being developed. There is $1400 per month allocated to this role.