The Beam Network: Decentralized Asset Protocol

[GENERAL] Name and Surname of Main Applicant

Steven Yang

[GENERAL] Email address of Main Applicant

steven@futurefest.io

Additional Applicants

Kevin Mowers

Matthew Sears

Jimmy Sambuo

[GENERAL] Please specify how many months you expect your project to last (from 2-12 months)

6

[GENERAL] Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated into English from another language.

No

[GENERAL] Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

No

[GENERAL] If YES, please describe what the dependency is and why you believe it is essential for your project’s delivery. If NO, please write “No dependencies.” in this field.

No dependencies

[GENERAL] Will your project outputs be fully Open Source?

Yes

[GENERAL] If NO, please describe which outputs are not going to be open source. If YES, please write “Project will be fully open source.” in this field.

Project will be fully open source.

[METADATA] Category of Proposal

Dev Ecosystem Collaboration

[IMPACT] Please describe your proposed solution.

The Beam Network comprises interconnected asset repositories managed by individual projects. These repositories harness the power of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) on the Cardano blockchain to catalog and track each game asset.

Most importantly, The Beam Network does not store the assets themselves; it merely provides the links to these assets within the NFT metadata. This metadata encapsulates key details such as 2D/3D specifications and URLs for hosted asset files. These details need to align with The Beam Network standards for interoperability. Repositories, acting much like digital wallets, store these NFTs, thereby creating a decentralized database of game asset metadata over time.

We will leverage Cardano's smart contracts to ensure secure and seamless network interactions. These programmable contracts maintain protocol compliance, manage asset exchange, and enable innovative functionalities, which could include cross-project asset usage and game mechanic integration.

The real power of The Beam Network lies in its openness. APIs and developer tools built on top of the protocol empower developers to build, innovate, and integrate the protocol into their projects, contributing to an ever-evolving gaming ecosystem.

Vision for the Future:

We envision a dynamic future defined by flexibility and choice. The Beam Network allows projects to add or remove assets in real time, responding swiftly to changing needs and preferences. Additionally, the protocol empowers projects to curate the available network assets, ensuring they can handpick those that best align with their unique visions and requirements. All of these could be made possible through third-party systems built on top of The Beam Network.

Use Cases:

Interoperability: The Beam Network enables the seamless exchange and use of game assets across different Metaverse platforms, promoting a truly interconnected gaming universe.

Decentralized Asset Marketplace: The protocol could underpin a decentralized marketplace where players can trade, sell, or lease their game assets securely and peer-to-peer.

Permissionless Innovation: With its open architecture, The Beam Network invites developers to build novel applications and services on top of the protocol, catalyzing community-driven innovation in the gaming industry.

By fostering a decentralized, interoperable, and open gaming ecosystem, The Beam Network brings the principles of Web3 to life and empowers community-led innovation in the gaming space.

[IMPACT] How does your proposed solution address the challenge and what benefits will this bring to the Cardano ecosystem?

The Beam Network directly addresses the challenge of interoperability between game assets, providing a solution that has broad-ranging impacts and numerous benefits for the Cardano ecosystem.

Enhanced Interoperability: Our solution establishes the foundational infrastructure necessary for seamless interaction between different game assets. By doing this, we are solving a complex problem in the gaming industry that inhibits the free exchange and use of digital assets across platforms.

Decentralization and Open Source: The Beam Network adheres to Cardano's philosophy of decentralization. Our system is designed as an open protocol, not owned by a single entity but maintained and developed by a community of developers. This approach ensures that the network remains fair, accessible, and resistant to central points of failure.

Boosting Cardano's Ecosystem: With Cardano as the backbone of our network, every game asset added or transaction made reinforces Cardano's position as a versatile and robust platform for decentralized applications. Furthermore, the public repository of assets could foster creative new applications, driving further innovation within the Cardano ecosystem.

[IMPACT] How do you intend to measure the success of your project?

A key measure of our success lies in developer engagement. Our goal is to foster a vibrant and engaged developer community around the Beam Network. This will be tracked by monitoring the number of projects integrating with our protocol and observing the growth of this figure over time.

In the short term, we anticipate an increase in interoperability between different projects on Cardano, as a result of the functionality our protocol provides. This can be quantitatively assessed by tracking the number of cross-project asset transactions and interactions.

Over the long term, the ultimate measure of success is establishing Cardano as the go-to blockchain for building the Metaverse. While this is a qualitative measure, it can be gauged through the rising interest in Cardano for metaverse-related projects and initiatives. We can also conduct sentiment analysis within the developer and wider blockchain community to ascertain Cardano's positioning in this regard.

Lastly, we believe that the opinions of our users, especially developers, are crucial in measuring the success of our project. We plan to regularly solicit feedback and utilize it to continually improve our protocol and tools. We strongly believe these measures are realistic, given the current trend towards interoperability and the Metaverse in the blockchain space. With Cardano's unique features and growing community, we are confident in the potential for growth and success.

[IMPACT] Please describe your plans to share the outputs and results of your project?

As an open-source project, we aim to make the outcomes of The Beam Network available to the public and particularly the developer community. We believe that the key outputs of this project will be best gauged through developer engagement, particularly in terms of contributions to our GitHub repositories and the use and improvement of our documentation.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability?

Our main company, Future Fest, has been an active participant in the Cardano community since the beginning of 2022. Our focus is on producing digital events leveraging tools and services built on Cardano. We have collaborated with a number of projects in the space. A mandate that we started earlier this year is interoperability and brand onboarding to our platform. We've successful implemented mechanisms to enable efficient asset onboarding, however interoperability is still a challenge. We wanted to take it a step further, so we drafted up The Beam Network in order to ensure we would not have centralized control over other organization's assets.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] What are the main goals for the project and how will you validate if your approach is feasible?

Our main objectives for The Beam Network project are as follows:

1. Develop Initial Foundation: Establish the fundamental structure of The Beam Network, implementing smart contract functionality and laying out the standards for asset metadata. This is an essential goal as it sets the basis for all subsequent development and allows for early adopters to begin interacting with the network.
2. Encourage Developer Engagement: Facilitate the development of tools and services built atop of The Beam Network by providing comprehensive documentation and actively engaging with the developer community. This goal is central to ensuring the versatility and potential of the network are fully realized.
3. Asset Onboarding: See a growing number of projects use The Beam Network's smart contracts to add their assets to the network. This will demonstrate the utility and adoption of our protocol and indicates a successful implementation of our solution.

Validation of these goals will occur in several ways:

1. Project Milestones: We'll track the progress of the project against the milestones we set. These will include technical development checkpoints such as completion of initial network setup, smart contract deployment, and so forth.
2. Developer Engagement: By monitoring contributions to our GitHub repository, feedback on our documentation, and usage of our developer tools, we can gauge the interest and participation of the developer community.
3. Asset Onboarding Metrics: The number of projects interacting with our smart contracts to add assets to the network will serve as a tangible measure of The Beam Network's utility and adoption.

At Future Fest, we have previously faced and navigated the challenges of interoperability and asset onboarding. We are confident that we can leverage these experiences to implement The Beam Network effectively and solve these issues on a larger scale.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed breakdown of your project’s milestones and each of the main tasks or activities to reach the milestone plus the expected timeline for the delivery.

1. Planning (Month 1): This is the initial stage where we'll plan the specific requirements and lay out the roadmap for development. Key tasks include the finalization of project plan, roles and responsibilities, setting up communication channels, and preparing technical requirements.
2. Foundation Development (Months 1-2): This phase involves the initial development of The Beam Network's foundational structure. Key activities include designing the asset metadata standards and implementing the basic smart contract functionality on the Cardano blockchain. Success will be determined by the completion of these tasks and the successful testing of the initial setup.
3. Documentation and Tools Development (Months 3-4): During this period, we'll develop comprehensive documentation and start building developer tools for the network. Key tasks include writing technical documentation, preparing how-to guides, and developing APIs and other tools for interacting with the network. Success criteria will be the availability of clear, well-structured documentation and functional tools that simplify the development process.
4. Network Testing and Feedback (Month 5): In this phase, we will conduct rigorous testing of The Beam Network and gather feedback from a small group of early adopters. Success will be gauged by the completion of thorough testing and the incorporation of valuable feedback into final system tweaks.
5. Network Launch and Onboarding (Month 6): This is the final milestone where we officially launch The Beam Network and start onboarding game projects. Key activities include marketing the network launch, conducting developer outreach, and supporting the onboarding of new projects. Success will be measured by the smooth launch of the network and the initial projects beginning to add their assets to the network.

Our project management approach involves regular team meetings, weekly sprints based on agile methodology, and a commitment to transparency with the Cardano community. We will provide regular updates and foster an open dialogue with the community to align The Beam Network with the evolving needs and expectations of the ecosystem.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] Please describe the deliverables, outputs and intended outcomes of each milestone.

Planning Milestone (Month 1):

• Deliverables: Final project plan, documented roles and responsibilities, communication channels, and finalized technical requirements.
• Intended Outcomes: A clear roadmap for the project, efficient communication among team members, and a well-understood technical foundation for development.

Foundation Development Milestone (Months 1-2):

• Deliverables: Designed asset metadata standards, implemented basic smart contracts, and preliminary test results.
• Intended Outcomes: An operational basic version of The Beam Network and the ability to create, manage, and track assets using NFTs on the Cardano blockchain.

Documentation and Tools Development Milestone (Months 3-4):

• Deliverables: Comprehensive technical documentation, how-to guides, APIs, and other developer tools.
• Intended Outcomes: Developers and game projects will have the necessary knowledge and tools to interact with and build upon The Beam Network.

Network Testing and Feedback Milestone (Month 5):

• Deliverables: Detailed testing results, feedback reports, and final system improvements.
• Intended Outcomes: A thoroughly tested network that has incorporated feedback from early adopters, ensuring The Beam Network is reliable, secure, and user-friendly.

Network Launch and Onboarding Milestone (Month 6):

• Deliverables: Marketing materials, developer outreach programs, and initial onboarding of game projects.
• Intended Outcomes: A successful launch of The Beam Network, increased awareness in the Cardano community, and the initial projects beginning to utilize the network for their assets.

To track the project's progress, we will monitor key performance indicators such as the completion of planned deliverables, feedback received, number of assets created and managed on the network, and the number of projects onboarding. We will use project management tools to ensure we are keeping pace with the timeline and meeting our defined success criteria.

[RESOURCES & VALUE FOR MONEY] Please provide a detailed budget breakdown of the proposed work and resources.

Development Team (225,000 ADA):

• 3x Engineers: Involved in designing and implementing the technical framework of The Beam Network, including smart contracts, APIs, and developer tools. Assuming a rate of 10,000 ADA per month for each engineer, the total is 10,000 ADA; 3 engineers * 6 months = 180,000 ADA
• 1x Product Manager: Responsible for coordinating the team, managing timelines, ensuring project objectives are met, and liaising with partners and community. Assuming a rate of 7,500 ADA per month, the total is 7,500 ADA; 1 product manager * 6 months = 45,000 ADA

Third-Party Services (15,000 ADA):

• Code Auditing Services: To ensure the smart contracts and other code developed are secure and function as intended. Estimated at 15,000 ADA

Marketing and Community Engagement (25,000 ADA):

• This will cover the costs of creating marketing materials, hosting community engagement events, and outreach programs to get game projects onboard.

Documentation and Reporting (15,000 ADA):

• This will go towards the creation of comprehensive technical documentation, how-to guides, and reporting back to the Cardano community about the project's progress.

Please note, this budget is an estimate and actual costs may vary slightly. We will ensure careful management of the funds and maintain transparency with the Cardano community about all expenditures.

[RESOURCES & VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

Solving a Key Problem: The project addresses a critical challenge in the gaming industry, that of interoperability and seamless exchange of digital assets across multiple platforms. By providing an open, decentralized protocol, it pushes forward the boundaries of what is currently possible and extends the practical use of Cardano's capabilities, encouraging further innovation.

Budgeting: The budget reflects our team's need to maintain a reasonable standard of living in the United States, where the cost of living is relatively high. Although the ADA requested doesn't cover the average living costs fully, we are committed to dedicating part-time hours towards this project because we believe in its potential to make a significant impact.

Long-Term Impact: While the budget may seem considerable, it is an investment into a project with long-term benefits and far-reaching impact. The six months duration will allow us to develop a robust solution, thoroughly test it, engage with the community, and ensure its successful launch. This extended timeframe is needed to ensure that the final output is a lasting, valuable addition to the Cardano ecosystem.

We are committed to bringing this vital infrastructure to life, and we believe that the value it will provide to the Cardano community and the broader gaming industry far exceeds the cost. This is an investment into a future where the exchange of digital game assets is seamless, decentralized, and community-driven, and Cardano is at the heart of it all.

[IMPORTANT NOTE] The Applicant agreed to Fund10 rules and also that data in the Submission Form and other data provided by the project team during the course of the project will be publicly available.

I Accept