Rookiez - Decentralized Motorcycle Racing Manager Game - Website and Community engagement

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Davide Lucchesi

[GENERAL] Email address of main applicant

davide@lucchesi.eu

Additional applicants

Anastasiia Polozova

A very expert and knowledgeable front-end developer, who will take care of deploying a much better website (which is also functioning as the main game manual).

Hara Iliopoulou

An expert multi-lingual communicator who will translate the game and the website into several different languages.

[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?

Yes

[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.” .

All the game assets (Riders, Staff members, Motorcycle prototypes, etc) are NFTs that can be minted directly from the game when the players decide so. There is no external dedicated marketplace.

For the minting procedures, the game relies on the NMKR API.

To facilitate the integration with the Unity game engine, I released an open-source component, which can be used by everybody who wants to create NFT games: https://github.com/Odiobill/Nmkr

[GENERAL] Will your project’s output/s be fully open source?

No

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

While several parts of the code used for the game are or will be released as Open-Source software (like the NMKR component for Unity mentioned above), Rookiez is a management game, and publishing the complete source code means that all the formulas used for training, research, etc. will be made public, removing one of the most essential and compelling parts of any manager game: figuring out the best strategy by playing and experimenting, while adapting to changes.

[METADATA] Category of Proposal

Gaming

[IMPACT] Please describe your proposed solution.

The goal for each Rookiez player is to drive their team to glory, in competition with other players around the world. During this adventure, players will carry out the tasks of both chairman and manager: they can scout future champions and decide which rider to send in the circuit to race for the final victory, planning every tactical aspect. They'll need to know how to train the riders, which motorcycle characteristics they want to improve, and much more…

This is not a simple task and, as happens with many complex management games, new players can feel overwhelmed and have a hard time understanding all the mechanics and features. To make their experience more enjoyable from the beginning of their adventure, it is of paramount importance to provide them with a clear website that will function as the main game manual, with all the necessary information, and give them access to an active Discord server and a dedicated Twitter profile, where the community can engage, ask questions about Rookiez or its strategies, and have fun also outside the game.

The success of this project will bring other Indie Game developers to the Cardano ecosystem, by showing them that different business models are possible, without scammy P2E mechanics, or paying a 30% Steam tax. Also, we aim to bring regular gamers to Cardano, who will have an enjoyable experience with a first-class management game.

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

The success of this project will bring other Indie Game developers to the Cardano ecosystem, by showing them that different business models are possible, without scammy P2E mechanics, or paying a 30% Steam tax. Also, we aim to bring regular gamers to Cardano, who will have an enjoyable experience with a first-class management game.

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

There are a few different metrics we can use to measure the success of Rookiez, such as:

• Number of downloads of the playable prototype (as described in https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/103423)
• Number of NFTs minted. All the minting procedures happen only from inside the game at the user's request, there are no pre-sales or dedicated stores
• Activity on the Twitter page of the project
• Discussions on the Discord server

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

The outputs and results of this proposal will be directly shown by the activation of the social media profiles and environments, and the deployment of a more engaging and curated website.

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

As the main applicant, I acquired strong experience during my 25+ years of career, in the fields of software development, systems engineering, and IT project management. I know that the necessary skills for achieving the goals of this proposal are completely different from what I can provide.

For that reason, I decided to get in touch with other professionals who can help me out with those topics under my supervision.

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

The main goal for this proposal is to have the necessary communication infrastructure to support the players of the game, which will be released in the form of a playable prototype with temporary assets, within three months from the funding of this proposal, as described here: Rookiez - Decentralized Motorcycle Racing Manager Game - Completion and release of a playable prototype

[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.

Activation of the social media profiles

• During the first month, we will start being active on a dedicated Twitter profile for Rookiez, where the first important information about the game will be released. This will help us with starting our community.
• Within the second month, the Discord server will be activated and we'll start a more dedicated engagement with the community. As described in this proposal, we aim to release a playable prototype with temporary assets in three months: the Discord server and Twitter profile will be the main means of communication with the users.
• We will then mint the necessary NFTs for the first official beta testers during the third month so that we can have adequate testing of the prototype.

Engagement phase

• After the first three months, we will release a new version of the website with a better interface, which will function as the main game manual, and video tutorials for the many parts of the game.
• During the last three months, we will concentrate on updating the website to reflect all the changes and bug fixes that will happen to the prototype. The engagement on both the Twitter profile and Discord server will need to grow and we'll organize different activities to grow our user base, like raffles where we'll give away more NFTs for onboarding new players who will access the playable prototype.

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

As a result of our work, we want to build a passionate community that enjoys playing a first-class management game, while having fun also outside of it, in our Discord server and Twitter profile.

The website will provide all the guidance they need.

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

Website development

The current website contains ~20 static HTML pages. Styles are written in SCSS, added pictures, and favicon. It also uses JQuery. This technology stack is quite old, so it does not read well with modern browsers. There is no SEO or accessibility for people with disabilities.

We want to migrate the current site to React using Next.js. The site will become better readable by browsers, we can adjust SEO and most of the vulnerabilities will be fixed: it will be difficult to conduct hacker attacks. The task can be divided into two major parts: design and code. After consulting with different professionals, we figure out the following costs:

Designer rate = $25 per hour.

Developer rate = $30 per hour. 

Total number of hours for design = ~60 hours, or 1500$

Total number of hours for development = ~136 hours, or 4200$

At the current rates (assuming ~ 0.30$ per ADA), this will translate into a fixed cost of ~19,000 ADA.

Community Manager

We want to hire a Community Manager who will take care of the Twitter profile and Discord server, being available every day, even if not at fixed hours. After having spoken with a few different candidates, for the activities we plan for the first six months (covered by this proposal) we can estimate a medium request of 500$ per month.

At the current rates (assuming ~ 0.30$ per ADA), this will translate into a total cost of ~10,000 ADA.

Team Coordination, Translations, and Project Management

We assume an hourly cost of ~30$ per hour for these tasks. This, however, should not take more than 8 hours per week in total. This will be taken care of directly by the main applicants.

At the current rates (assuming ~ 0.30$ per ADA), this will translate into a fixed cost of ~19,000 ADA.

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

The stated costs have been chosen considering the medium costs in the EU zone and on a few different marketplaces, like fiverr.com, after having consulted different professionals for the roles described. During this process, I met Anastasiia Polozova, who was enthusiastic about the project and gladly decided to be part of the team. She will help mostly with website development but will also offer support in other roles.

[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