genun | eSport Sponsorship Solution - Ascent: Rivals

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

[GENERAL] Are you delivering this project as an individual or as an entity (whether formally incorporated or not)

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

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

[GENERAL] Summarize your solution to the problem (200-character limit including spaces)

Inspired by proven models such as Formula 1, we will build a game which allows sponsors to back racers to join tournaments with automatic prize payouts.

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

[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.”

No dependencies.

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

[GENERAL] Please provide here more information on the open source status of your project outputs

Contracts will be open sourced and game source code closed source.

[METADATA] SDG rating

SDG 8 (Decent work and economic growth)

• 8.10 - Sponsoring racers and covering entry fees allows higher income regions to subsidize growth of other regions.
• 8.1 - In some regions, this can even prove to be a job with good working conditions and growth

SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure)

• 9.4 - Using web3 for automated payment payouts is an innovative alternative especially on Cardano's proof of stake system

SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities)

• 10.1 - By enabling higher income regions or individuals to sponsor others, they can help lift them up and progressively achieve and sustain income growth

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution

Competitive ESports players may share their winnings with backers who fund their competitive climb. The player may then share a percentage of their winnings with their backers as a way of reciprocating the support. The proposed solution would formalize that shared percentage by leveraging Cardano blockchain. A competitive player would be issued a token using CIP-68 and CIP-102 standard. The token would represent their registration in a season or tournament for their competition.

The royalty token will be stored at a validator for the season or tournament. The player can user their ownership token to set a price to buy a percentage of the royalties. The player can also set a maximum royalty percentage.

A backer may buy a percentage of the royalties by submitting a transaction to update the royalty metadata for a player.

Ascent will look at the royalties when distributing winnings to the winner and backer according to the royalty percentages.

We host Race Nights (public testing) in Discord regularly!

Below is additional info how this proposal also pushes the ecosystem forward with our vision.

Integrating sponsorships via cardano's smart contracts have been designed since day 1 towards Ascent: Rival's vision:

Reimaging Formula 1 glamor, competition, and wealth in cinematic combat racer. While you’ve never raced at the blistering speeds in a race to the death, the skill of these young and upcoming racers can be seen through every turn and shot, keeping you at the edge of your seat as your favorite underdog takes a shot at knocking out the top sponsored racer. As you imagine your logos flashing for every spectator as the final lap nears, eyes widen as you notice another spectator inject a cash prize to whatever racer can take out your sponsee —

Cardano has been the perfect solution for Ascent as a solution for our passion and design in Social Gamification - Connecting Sponsors, Spectators, Players

Attention is the new currency in today's digital landscape. With the surge of video content, particularly in gaming, a new breed of players emerges—spectators. As content creators gain prominence, the hunger for fresh engagement avenues intensifies. Ascent introduces spectator interaction.

Imagine being able to not just watch but actively influence and participate in the cinematic, combat racer. Retail marketers hosting tournaments, offering cash prizes, sponsoring players, and enabling spectators to sway the odds in favor of their favorite racers. A deeper level of immersion, investment, and involvement.

Ascent has crafted a model that encourages calculated breaks for strategic adaptation, data analysis, and live commentary. Our platform's deep customization and high skill ceiling set the stage for an immersive cinematic experience. Pair that with the ability to sponsor and interact directly with players as a spectator, and you've got an endless well of discussion and anticipation surrounding the rising stars in gaming.

It’s no longer just about watching—it's about shaping the game, influencing outcomes, and being part of the narrative. Ascent redefines the role of spectators, making them active players in the gaming world. In return, players take pride as all eyes are on them and their skills.

[IMPACT] Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community

Releasing a game that is positively received by the masses will bode well for Cardano user adoption and perception. When players and brands realize new use cases of sponsors and automatic tournament payouts, we aim to help put Cardano on everyone's attention not just in web3 but to the masses.

[CAPABILITY & FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?

Our alpha is currently approved and live on Steam with over 450 playtesters.

We showcased the game at PAX West (130k attendees) winning players choice award.

Showcasing at PDX

The team was just invited (booth fee waived!) to showcase game at Dreamhack Dallas.

We were also invited speakers at Google's Web3 Gaming Week and Dubai main panelists.

[PROJECT MILESTONES] What are the key milestones you need to achieve in order to complete your project successfully?

Sponsor Player Design and Protocol Spec

25% cost | 1 month | 25% completion

Deliverables:

• Initial contracts for creating a sponsor token
• UI mocks for in-game flow
• UI mock for sponsoring in webclient for users that don't play the game but want to participate

Acceptance criteria:

• Video showing Contract for sponsor tokens completed and mocks

Sponsor Player & Webclient

25% cost | 1.5 month | 25% completion

Deliverables:

• Initial contracts for creating a sponsor token
• In-game flow for sponsoring player
• Webclient can sponsor a player

Acceptance criteria:

• demo video of sponsoring a player and working in game

Royalty Tokens and Payouts

25% cost | 1.5 month | 25% completion

Deliverables:

• Finalized protocol specification
• Smart contracts for player royalty controls and backer buy-in completed
• Tournaments automatically pay out racers and sponsors

Acceptance criteria:

• Sponsored player can enter race and royalties go to sponsor

Tournament Testing!

25% cost | 1 month | 100% completion

Acceptance Criteria: Demo of using user interface to create a tournament, players setting their royalty info, and backers backing a player. Finally the demo will show a winner being declared and distribution of winnings.

[RESOURCES] Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

Core Developers - and Previous Experience

Steven George - Lead Engineer; Level 11, DigiPen

Stan Hayes - Aesthetic Engineer; Epic Games, Nvidia, DigiPen

Michael Yagi - Creative Director; 2K Games, DigiPen

Ming Chi - Artist; NetEase

Scott Meyers - Audio Engineer; Respawn Entertainment, Riot Games

Jeff Uong - DevOps Engineer; Samsung, DigiPen

Clifford Garvis - Solutions Architect & Smart Contract; Nintendo, Level 11, DigiPen

David Yagi - Project Manager; Cryptochips

Advisors

Lowell Vaughn - Principal Strategist Epic Games

Shoutout! 1+ Year(s) Fulltime contribution

Alejandro Hitti - Technical Project Lead; Rockstar Games, DigiPen

Jason Dempsey - Senior Engineer; Microsoft, DigiPen

Zander Jensen - Gameplay Engineer; Treyarch, DigiPen

Hiago Desena - Senior Engineer; Firewalk, DigiPen

Aleksei Seleznev - Pixel Artist; Indie

Ahn Do - Producer; 343, GEC, DigiPen

Mickey Cushing - Designer; 343, Blizzard, Wizards of the Coast, Rockstar Games

Brian Park - Designer; Riot Games

Anon Developer - Senior Engineer; Respawn Entertainment, DigiPen

[BUDGET & COSTS] Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

Milestone 1: Sponsor Player Design and Protocol Spec

• 2 developers, 1 month = $18,078.5 / ₳50,218.05

Milestone 2: Sponsor Player

• 1.5 developers, 1.5 months = $20,338.31 / ₳56,495.30

Milestone 3: Royalty Tokens and Payouts

• 1.5 developers, 1.5 months = $20,338.31 / ₳56,495.30

Milestone 4: Tournament Testing!

• 1 developers, 1 month = $9,039.25 / ₳25,109.02

Tooling & Reserve: reserve for changes to business requirements resulting to technical pivots necessary to deliver a better product/outcome

• Tooling (aws) = $2,000 / ₳5,555.55
• Reserve = $2,000 / ₳5,555.55

TOTAL AMOUNT

• $71,794.37 / ₳199,428.8

We apply a 0.36 USD/ADA exchange rate, which is the average rate over the past few months conservatively adjusted downward to ensure that the project will remain viable despite moderate price shocks that may occur before or during the project timeline.

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

We're confident that the traction we've gained and the potential user base we anticipate bringing will significantly benefit the ecosystem as we up the ante for gaming and web3 consumer use cases. We hope the community sees our passion reflected in the game's results which can help adopt mass users. We've poured years of fulltime development, leaving behind previous roles, into creating this game we hope to share with the whole Cardano ecosystem!