Herd: A Web3 Decentralized Music and DJ Battle Game on Cardano and Midnight

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Pierre Aceituno (Game Director)

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

Entity (Not Incorporated)

[GENERAL] Co-proposers and additional applicants

The lead proposer is Pierre Aceituno (Game Director).

Other team members contributing to the proposal include:

• Elsa Nedelec and Laura Martin-Wortham (3D Artist/Animator) 
• Henry Clerc (Sound Designer)
• Martin Rabiller (Audio Engineer)
• Riwal Pacquentin (Technical Art Direction)

You can find the team resumes here.

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

12

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

No

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

Fair artist pay, useful NFTs, unified gaming/music experience. DAO governance. Self-sustaining Web3 ecosystem for artists, gamers, music fans via in-game sales & treasury. IP and royalties management.

[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.”

The project relies on several key partnerships and technologies from the Cardano ecosystem:

• Midnight: the NFT marketplace and private management of NFT royalties will be deployed on Midnight, so Herd launch depends on Midnight mainnet release. We will analyze how to derisk issues with Midnight with an alternative plan of launching Herd on Cardano mainnet introducing privacy features later on.
• NMKR: as official NFT marketplace for the game, it needs to be ready at Midnight launch as well. We will also consider the Cardano launch alternative plan relying on NMKR Cardano version.
• DAO launch: native asset issuance and profit sharing implementation depends on the DAO being incorporated prior to the release of the game. We will benefit from the assistance of Rulemakers DAO, Lawyer Motoshima and potentially rely on ClarityDAO framework for the DAO implementation on Cardano. The original IP of the game will have to be transferred prior to the game launch.
• Paima Engine: Herd is a web3 game and will require the integration of NFTs and native assets on Midnight and Cardano. A set of smart contracts will have to be deployed and maintained through Paima Engine. Paima Engine needs to be made compatible with Midnight prior to the game launch. 
• HOSKY as first flagship sample pack: Hosky will have to work closely with the Herd team for the creation of their sound pack and 3D characters. The quality of these packs are essential to the success of Herd and to make a positive brand impact for HOSKY and Herd. (the Herd team will seek to add other flagship sample packs to the launch line-up.)
• NEWM integration: NEWM will provide integration for gamers mixes when they want to launch their career as music artists being successful in-game

Herd will leverage the following social platform for its launch:

• Twitch: Integration with Twitch allows DJs to showcase their skills, with live audience voting and engagement driving social interaction.

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

No

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

While the DAO governance model and game smart contract logic will be open-sourced for transparency, key components of the game—such as game mechanics, 3D assets, and proprietary systems—will remain, at first, proprietary of the DAO to maintain a competitive edge and protect intellectual property, and provide value for DAO participants. We will consider open sourcing game components as much as possible without hindering the DAO interests.

[METADATA] Horizons

Gaming (GameFi)

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution

We propose building Herd, a decentralized music and DJ battle game that integrates blockchain technology, NFTs, and community governance. Our game allows players to mix sound packs in real time, compete against AI, engage in DJ battles streamed on Twitch, and earn rewards through community participation.

Artists (music and visual) can monetize their work by creating sound packs and benefiting from royalties, both from in-game transactions and secondary market sales.

Herd is a mobile game (Android, IOS), that pushes the boundaries of the strategy/collecting/ RPG genres further: you will play with your characters and try to become the best DJ ever. Your capacity to plan battles and to manage your characters will be as important as the quality of the mix you will make during battles. 

• Collect Characters and equip them with powerful abilities
• Each character is unique and will have a distinctive set of characteristics. Abilities include samples that you will be able to mix during battles. Will your character and their abilities beat your opponent during the musical battle?
• As a player, you will be able to collect unique characters and abilities through playing or by buying packs (a pack contains one character and the related abilities), chests (a chest give a chance to get a random character of a certain level of rarity), and disks (a disk give a chance to get a random ability of a certain level of rarity). Each battle can grant the player a reward.

• Manage your Character collection
• As each character is unique, you will have to spend time with them, understand them, make them grow in power and learn to use abilities. Will you be able to make your favorite character grow up the leaderboard?
• Each character is unique as is each ability. This means that you will have to carefully assign abilities on your characters and find ways to make them as strong as possible. Abilities are also samples, so when you assign an ability to a character, you also assign him a sample set. The abilities can become stronger through time as can be your characters. It will be up to you to make them reach their maximum potential.

• Compete against AI and real players
• With the challenge mode, you will be able to compete in a seasonal campaign and beat AI opponents to earn incredible rewards. In Battle mode, you will compete against real players.
• Once your character is ready to fight and you are satisfied with his sample set, you can try to beat AI or players through a challenging solo campaign or PvP Battles. But beware : in PvP Battles, being strong is not enough, your mix must also be astonishing, because the community will decide if you win or lose.

• Learn, Grow, Experiment
• Learn how to use your abilities, how they interact with each other and try to make the ultimate DJ mix. Make your characters grow, and be open to experimentations. Maybe the best mix you have ever heard is hidden behind the most unexpected set of abilities?
• By winning challenges, you will be able to learn how to use abilities and characters, as well as enhancing your collection. The journey will be long, but definitely epic. Reaching the top of the leaderboards will be a real challenge, and you will have to spend time in managing your Herd, but also in listening and learning all the possibilities your sample sets will offer you. Want to experiment a mix between jazz-rock drums, dub bass and opera singer voice ? No problem, just do it, it will always sound good. What will be your ultimate goal ? Being at the top of the leaderboard, or discovering new music fields though mixing ? It will be up to you to choose your path.

• Decide on the future of the game by participating in the DAO
• The community will vote on major decisions, such as which features to implement, the direction of the project and what new projects should be started.

Technical features : 

• Character collection with a large collection of top of the art and animated characters
• Multiplayer with a matchmaking or direct IP system
• Regular tournaments organized by the community linked to the game, where the public can choose the winners and interact with the game thanks to Twitch integration
• Challenging solo campaign in which you can make progress against AI
• Integrated NFTs that will allow you to earn the packs you buy

The game's dual-token economy features :

• a stable utility token, used for purchasing in-game assets, NFTs, and entering tournaments.
• a governance token that empowers players and stakeholders to vote on treasury allocation, roadmap decisions, and future game development.

The game integrates with Cardano and Midnight for governance and privacy, and Paima Engine provides seamless blockchain and NFT interactions. Herd bridges gaming, music, and NFTs, creating a dynamic platform for creative expression and engagement.

We leverage partnerships with prominent Cardano community projects, including HOSKY Token, NMKR, Paima Studio, RulemakersDAO and NEWM, to drive early adoption and visibility.

Finally, we plan to establish a DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) in Japan. This DAO will be responsible for:

1. Managing the intellectual property
2. Governing and developing the Herd project
3. Overseeing the treasury
4. Distributing rewards to the community of players and artists

Furthermore, our repletion mechanism ensures that a portion of the treasury profits, capped at 5x the Catalyst Fund investment, will be returned to the Cardano Treasury, creating a positive feedback loop for the ecosystem.

In summary, our solution fosters a vibrant Web3 community, empowering artists, engaging players, and rewarding contributions, while bringing value and adoption to the Cardano ecosystem.

Early Access : 

Catalyst Fund 13 will allow the Herd team to develop the game and reach an Early Access stage. This way, the game will be put early between the hands of the community, and will imply players early in the decision making process. 

What will Fund 13 allow us to do?

Base Gameplay Architecture: As the game design is already advanced, we will be able to push it forward and propose a real game that will be fully playable at EA launch. This means that with EA you will have the following gameplay :

- Character Collection

- Sandbox mode

- Challenge mode (seasonal campaign preview)

- Battle mode (PvP, including matchmaking and direct IP)

The game design is actually designed to stay open for further improvements : does the community want us to make the game deeper and more complex ? No problem, it’s something we thinked about and we can make it without having to redesign everything. 

Community will have a direct and major impact on the final shape of the game, and the level of depth of the gameplay.

Whole new Art Direction: 

The original Alpha version art direction needs to be reworked. With fund 13 we will be able to completely rework it and propose top-of-the-art characters and visual content. In our minds, art direction also includes sound, which means that we will be able to propose a real variety of sound content for players to play with.

The EA will include : 

• At least 7 different characters to play with, with their set of abilities
• At least 50 different abilities to play with, with each ability containing a sample set.
• Art direction completely finished and polished

NFTs integration ready: 

The Early Access (EA) will allow us to prepare the field for full NFT content integration. As a proof of this work, the game will be able to read the first NFTs that will allow players to enter EA. Those NFTs will be character packs (containing a character and his set of abilities), and you will keep them when Early Access will be over and the player accounts wiped in preparation for the game launch. Every NFT content earned through EA phase will be kept by players and usable in further phases.

How to enter EA ?

There will be two main ways to enter EA: owning an NFT character pack (this way to enter is designed for web3 players), or buying an access code (this way to enter is designed for web2 players). You feel not ready to enter the web3 world ? Well, you still can play during the EA phase and give us feedback. For web3 players, owning an NFT character pack means having a direct impact on the game development and being part of an epic journey.

Why pay for EA ?

The NFT packs and the access code will be sold at a very low cost. The intent behind monetizing access for EA phase is to give us enough information to make financial projections for the game release. This way we will be able to tell exactly to the community if their wishes for the game are realistic or not. We will advance together to make the game better, and the best way to do it is with wide open eyes : if we know what we can do and what we can’t, we will always keep our promises.

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

Herd will draw in thousands of new users from the gaming, music, and NFT sectors, driving user adoption within the Cardano ecosystem. By combining NFTs, music, and Web3 technology, Herd will showcase new use cases for NFTs and decentralized governance. The game also benefits the wider Cardano ecosystem through profit-sharing: 15% of the treasury’s annual profits will be contributed to the Cardano Treasury, capped at $1.25M total (5x the initial Catalyst funding, supporting further ecosystem development).

Early Access will allow us in first place to build the core structure of the game with the Cardano community, before extending to other chains. The Cardano community will be at the center of the decision-making process, and will stay at it even if we reach other chains in later phases. 

In parallel to that, we will try to reach web2 players through classical channels, offering them the opportunity to take an active part in the development of the game, and ultimately become Cardano community members when they are familiar enough with web3 complexity. 

This experience will be accompanied by the game that will always allow players to choose where they want to go : our hybrid economic model between web3 economy and classical free to play model will allow us to give players a controlled experience regarding in-game purchases or NFT buying.

Herd is only the tip of the iceberg of what can be achieved in the music and gaming field: the project includes months of R&D in music and gaming that we will be able to use in several other projects, including procedurally generated music with metasound. It is an incredible treasury of potential future innovations into the music and gaming fields. And all of this will be in the hands of the Cardano community, thanks to IOG.

[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?

We are the team who worked on Crypto Bisons in 2021 and 2022, under the supervision of Charles Hoskinson and Romain Pellerin (IO). We delivered a functional MVP that can be reviewed here: https://x.com/CryptoBisons/status/1618781208405544962

We are experienced professionals in all the areas required to build a quality game and deliver in a timely manner. We will recruit expertise in web3 development.

We have the support from experts of the Cardano ecosystem: Romain Pellerin (IOG, CTO), Sebastien Guillemot (Paima Studio, Founder), Patrick Tobler (NMKR, ,Founder) and Hosky.

We have already managed several projects with success into the gaming fields, but also softwares. Most of us are coming from the gaming industry, some have worked with editors, others with big studios, and others with little indie studios. The variety of the experiences that the team have handled is a true gauge of quality and shows our ability to deliver the promised content.

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

Initial design of game mechanics, business model and technical specifications.

1. Outputs: Game Design document, Tokenomics, Social features, Marketplace design, Technical Specs, IP/Royalties management, GTM strategy, DAO design
2. Acceptance Criteria: Web3 and Web3 gamification, Profitable business model, Artists and Players are rewarded
3. Evidence: Full Documentation

This first milestone will also mark the beginning of a video series called “A word from the Director” in which the development team will show and discuss the game content they are working on. As we plan to work with an agile methodology, we will have content to show or to discuss with the community every month. This way, we will also be able to make very transparent financial reports with the percentage of fund 13 budget used compared to the planned budget and allow the community to follow it month after month. Transparency is key for success. Kind of content we will be able to show at this stage : 2D Art, Character Design, Illustrations. “A message from the Director” #1 to #3.

Initial development of game mechanics and NFT integration (Month 6)

1. Outputs: Game demo video, basic NFT marketplace, launch of DAO
2. Acceptance Criteria: Sound pack integration and core game functionality, DAO designed
3. Evidence: Internal alpha released with blockchain integration and DAO incorporated

This second milestone will allow us to be in capacity to show more advanced content and working game mechanics, as well as a demo video of the content that will be in the game. All the solo functionality will work, and we will showcase them and start to show how gameplay will work with details. We will be able to have high quality content to provide to the community. Kind of content we will be able to show at this stage : 3D/2D Art, Gameplay video content, features covering and explanations. “A message from the Director” #4 to #6.

Early Access launch with multiplayer DJ battles and Twitch integration (Month 9)

1. Outputs: Multiplayer functionality, Twitch live-streaming features
2. Acceptance Criteria: Successful DJ battle streamed on Twitch
3. Evidence: Twitch user analytics and in-game performance data

Here is a crucial milestone : we will be able to launch the game in early access. Early players will be able to buy an NFT pack or an access code and to enter the EA and play the game. We will also organize multiple launch events through twitch and social media, as tournaments and live battles. Kind of content we will be able to show at this stage : Early Access, social events and tournaments. “A message from the Director” #7 to #9.

Close-up and post-mortem of the project.

1. Outputs: Financial report, game infos and documentation fully accessible, Early Access released
2. Acceptance Criteria: Game live with users playing
3. Evidence: Post-Mortem and final reports

This final Milestone will allow us to close this phase of the project and to start to talk about the future. The Early Access will be live and the game already playable, and we will start to have usable analytics to make projections and to allow the community to decide where to go.

“A message from the Director” #10 to #12.

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

The Herd leadership team is composed of: 

• Game Designer & Director: Pierre Aceituno
• Technical Art Director : Riwal Pacquentin
• 3D Artist/Animator: Elsa Nedelec, Laura Martin-Wortham
• Sound Designer: Henry Clerc
• Audio Engineer: Martin Rabiller

We will hire collaborators for the following roles:

• Blockchain Developer: Smart contract and tokenomics development 
• Game Developer: Core game mechanics and multiplayer integration 
• Marketing, Partnership & Community Manager: Discord, Twitter and Twitch marketing and community management. Artist and sponsor partnerships
• Game Designer : Functional design of in-game features that are not already designed.

We also have built a strong advisory board for Herd:

• Romain Pellerin (IOG, CTO) as a pro-bono Special Advisor, providing invaluable expertise in blockchain and gaming. He will assist the team in building a sound technical architecture and gaming experience.
• Sebastian Guillemot (Paima Studio, CEO), blockchain and gaming expertise. He will assist the team in the integration of the Paima Engine to Herd.
• Patrick Tobler (NMKR, CEO), NFT marketplace expertise. He will assist the team in building the official NFT marketplace for Herd on Midnight.
• HOSKY, marketing expertise. He will help the team in marketing Herd properly on social networks (Twitter, Discord, Twitch) and building a strong brand.
• NEWM, music industry distribution and artist royalties management expertise.
• Kotaro Motoshima (Rulemakers DAO, Founder, Lawyer), expertise in incorporation of DAO in Japan.

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

Fund13 Budget allocation : 

• Early Access Development : ADA 222,000 
• Marketing, Communication : ADA 83,000 
• Website / Infrastructure : ADA 69,000 
• Blockchain Integration : ADA 41,000 
• Flexibility Budget (covering all budget items) : ADA 85 000 

Total : ADA 500,000

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

The requested funds will build a decentralized platform that integrates blockchain technology, NFTs, and community governance, introducing new use cases to the Cardano ecosystem. With 15% of the treasury’s profits allocated to the Cardano Treasury, capped at 5x ($1.25M) the initial funding, this project directly contributes to the ecosystem's sustainability.

Additionally, partnerships with HOSKY Token, Paima Studio and NMKR for the NFT marketplace provide valuable visibility and utility within the Cardano community. Herd can also be a flagship game for Midnight launch.

The Early Access will allow Cardano community to have a whole new game into its ecosystem, and whatever happens after the fund 13, the game will stay and still be able to attract new customers.