AdaQuest DCrawler Vertical Slice

[GENERAL] Summarize your solution to the problem.

After creating the Concept & Prototype for Phase 2 we have to develop the Release Candidate. This will allow us to deliver the finished product to the public. This is usually stated as Early Access.

[GENERAL] Summarize your relevant experience.

Tech Lead: Dirk 20y of pro coding experience!

https://tinyurl.com/2p9wtsh4

Game Design

Alex - 5y of relevant g-design experience

https://tinyurl.com/yv56r2pf

Graphics & Concepts

Chris - 15y of finest artworks

https://tinyurl.com/y45vctsw

More info: https://ada-quest.com/about

[IMPACT] Please describe your proposed solution.

PHASE 2 - Gameplay Concept - Dungeon Gameplay

INTRO:

After creating the Concept & Prototype we will go "All-in" end develop an early access game with unique features. So let all the business talk aside - no worries biz still present in this proposal ;) - here comes all the stuff that matters for a game! Fun mode on:

Dungeon Gameplay – 10 important questions – some answers

1. What can you expect?

Since Phase 1 is all about individual character and ability development (Leveling), Phase 2 will bring your friends to the show! This will be a fully fleshed-out competitive dungeon crawler with some absolutely new and fresh unique features in this genre. Dungeons will be generated procedurally!

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2. This is what a Round in AdaQuest Phase 2 will look like!

After you and your friend (2vs2) decide on which tribe you will go in season gameplay (dwarfish, barbarian, elfish, magician), you will be able to select one of the available dungeons.

In one of these dungeons, you will encounter a duo of a rival tribe. Besides this, the dungeons will offer hidden secrets, traps, monsters, and of course treasures!

(Somebody says NFT? looking around - Example of a possible NFT equipment loot drop)

You and your comrade will explore the dungeon in real-time and after solving some of the riddles and secrets you will be hopefully able to fight against the boss of each dungeon.

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3. What will happen to the rest of my NFTs, when I choose the seasonal gameplay?

Hopefully, this overview will make it easier to understand:

Phase 1 - Duel-mode: All of your characters are available for leveling - no gain of season points

Phase 2 - Dungeon-mode: You choose a folk (Barbarian, Dwarves, Magician, Elves) for season gameplay:

• All other folks will be NOT available and locked for collecting season points!

• A Season can last 3-6 months. This has to be decided!

• There will be a bot mode for testing every NFT you like within one generic dungeon. 

• In the future, there will be more than one tribe within a folk (like two different Elf tribes e.g.)

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4. Can I fight against the player rival tribe duo within the dungeon?

This will be possible and will include one of our secret mechanics we do not like to spoiler now!

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5. Will I lose my equipment or even my NFTs?

NO! Even if you die this won´t happen. BUT you and your tribe will lose season points which will lead to loss of territory --> Please remember we are creating a whole World for this.

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6. What kind of battle mode will be used?

We asked already our community (over 850 members on Discord) and the majority seem to like a mixed-mode. Since we always communicate that this game is created by games for gamers, we will use the real-time mode for exploration and scouting and the turn-based for fighting and riddles.

example of turn-based combat in a real-time exploration environment - Ruined King: A LOL Story™

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7. Will it be possible to play Phase 2 in 1vs1 mode?

Yes! Of course!

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8. How will matchmaking work?

For the first version, we will always adjust the power and level of each duo or single (1vs1) hero. Example:

• Your friends Stonebiter Bone Twister Dwarf (Level 10) and your Spade Walker Dwarf (Level 20) will meet in the Black Bay Caverns a Stormbreaker duo (Level 20 and 25).
• Since the Stormbreaker Barbarians have a stronger Power-Level (45) than your team (30), the Stormbreaker level will be adjusted (thanks to a nice formula) to make this as fair as possible fight IF you will encounter this duo at any given time in the mentioned dungeon!

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9. My precious! My treasure! Where is all the gold? What can I earn?

Okay, okay understood. As already mentioned and typical for this genre, you will get for fighting monsters, rivals, bosses, traps, and secrets this kind of reward:

• Fragments (Special In-game currency – NOT buyable with Ada, Euro, Dollar, etc.)
• Gold (Also an in-game currency – Also NOT buyable with crypto or fiat)
• QuestToken (Our native token used for promo or buying cosmetics ONLY within our game)
• Basic Items (Only available within our game, more like FTs than NFTs )
• Equipment NFT (Our lightpaper is dealing with this issue in a more detailed way)

QuestToken - QTS // Fragments // Gold

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10. How many Heroes do I need to play this game?

Well, at least you will need one NFT AdaQuest hero to really enjoy the game with all the features. However, we decided also to create a basic Adventurer totally free to play. This hero will let you experience all the important mechanics you will not even need a Wallet to play our game. Like every other hero on Ada, this basic Adventurer will also use the basic items available through gameplay and at Tingle&Tangle special store 😊

So yes, AdaQuest is absolutely a pure Free 2 Play gaming project on mobile, for the dungeon crawler we think of a - spend what you like to reward the developers - early access payment model.

TL;DR;

SUM UP:

This Vertical Slice Dungeon Crawler Version will offer:

• A procedural generated Dungeon with implemented unique game mechanics
• A side quest to show and add some random events
• This will be a multiplayer version for 1vs1 and 2vs2 (coop)
• A real-time exploration mode within the dungeon
• A turn-based fighting mode
• Full implementation and use of AdaQuest NFT Destinies & Items

[IMPACT] Please describe how your proposed solution will address the Challenge that you have submitted it in.

This game mode is the HEART of AdaQuest, as we like to call it. While the first mode is mainly about the single-game character, the Dungeon mode is targeting cooperative play. Of course, it's also possible to play this mode 1 vs. 1, but you'll have the best experience with your friends and collect more points for your tribe. We think that this is the logical addition to cover this challenges problem statement:

!Mass Adoption!

Adding more content is always a good way to generate revenue within the gaming business. Since Red Potion Studio is more focused on the mantra - GAME experience First - bringing this to life will deliver a real AAA candidate from the Cardano ecosystem.

Further since in 2022 the digital world is all about socializing, we think that bringing fun to the blockchain environment is the way you can accomplish mass adoption. So the Cardano way, our gaming dev experience, and the unique features of the dungeon crawler come together to reach this GOAL!

!AdaQuest offers the fundamentals to accomplish this challenge!

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Main focuses - AdaQuest Development

Game experience FIRST!

• Hand-drawn graphics
• Different game modes for different target groups & player styles
• Deep Lore related to the Cardano blockchain (names, places, people, etc.)

Reaching for a wide gamer-centric user base

• Real free to play model without any paywall or pay2win
• Easy and user-friendly game-account/marketplace experience
• Involving the community in the development
• Fair prices and no powercreep related NFTs

Ensuring the development cycle

• Using our native on-chain token(QuestToken) for marketing and further funding
• Reaching out to DEX and SEED funding platforms related to Cardano (e.g. kick.io)
• Collaborate with other developers from the Cardano ecosystem
• Onboarding young talents through AdaQuest into the Crypto world
• Introducing the - spend what you like to reward the developers - EA access payment model.

[IMPACT] What are the main risks that could prevent you from delivering the project successfully and please explain how you will mitigate each risk?

Challenges

• Blockchain-related updates/upgrades that can influence our development
• Providing user-suggested feature upgrades
• Merge mechanics, gameplay, and lore into a fun and competitive experience
• Delivering the promised concept in time and within budget

Risks

• Generating technical debt through "bloat" feature sets
• Compensation for non-productive time
• Unforeseen technological obstacles
• Unsuccessful - spend what you like to reward the developers - program (No funds)

Our risk management includes the experience we have gathered within the last two decades in game development. We avoid already some of the risks by clearly communicating our steps and taking precautions NOW! That´s why we never will drop a version, because for the sake of releasing something. However, we use some of these tools to help us minimize the risk:

• Only one weekly team meeting (tasks are distributed to each division)
• Tracking & documentation with JIRA & Confluence
• Overall quick communication through Slack
• Learning & optimizing processes by reflecting everyone's working style
• Looking for further Revenue streams within the project & funding rounds

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed plan, including timeline and key milestones for delivering your proposal.

Q4 2022 - Dungeon Crawler Vertical Slice starting timeline

Brief timeline & key milestones:

• November 2022
• Each team member takes part in a kick-off meeting
• Project structure definition & concept realization
• Dividing tasks within the resources
• First coding starts
• First Illustrations drawn
• UI/UX concept will be turned into assets(graphic elements)
• December 2022
• Due to the nature of this month (Holiday & Xmas) team will be only 50% available
• Initial important tasks got the focus
• Coding, Level Design, Game Design
• January 2023
• The first milestone will be reached by the end of the month
• Including first animations, controls, and placeholder fights
• This version will allow us to proof our concept in terms of:
• game mechanics
• look & feel
• performance
• PR, Marketing, and Viral campaign starts
• Game Design is final
• March 2023
• All comes together
• Sound Design and Narration are finalized
• Code freeze by start of March
• Testing environment open to testing group A for 4 weeks
• By end of the month, the Vertical Slice candidate is release ready

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[FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed budget breakdown.

Budget Breakdown Development November 2022 - Mid March 2023:

Estimated cost: 163.700$ (10K$ Marketing incl.)

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Marketing

Once completed we will communicate this through our social media and game-related channels. We also will use our business network from the games & entertainment industry. Showing and promoting AdaQuest with different partners like IGN, Checkpointhub, GEE Magazin, and of course a lot of Influencers, Podcasters, YouTubers, and Cardano Partners like Playermint, Muesliswap, or Cardano SWARM or NFT Maker!

Key Marketing Strategy: Organic, steady, and healthy growth without useless pseudo Influencer and social media spend!

That´s why we are aiming for only 10K$ Marketing Budget to keep the cost low and let our final work speak for itself!

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide details of the people who will work on the project.

Art Direction: Christian is our Illustrator and UX Designer with more than 15 years of professional work in digital art, gamification, interface- and app design in the industry. Starting as a big fan of the classic "point & click" adventures (e.g., Monkey Island, Beneath a Steel Sky, Day of the Tentacle) on DOS and hoarding tons of comic books, he turned his geek hobby into an ever-expanding full-time job! (LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-hayungs-9ba22457)

Game Design & Balancing: Alex worked as a creative director at Ubisoft's campus and as lead developer of Faith and Honor Barbarossa. He has considerable experience researching psychological and neurological sweet spots in game-based learning. With over 4 years of experience in game design, Alex is geared to bring the best gaming experience to AdaQuest!

(LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-cimpeanu-b9507a112)

Tech Lead: Dirk worked for Ubisoft, founded two gaming studios as a Dev Lead, and is currently working as a Technical Architect. He is the go-to guy, well in everything tech-related. Besides running and tracking our stake pool he is doing his magic to create the foundation for our project. 20 years of experience! IF var string = "you are looking for a coder?" THEN result = "Dirk"

(LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dirk-potulski-71313428)

Strategic Advisor & Founder: Marcin worked in marketing, sales, and project management for THQ, Ubisoft, CI Games, Daedalic Entertainment, and Rockstar. In the past 10 years, he has helped some start-ups in their initial phase, and he will also provide guidance for the Cardano gaming community, as well! (LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcin-kugla-a92b5964)

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Freelancers we are working with:

Artists, Illustrators, Animation, Design, Coders, Writers

Ann-Kathrin Raab - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ann-kathrin-raab-8b1815184/

Robert Schneider - https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertschneider138/

Celine Zirkel - https://www.linkedin.com/in/celine-zirkel-62304b220/

Oleg Gorshkov - https://www.linkedin.com/in/gorshkov-oleg-3408468a/

Daniel Fischer - https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-fischer-29004b220/

Simon Latusek - https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-latusek-094728143/

Christopher Smith - https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-smith-783b6b93/

[FEASIBILITY] If you are funded, will you return to Catalyst in a later round for further funding? Please explain why / why not.

In the case of funding, we assume that we would forgo further Catalyst funding for the time being. Why? Well, because the Vertical Slice represents the final phase for us and thus also whether AdaQuest will be a success.

Assuming success, further financial support would only be necessary for extreme emergencies, or if the development is so far behind that nothing could be done without Catalyst.

Therefore, our current plan is to become financially independent with the Vertical Slice. That's why we need your voting power and hope for your support!

[FEASIBILITY] Are you or any member of your team working on any other proposals in this Fund9?

[FEASIBILITY] Are you or your team working on any other proposals from previous Funds?

[AUDITABILITY] Please describe what you will measure to track your project's progress, and how will you measure these?

Our KPIs

Even if we are free and not at the "mercy" of a big publisher or investor, budget and time are always issues when it comes to creating games. As an independent developer, the biggest risk is that you will run out of money or dev power. Either someone will try to sell you a service he/she can´t deliver in time or someone create something you already paid for, but in the end, it is useless for your project :(

To mitigate this, we work only with people we already know and meet in RL or worked before with them. Sometimes we receive recommendations or test young talents before offering them a contract. Our working and project experience will ensure to keep track of the budget and put enough into our reserve to be prepared for turbulences and struggles, which sometimes you can´t avoid.

That´s why we will track & measure this:

• New user accounts after releasing a feature (after releasing this Vertical Slice)
• Collected resources from our - spend what you like to reward the developers - program
• Website Visits, Page Impressions & Views (also YT, Twitter, etc.)
• NFT Sales 

Further tracking makes no sense for us since this is concept work!

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Target Groups

Primarily:

• Turn-based & strategic hack & slay lovers
• Fans of competitive games
• Core gamers

Secondary:

• NFT & blockchain enthusiasts
• Hand-drawn art lovers
• Casual gamers

Tertiary:

• PC gamers
• Curiosity-seekers

[AUDITABILITY] What does success for this project look like?

Well, as already mentioned, our targeted success for this proposal is financial independence. After more than 15 months of overall development of AdaQuest, we no longer want to be dependent on financial fluctuations and constant funding. 

The Vertical Slice offers us exactly this opportunity. The success is equal to the user statistics. With our concept and game, we hope to make an already small loyal community even bigger and thus contribute to the mass adoption of Cardano.

[AUDITABILITY] Please provide information on whether this proposal is a continuation of a previously funded project in Catalyst or an entirely new one.

AdaQuest was already funded in Fund5. Since then we manage to become well known within the Cardano ecosystem (Gamers On-Chained challenge was initiated by us). Besides founding Red Potion Studios, we have hired people, started to develop AdaQuest, created a Web portal with user management & tools, and build a mission statement & vision for the whole AdaQuest project.

Without the initial Catalyst funding, this would never happen!

To all the VOTERS from FUND5 & FUND8 Thank you for this chance!

Nevertheless, as we stated in Fund 5 already:

Our project with the three planned game phases (ARENA, Dungeon Crawler, Skirmish Battlefield - https://ada-quest.com/howto#future) needs a budget of around 500K$. So all our proposals here are aiming to get additional support. Every missed funding from Catalyst will protract development, because of the nature of such a gaming project. As always we are keen to hear your thoughts. You are welcome to comment!

So far our Catalyst proposals:

Fund 5 - DApps & Integrations (funded - 100K$):

https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/351663

Fund 6 - DApps & Integrations (NOT funded - 75K$):

https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/365863

Fund 7 - Gamers On-Chained (NOT funded - 55K$):

https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/382933

Fund 8 - Gamers On-Chained (funded - 96K$):

https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/405375

https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/404544

https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/404315