Trybbles NFT AR Pets Development

[GENERAL] Summarize your solution to the problem.

Make clear the value of digital ownership enabled by NFTs and blockchain through a concept anyone can understand and connect with: owning, interacting and caring for a digital pet in a fun, unique way

[GENERAL] Summarize your relevant experience.

30 years of combined experience in film, TV, apps & games production

Creators of 2 successful CNFT projects: Trybbles & Icons

Core members of the Cardano NFT-Guild.

Genesis artist of the Emurgo marketplace, Fibo.

Very active in the Cardano NFT space since February 2021.

[GENERAL] Requested funds in USD.

[IMPACT] Please describe your proposed solution.

Our goal with this project is to develop an engaging AR pets entertainment experience that will have the ability to reach audiences beyond the traditional, hardcore gaming market or blockchain gaming, and onboard a very large number of users to Cardano and NFTs.

Make the process so easy and seamless so that it appeals to users who don’t even know they are using blockchain tech.

The focus of the first stage of production, is the world-building and prototyping stage and recruiting the right team of world-class talent to do so.

We have broken up the first stage of production into 4 main pillars and submitted them as 3 separate Fund 9 proposals.

Prototyping & Tokenomics

https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/422707  

World Building - Art & Assets

https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/422762 

Development (This Proposal)

https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/422724

For clarity the entire project is presented in all of the proposals, but the relevant information for each one is highlighted and the budget for each part of the project is separately presented.

We plan to make the AR app a free download on all major platforms.

The free version will feature a virtual pet with a few basic traits to choose from. All basic functionality will also be available at no cost.

However, connecting your Trybbles NFT holding Cardano wallet to it will grant the player with new functionality and cosmetic options (skins) for his pet bot, based on the traits of the NFT(s) he/she is holding.

We aim to move beyond breeding and fighting, which seem to be the current focus and limit of blockchain games. These were good starting points but there is a whole universe of other, yet unexplored, game mechanics that can be adapted and enriched by DLT.

The AR experience will be grounded in a rich universe we have developed over multiple years.

During the first 18 months, we had previously worked on the project (2009-2010) we have completed much of the backstory and have written an extensive script for what was to be a AAA quality adventure game. A wide range of concept art was also created to support the world (see the attached images for examples). In fact, the NFT series that we have released is based on that concept art.

However, the work needs to be adapted to fit the new direction in which we intend to take the project.

We view the AR experience as seamlessly interwoven with our main storyline.

For example, in our main storyline Trybbles are robotic pets built as caretakers and companions to the one-man crew of deep space exploration vessels.

The AR experience would be presented as a virtual replica of the robotic pets, designed specifically to allow Earthborn children to experience their companionship and to gather data that would be fed in the neural networks of the bot.

To accomplish this, the AR Trybbles we are aiming to create will have to give the impression of a living being that has a will and life of its own, that goes on beyond the active interaction session. One way we are planning to achieve this is by constructing a set of refined, subtle and adaptable animations.

We plan on developing the experience in Unreal Engine, as it’s a game engine that we have experience with, produces incredibly high quality results and has a vast ecosystem of resources and support material.

Scope:

Our aim with this Catalyst proposal is to build a solid foundation for our medium and long-term vision for the project.

The most fundamental component of this is recruiting the right team for the job.

Once that is achieved our efforts will turn to world-building and game prototyping for the next few months, with a focus on four main pillars:

1. Completing and adapting the world-building and character development - writing & concept art

2. Game mechanics prototyping

3. First phase of development (both blockchain and game development)

4. Tokenomics & NFT distribution models

As part of this effort we are also looking at ways the player/user might generate new NFTs.

For now, potential directions we are exploring are based on upgrading through gameplay and/or collecting.

The purpose of this Catalyst proposal is not only to hopefully secure the funds needed to lay the foundations of a potentially successful fictional universe, but also to serve as a way of introducing our project to a wider audience and to perhaps serve as a launchpad for further funding opportunities. All that while also being a great way of gathering constructive feedback.

We intend to use the Catalyst process and funds to validate the project and to build solid foundations that will allow us to freely experiment and iterate, and ultimately deliver the best results.

Why Trybbles?

Trybbles already has a proven track record of popularity, with over 4000 NFTs minted by the community since the launch of the project in June 2021. We have a relatively large organic following on Twitter & a Discord community of members actively invested in the project.

Approach

On the blockchain infrastructure, we have the ability to create a new paradigm of digital interactions, one based on provable, trackable ownership & contributions, and start laying a small part of the foundations of what can become a future open and inclusive metaverse.

But while doing so we also have the opportunity to reevaluate and rebuild how our legacy social constructs function, particularly those related to corporate governance, equitable compensation, and the relationships between the entities in an organisation.

We plan to experiment with new approaches, both in our relationship with our community and our potential future team.

For our community, we have already introduced the Trybbles Club based on NFT Key, a Cardano NFT authenticator service that grants special access to holders of Trybbles NFTs. Based on NFT validation we have already organised several community events, such as the Rewards Collection (October 2021 - January 2022) and most recently the Trybbles Claim Event (June 2022). In addition, we see multiple ways in which this could evolve in the future.

It is likely that we will continue to develop the Trybbles universe for the foreseeable future in some form with or without Catalyst funding, however being funded would enable us to dramatically scale up our efforts, at a much faster pace and move the project into the development of interactive entertainment products built on top of the Cardano blockchain.

A game that features NFTs needs to be, first and foremost a fun and engaging experience. NFTs should be treated as "infrastructure" elements, that enable new game mechanics and not be treated as the main focus of the game. That's why what's currently on the market, even the most popular titles, feel more like showcases for NFTs, rather than actual games.

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

Our goal is to create a highly relatable AR pets entertainment experience geared towards mass market adoption. Build the experience on top of Cardano, powered by NFTs and a backend dapp, based on smart contracts.

The Trybbles AR Pets seeks to increase the adoption of Cardano, in a fun and engaging way that’s easily relatable and marketable to a very broad audience.

Our hope is to demonstrate and make clear the value that digital ownership enabled by blockchain can bring, through a concept that anyone can understand and connect with: owning your digital pet, part of an immersive, unique and engaging fictional world.

This addresses the fundament of this challenge:

What dapps, products and integrations can be implemented to bring impactful use cases to Cardano ecosystem that help drive more adoption?

In addition, we are also seeking to enrich the Cardano ecosystem and create a lively and impactful experience, as such we are also addressing one of the key definitions of success for this challenge.

Increasing the number of dapps and products available for the community to use that help to enrich the ecosystem with new use cases.

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

The biggest risks we identify at this stage are difficulties in finding and recruiting the right people for the team. 

Given that recruitment of highly skilled individuals is a fluid, dynamic process, based on circumstance, chance, and a large number of unquantifiable variables it is nearly impossible to make an exact, honest estimate.

The worst-case scenario that could come about as a result of this risk is a delay in the project timeline, but we don’t see that as ultimately jeopardising the project’s success. 

The time we allocated for this process is 3 months (for the entire scope of the project, not just this proposal). We feel that, currently, it represents a good average between the shortest and the longest timeframe required to complete this step.

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

The Trybbles Journey - What we’ve implemented, where we’re going:

Trybbles Universe Project Timeline

Next Steps:

Q4 2022: 

Recruitment for the project begins based on the areas of focus identified.

Early Q1 2023:

The stage 1 complete team is assembled and work on the project can start.

Late Q1 2023 - Q2 2023: 

The first deliverables of the project, are completed and presented to the community (the scope of this particular proposal is outlined in bold):

• Prototypes for game mechanics are produced.
• Game mechanics are tested and data is gathered in feedback sessions.
• A clear user oriented tokenomics model is drafted
• Character concept art is produced
• Environments concept art is produced
• Character 3D models are crafted
• An initial set of character animations are produced
• AR experience MVP code is written
• Custom MVP NFT minting is written and integrated
• First iteration of smart contract code is delivered

Q3 2023: Additional sources of funding are secured for the project through a combination of subsequent Catalyst proposals (if needed), NFT sales, and outside funding.

Implemented so far:

1. September 2009 - December 2010: Initial concepts, world-building, character development, concept art, and a script for what would be a full-length adventure game (project gets shelved due to financial constraints).
2. April - May 2021: Starting from the initial concept art, the Cardano NFT project takes shape, work on the art, and project structure begins. The project website is launched and social media presence is established.
3. The world gets a first glimpse of Trybbles in the Cardano Catalyst Town Hall of April 21, 2021, during the NFT-DAO presentation -
4. (hint: not Bulgaria). Due to complications, we ended the partnership with NFT-DAO a few weeks later.
5. May 23, 2021: Minting of the first Trybbles NFT collectables, exclusively on Cardano.
6. Early June 2021: The Trybbles Discord server is launched in full & a community starts to form around the project.
7. June 15, 2021: Announcement of our partnership with well known and trusted Cardano community members Cardano Dan and Chris of Reliable Staking [RELY]. Together they are covering marketing & technical aspects of the project.
8. June 20, 2021: Minting of the community half of the Trybbles Special Reveal Edition (SRE) which was/is/ and will be distributed to the Trybbles community through giveaways, contests & other special events. A record of their distribution, including links to Cardano transactions is kept here https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1TtKPijV4dfCZxsR7heDYYWK85Wlzjmg76mNPCPdgYlA 
9. June 29, 2021: Launch of the public minting event for the Trybbles Special Reveal Edition (SRE) collection - a series of introductory pieces that reveal Trybbles to the world.
10.  
11. July 2021: Series One Launch - Series One consists of 250 distinct artworks, spread across 5 rarity tiers.
12. August 3, 2021: The first, and to date only, animated Trybbles NFTs are airdropped to wallets of qualifying Trybbles SRE holders. The collection features two tiers and versions of the animation - Trybbles All Revealed (https://pool.pm/d05271dc4748d2a2c69ddf91135d1a712b034f1c1b375d623a12a7d8.TrybblesSREAllRevealed30) and the Trybbles All Revealed Spectacular (https://pool.pm/d05271dc4748d2a2c69ddf91135d1a712b034f1c1b375d623a12a7d8.TrybblesSREAllRevealedSuper20)
13. July - September 2021: Minting of the first half of Series One in 5 drops. Met with enthusiasm by the community, each drop successfully sells out shortly after release.
14. Releasing short fragments of the Trybbles backstory & lore to match each successfully minted part (drop). Delivering on the initial promise that Trybbles will be a world that the community will discover along with the NFT collection [https://www.trybbles.com/world]
15. September 21, 2021: Introduction of the Trybbles Club - a place where owners of Trybbles NFTs can discuss, and share opinions on the project, gain access to exclusive insights, early news, exclusive giveaways and participate in & vote on decisions that shape the future of Trybbles. The Trybbles Club is powered by NFT Key, a Catalyst Fund5 funded proposal, an NFT authenticator service that checks the contents of your Cardano wallet and grants access based on the NFTs it holds. [https://www.trybbles.com/trybbles-club]
16. October 5, 2021: Introduction of the Trybbles Rewards Collection, a series of very distinct Trybbles NFTs, airdropped directly to the wallets of Trybbles holders each week, for 12 weeks.
17. October - November 2021: Work on a Cardano Catalyst proposal in the Gamers On-Chained category meant to enable & secure funds for the recruitment of the right team & the initial stage of development. This included setting the stage by contacting professionals from the animation & game development industries, obtaining up-to-date costs info, consultation sessions with NFT industry insiders, preparing an accounting model with our company’s accountant for dealing with crypto assets and potentially paying salaries in crypto in the future, drafting & refining the proposal, etc.
18. Late November 2021: Launch of the second half of the Trybbles Series One NFT collection on the Cardano blockchain.
19. February 2022: Launch of the Trybbles Swap Pool initiative. For more details please see our announcement post: https://twitter.com/trybbles/status/1495117792651390976
20. April - June 2022: Development of the Trybbles Claim Event (tech development & marketing) https://www.trybbles.com/claim-event
21. June 9 - 16 2022: Trybbles Claim Event

Deliverables for other Fund 9 and previous funds proposals.

Fund 9:

Attract ETH NFT Projects & Talent

https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/418068

Given the timeframe and the volume of work predicted for the proposal, we estimate that an average of 13hrs/week will be required per person to successfully complete the project deliverables if that proposal is funded. (420hrs/2 persons/ 16 weeks).

We are the project managers and market researchers for Phase 2 of the NFT Guild development proposal NFT Swap Infrastructure Templates project https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/417999.

In that project we are taking on a market research and project management role, as estimated in the detailed plan for that project, we foresee our commitment to be of around 12hrs/week/person for the duration of the project, including Phase 1, which we estimate to complete by the end of 2022.

NFT Film Distribution Dapp & Showcase

https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/421355

If funded we will take on a project management and oversight role in the initiative and conduct the hiring process.

We estimate a required commitment of 5-7hrs/week/person.

If all the projects that we have applied for in Fund 9 get funded, the timeframes for the other projects will only partially overlap with this project. We estimate the time commitment for the other projects for the periods of overlap to be around 25hrs/week/person, giving us ample time to execute on the deliverables of this project.

Previous Funds:

As core members of the NFT Guild we are involved in finalising the deliverables for the NFT Guild Fund 7 proposal https://cardano.ideascale.com/a/dtd/NFT-Alliance/384031-48088 . However this will have very little impact on our ability to deliver on this project, as the scope of the proposal is complete and the only deliverable left is the project close-out report. As such, this will not interfere whatsoever with this project.

The NFT Guild has several standards proposals funded in F8:

NFT-Guild: Standard for verification of NFTs

https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/398372

NFT-Guild: NFT Royalty Standards

https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/400204

Given the timeframe of these projects, they should be completed weeks or months before the start of this project. In the small likelihood that some work will not be completed on time on these proposals, the workload associated with their deliverables is distributed amongst the members of the NFT guild, and the time commitment required for us is of just several hours/week, as other members are facilitating the day to day operations of the Guild.

We are also the project managers and market researchers of the NFT Swap Infrastructure Templates project, the first phase of which was funded in Catalyst Fund 8 https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/397532 , however the time commitment for this project will end before work on this project will commence.

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed budget breakdown.

Personnel:

Recruiter - $50/h - $6400

Smart Contract Developer - $80/h - $15360

AR Developer - $75/h - $18000

Unreal Engine Developer - $75/h - $18000

QA - $50/h - $6000

Game Director / Project Manager - $65/h - $15600

Other Expenses:

Accounting - $750/month*5 months - $3750

Legal - $750/month*5month - $3750

TOTAL: $79360 + $7500 = 86860

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

Skills Required

A complete list of the skills required to successfully implement the project:

Production, project planning, scouting & recruitment, game direction, art direction, creative writing, world-building, game design, 3D modelling & rigging, level design, animation, art, market research, community management & social media.

In addition to the founding members and proposers we will be conducting a rigorous hiring process to assemble the rest of the team.

Creators and Proposers:

The core team of the project is New Mindflow, who will be responsible for project management, direction and recruitment.

Award-winning filmmakers, film and animation directors, app and game developers. In 2021 they moved into the web3 economy granting new life to one of their projects in the form of an NFT collection on Cardano.

Anamaria Kövesdi

https://www.linkedin.com/in/anamaria-k%C3%B6vesdi-354649106/

Rares Kövesdi

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rares-k%C3%B6vesdi-551260106/

Besides our experience in film and television there is an entire range of reasons why we think that we are uniquely qualified to execute this project, and showcase the potential of NFTs to the film world:

• We have been exposed to all aspects of the NFT ecosystem on Cardano since before day 1 (March 1, 2021 - The Mary Hardfork).
• As artists and creators, we have launched two Cardano NFT projects: Trybbles, in May 2021, and Icons in September 2021. https://www.trybbles.com + https://www.newmindflow.com/works/icons 
• Authors of the first NFT launch on Cardano with a functional, compilable, smart contract in the metadata of the token, completely on-chain in collaboration with Quinn ( @mqp ), aka. TheAncientKraken. An NFT from the collection was the first one to be sold through a smart contract, minutes after the Alonzo HFC. It also was the first sale through a smart contract on Cardano to pay residuals (i.e. royalties) to artists on resales of their works. https://cardanoscan.io/transaction/34dd0b7ae56b65f4cda029d99cda8322684ec6339ac1c195c16458c1e5e94b96?tab=contracts 
• We are Fibo Genesis Artists and have unveiled our third Cardano NFT collection, with the launch of the Genesis Collection of the Emurgo marketplace, Fibo ( https://fibo.art/collection/21 )
• Core members of the Cardano NFT-Guild, involved in guild operations since January 2022.
• Over the course of the last year, we have already offered pro bono consultancy sessions to artists and projects, either preparing to launch on Cardano or entirely new to the NFT ecosystem.
• As members of NFT-DAO (between late February - early June 2021), we have worked on trying to build a fair and open ecosystem for NFTs on Cardano.
• We have participated in a wide range of aspects of the Cardano ecosystem. For example, we have been involved with Project Catalyst since Fund 3, February 2021 in all roles.
• Member of multiple “gated access” communities in the Cardano NFT space.

As a result of all these factors and events, we have amassed a considerable amount of knowledge and experience about the Cardano NFT space, and the NFT ecosystem in general and we are ready to combine that knowledge with our game development know-how and create a bridge for the benefit of both spaces.

In this proposal, the project as a whole, as well as generally in all our endeavours we observe an alignment with the founding principle of Cardano that worthwhile things can only be built on solid foundations.

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

This will be an ongoing development project and as such we may return to Catalyst for additional funding.

However our plan is to secure additional sources of funding for the project through a combination of NFT sales, and outside funding in the future, and as such to make further Catalyst proposals not necessary. The project has proven that it has a very loyal fanbase, but we believe general market conditions need to improve to allow for this.

[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?

Each deliverable (detailed above) will be recorded and submitted via the Catalyst Monthly Reporting form. As previously funded proposers we are familiar with the process.

In addition to the monthly reporting form, we will build a dedicated section on the project website https://www.trybbles.com/ were we will include the details in the monthly reporting form plus additional details and visual material to keep the community informed and up to date with the development of the project.

This will serve as an auditing portal for the community.

This initial stage of the project will itself be broken up into 2 effective parts, totalling approximately 5 - 6 months. The first stage will be dedicated to recruitment. We estimate this could be done in the first 3. While the second part will represent the first phase of actual production.

 Both in our monthly reports and on our planned auditing portal we will emphasise tracking the following KPIs:

KPIs:

• Volume of interactions and feedback on our mechanics prototype
• Volume of interactions and feedback on our initial tokenomics draft
• Growth of our social channels and positive engagement as a result of the publication of our game mechanics prototype and initial tokenomics draft
• Number of approved concept art pieces produced
• Number of approved 3D models produced
• Number of final game assets generated
• Number of successful iterations of the AR experience
• Number of Github commits
• Number of bugs found and eliminated during testing

Expected Launch Date

We expect that an MVP of the AR experience will be ready by Q4 2023.

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

3 months

The first part of the team is assembled. In this first stage of hiring, we will be looking at recruiting highly skilled individuals for art & community development.

6 months

World-building and a game mechanics prototype are finalised.

A vertical slice of the experience is nearly complete.

Plans for a fair and attractive tokenomics model are completed.

Additional funding is secured & the recruitment process for the second part of the team can begin.

12 months

An MVP is built for the AR app and showcased to the community.

Producing the MVP allows us to properly test the product, both from a technical and mechanics point of view.

Work is well underway.

In closing we would like to emphasise again that this project seeks to lay the foundations for developing a rich interactive world, part of which will be an engaging NFT based, blockchain experience.

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

This proposal has never been funded before.