Overview of Ape Worlds: Shooter Edition
Ape Worlds: Shooter Mode is a focused proposal (based on API-78) to build a fun and addictive 3rd person shooter game for the Ape community in 4 months.
The game will allow anyone to play a shooter game with Ape-inspired characters directly in the web browser, bypassing app stores and gatekeepers, and be powered by the Ethereum ecosystem + Metamask.
To check out a video and presentation about the proposal, take a look at the below presentation.
TL:DR on Roadmap, Cost, and Benefits to the DAO
Here’s our roadmap, read more below for the full details.
Note that token allocations will be unlocked based on shipping the features laid out in the previous phase; ie, the team will unlock the initial 50% immediately and then only unlock the remaining 2 allocations of 25% if they complete the features from the previous phase. The Foundation will determine if the team has hit said feature goals.
Cost of development
We are requesting a budget of 215,938 $APE to build a working alpha game with a clear path to profitability. There are more budget details later in the proposal.
Why is this good for the ApeCoin DAO?
A fun, instantly accessible game could drive hundreds of thousands of players into the $APE ecosystem. Our team has driven >5m installs to our previous instant games with Knock Knock. See the below case study from Vy Worlds, our web3 gaming platform.
Proposal Details
For the full proposal details, read more below!
Motivation and Rationale - Why is this a good idea for the ApeCoin DAO?
Shooter games are massively popular. Everyone knows how to play shooters, and there is a ton of depth to master the gameplay. Also, shooter games are very replayable and get a lot of engagement.
Pairing the Ape brand with a fun, accessible game that runs on the web w/ Ethereum/ Metamask, we can expand the number of wallets holding and spending $APE.
Expected Impact
REACH: We expect to onboard hundreds of thousands of players over a 6 month period (post launch).
Other Benefits
- APECOIN UTILITY: $APE will be the utility token for assets minted and traded in Ape Worlds.
- ENGAGEMENT: There will be a period where only $APE holders will be allowed to play, after which anyone will be able to play. This will give $APE holders early access to the game and then let us expand to a larger player base after the game is ready for launch.
- FREE STUFF: All ApeCoin holders get access to an airdrop during alpha.
- OTHERSIDE PROMOTION: All characters in Ape Worlds will be compatible on Otherside via the glTF file type, giving additional utility on both platforms.
Background Materials
- The game
- The map editor
- The Characters
- Tokens for Testers and Ape map builders
- Otherside Integration
- Differences between this proposal and AIP-78
#1 The Games
The game will be focused on 3rd person shooter, one of the most popular game types on the planet. Everyone knows how to play shooter games (CounterStrike, Fortnite, Halo, etc), and there is a ton of depth to master the gameplay.
We have a working demo of deathmatch and Battle Royale. For this project, we would build on this and create team deathmatch and team BR. Additionally, we would ship Capture the Flag or another new game mode (based on community feedback).
We have permission to use #4333 for concept art purposes, and are in progress licensing the name and likeness of a handful of other apes. Read more in section 3 below.
#2 The Map Editor
For this proposal, we will focus on the UGC editor being just to create shooter maps, vs all of the other modes supported by the full Vy Worlds engine. This will let us get the game out faster and for significantly less cost.
#3 The characters
The characters in Ape Worlds games would be vinyl toys that are based on a few Apes that we are working out licensing deals with. We want to license 10-20 BAYC NFT from the community initially.
If there are additional BAYC holders interested in licensing their Ape for a drop, please tweet at @PlayVyWorlds with a pic of your Ape. We want to talk with you!
#4 $APE Tokens for Testers and Ape World Builders 
We are planning on reserving 5.8% (10,000 $APE) of the requested $APE tokens to make available to ApeCoin DAO members who help with testing and building the UGC maps that are featured in the game.
Creating a polished game experience is a massive undertaking, and we want to make sure that members who step up to build the initial games, help with testing, and join as moderators can be fairly compensated.
These tokens ensure we have 6 months of mod/tester support.
#5 Otherside integration
We can make sure that our characters are also exportable in the glTF file format, which is the supported file type for Otherside.
All of our 3D assets could also be exported in this file type, but until more details are released about Otherside, we can’t promise they will work until we learn more about Otherside’s underlying coding platform.
#6 Difference between AIP-78 and this proposal
- Gameplay is focused on just shooter mode. This has a number of downstream implications:
- A lot less art, vs if we support all game types.
- Less engineering work, as we will focus on shooter mode.
- P2E and create-to-earn features will be for future (optional) proposals
- Focus on making a fun game first and build on in from there.
- P2E events are a big ask operationally. Building these systems and running these events later means we don’t need to hire additional team members until we need them.
- BIGGEST COST IMPACT: No additional hires or a dedicated team built out until we prove the business model.
- The original plan was to go big and built out a full team to focus on this opportunity for 12+ months.
- For this proposal, we will just use the existing team and bring on a handful of community/marketing/art contractors for a 4-6 months and build a profitable game.
- There will be additional proposals to do more in the future, but this will be a full standalone game that should be profitable.
Steps to Implement & Timeline
Below is the roadmap to develop Ape Worlds. You can read through our roadmap overview deck that has additional details here.
Note that tokens allocations will be unlocked based on shipping the features laid out in each phase. The Foundation will determine if the team has hit said feature goals.
Cost
We are asking for 215,938 $APE, based on the price of $APE being $4.77 on 8/30
We will put our team of 15 behind this for 4 months, along with bringing on Beffio Studios & an Art Director to generate hundreds of 3D art assets.
On the marketing side, we will bring on a social media/community manager for a 6-month contract, with the goal of hiring them full-time as the game grows.
Specification notes
- Our engine runs natively on the web, so anyone can play the game directly via a link shared on social or your website. You can even embed the game on your website.
- All of the characters and game-building blocks will be run in the Vy Worlds engine. We have a working alpha that the community can play at Play.VyWorlds.com.
- Ape Worlds will work with Metamask on the ETH network, no network switching is required to play.
- We can make sure that our characters are also exportable in the glTF file format, which is the supported file type for Otherside.
Team
Ape Worlds would be developed using the Vy Worlds engine. Vy Worlds is backed by Knock Knock Games, an SF-based gaming startup founded by former Zynga, EA, Gameloft, and Jam City folks who have shipped games with over 100m installs and $500m in revenue.
About the Knock Knock founding team
Andrew Friday, CEO: former product leader at Zynga, Glu, and serial entrepreneur. Launched 6 Instant Games at Zynga, resulting in >100m installs. Crypto investor since 2016.
Sean “Smasher” Maher, CTO: Dir Eng at Jam City including, lead engineer for Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery. Also led eng teams on Family Guy, Marvel, and was the eng lead for the Griffin game engine.
James Boyle, VP product: VP Product at Jam City. Ran Family Guy: Quest for Stuff, and oversaw the development of first Harry Potter mobile game. Under his and Sean’s leadership, as VP and Dir-level at Jam City, of these projects, these games earned over $400m in total lifetime revenue.
Conclusion
We are building a fun and addictive 3rd person shooter game. Our team has a strong track record, we believe that we can reach hundreds of thousands of new wallets, and can have a working game in months.
Thanks for your time!
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