AIP-487: ApeCoin Community Engagement Platform

Withdrawn AIPs
2

FAQ-1

WHAT WAS THE REASON FOR THIS MASSIVE PROJECT?

This is an initiative for the community and by the community; and one in which all are welcome to participate and be rewarded for doing so.

I have always said that a large swath of the community have been unable to reap the benefits of being part of a community DAO created for them. This is a bold attempt to change that.

For sometime now I have had this idea of building a community based game for ApeCoin. You can see my threads and comments on Discourse starting from the first time that I appeared here back on June 29th, 2023. This led to AIP-316 which failed to pass at vote back in Sept 2023. But, from the outside, I was still a part of the community.

The ApeCoin community will be more engaged via a virtual online platform than in text based systems. This is precisely why other chains and studios are building games and online environments. We need ours. And we don’t have the luxury of many years and millions of Dollars to do it with.

WHY ISN'T THIS PUT THROUGH THE $100M BANANA BILL?

Several reasons. Below are the primary ones:

  • I envision it as a decentralized initiative for the ApeCoin community and one in which all can participate, while having a voice throughout the process. And that voice can be expressed in many ways, ranging from being on a team, being an external tester of what is being created, to participating in Tally or Snapshot votes (as part of the ACE portal) for specific features and initiatives, creating prefab asset packs for inclusion and sale in AOW etc. My vision is for this to be a collaborative initiative.

  • Many proposals have come through our DAO, and even with the amazing success of ThankApe, our community is still stagnant, lacking cohesion, participation and cooperation befitting an engaged community. As a lifelong gamer and game dev, I know all too well the benefits of an engaged and prosperous community.

  • Similarly, any projects going through the Banana Bill are likely to remain behind closed doors until such time as they are unveiled. And even then, they are likely to engage the community differently because those projects are by external teams and with no relationship to the DAO community at large.

  • While I am well aware that this proposal is likely to fail at vote, it is one that contains some similarities to my 3-project (two games + DePIN) Web3 portfolio currently targeted on a pre-existing chain. My point being, I’m doing this already anyway - but for a different target audience and chain. And in that regard, it is no different from any middleware or platform that is created for specific target and purpose. For example: In AIP-418, Sequence created the ApeBuilder platform, while the recently passed AIP-433 ApeExpress is a suite of tools for building various initiatives on ApeChain.
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    And even if this proposal fails to pass, the ideas presented will remain as a roadmap so that perhaps some ideas presented here can be adopted in some fashion down the road by other teams. e.g. the ApeID is one which I believe is worth creating. But then the question becomes, what utility will it have?

  • I had also informed Jordan (Banana Bill) that while I have no plans or intentions of deploying my Web3 portfolio on ApeChain due to timing, risks etc. I would still try to find a way to assist in the efforts to make ApeChain a success - whatever form that takes. And so, the massive scope of this ACE proposal is the culmination of those ideas.
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    To me, it’s not relevant if this proposal is funded directly by the DAO or through the Banana Bill because it’s all money from the same treasury. Except, the decision to fund something like this is in the hands of the community voting gauntlet - currently controlled by whales who are likely to kill it anyway.

IS APECOIN ONLINE WORLDS A GAME?

Not quite.

It is a massively multiplayer online environment that uses the same underlying engine used to create the Alganon MMORPG game seen in AIP-316. That same game engine (AGE) is going to be used to create a virtual environment similar to others such as Second Life, Entropia Universe and similar virtual online environments.

The Alganon Game Engine is a robust MMO game engine which has everything that is needed to create the aforementioned environment. There is no tech left to build. Only content is required.

While the feature set is extensive, the key elements for its use in AOW are in its community engagement features such as :

  • Expansive world which can be extended with ease
  • Persistence (24-7 with 99% uptime)
  • Virtual 3D characters
  • Chat (text + voice)
  • Social management tools
  • Rewards based system for airdrops and various tasks
  • Economics + trading system
  • Robust LUA based scripting system for creating anything from quests and adventures to rewards based encounters
  • Support for guilds and groups
  • Support for NPC companions (other NPC or pets)

The concept for AOW isn’t in its gamification like in an online game (e.g. Alganon, WoW, Everquest etc.). Rather, instead of going on quest grinds or grinding for a particular item to make another thing, the scripting system can be used to create simple and easily achievable rewards based tasks (aka quests). These can be based on any activity such as a going to a location, finding an item, finding an NPC etc. And if needed as AOW evolves, it can be expanded to include PvE and PvP combat engagements.

The goal of AOW is NOT to grind, it is to spark continued engagement in exchange for rewards.

Below is an example engagement flow:

  • Create your ApeID and enter the world. Note: A Web3 wallet is automatically created.
  • Create your character, give it a name etc.
  • Enter the world (Alganon has 3 different starter areas, AOW will have 4) and practice moving around, interacting with NPCs, cash shop. chatting openly or privately etc.

Up to that point, you would have earned rewards (AOW tokens) for doing all that.

  • Respond to a quest message to visit a cash shop to spice up your avatar with cosmetics.
  • Respond to a quest message to go to a location. You go there.
  • Respond to a quest message to go find a specific NPC. You go do that.
  • Respond to a quest message to go find the cash shop to buy something. You go do that.
  • Respond to a quest to go battle a monster. You go do that.
  • Respond to a quest to join in a raid to go battle a monster. You go do that.

Up to that point, you would have earned rewards (AOW tokens) for doing all of the above.

Rewards can come in all forms limited only by the creativity of the writers and the designers who write the scripts.

All that aside from the engine’s trading and economics system which allows trading and exchange of items with the environment (cash shop, NPC) or other people in the environment.

My vision for AOW is NOT to make another MMORPG game.

WILL APECOIN ONLINE WORLDS HAVE UGC SUPPORT?

Yes - to a certain extent.

The AGE engine used to create AOW does not support built-in UGC - nor is it planned because we’re not planning to extend the engine to support this.

Instead, the same AGE tools (also used to create the Alganon game) can be used to create additional lands and also import 2D/3D game world assets. And on pre-existing and new lands, exposing those same tools allows gamers to buy a plot of land, and use pre-existing assets (prefabs) to build their own settlements such as camps, towns, villages etc. - all the same assets we already use in the engine.

For UGC, we will have an online repository where user created prefabs can be uploaded to their account via the ACE web UI/UX. This will allow asset submissions to the ACE team for their inclusion into the game world - based on merit and importance (e.g. MBA businesses, partnerships etc.). We have plugins for this. So, while we’re likely to put a themed building, sign or banner in AOW, tie it to an account thus allowing for it to be used as a prefab, we’re not likely to allow you to create a giant phallus and expect the team to import it into the game.

Below is a sample UGC flow:

  1. Buy land and/or prefab assets from the cash shop
  2. Fast travel to your land plot
  3. Use the UI/UX to pull up prefab assets and place them within the land plot

NOTE: All 2D/3D for-sale assets are available either via the cash shop which is accessible via the ACE platform website or within the AOW environment.

Here are some AGE / Alganon images which show the above.

age02

(above) - in-game Alganon continent with various plots of land

age01

(above) - AGE editor with legacy Alganon land loaded and prefab assets being placed

HOW IS APECOIN ONLINE WORLDS DIFFERENT FROM OTHERSIDE?

AOW is neither a replacement for nor competition to Otherside.

  • Otherside is an online environment built with UE5 while using Improble M2 engine for its network backend.

AOW will be built with AGE, a pre-existing engine & tools suite specifically designed for MMO games, and which already contains all the tech related components required.

  • Otherside has promised a world with millions of gamers existing in a single environment which will support “up to 10,000” clients in close proximity.

AGE is not designed to host “hundreds of thousands” of players at once, let alone 10,000 clients within close proximity or on a single server. Instead, it is hosted on a cluster of servers which are capable of handling thousands of players. And with a network of servers as well as the ability to move between them, the system is scalable based on demand. And you do not have to create a new character just to play on a specific server. One account (tied to your ApeID), any server - all connected. And the WSG node based tech expands on this ability.

While the first and only game created with AGE was a fantasy MMORPG, that game engine was built because no capable and inexpensive engine existed at the time. You could remove all the game content and be left with a development platform and suite of tools. This is similar to engines such as UE5 - except you would still need to build such a platform if you were creating a game - let alone an MMO.

AOW is based on that AGE platform for which only content (art, audio) and certain integrated middleware (as per above) need to be integrated and/or replaced.

While there are two ways to create AOW from the AGE suite, the fastest path forward is to replace certain content such as environment, player and NPC models, weapons etc. with themed (e.g. BAYC, MAYC etc) versions. You could refer to this as a re-skin, but it’s much more than that. Once implemented, the end result will be themed assets existing in a pre-existing but updated environment. Imagine a game like World Of Warcraft - but with apes instead of orcs. In short, you would be playing an online game - which you probably never played before - as your chosen avatar (ape instead of fantasy warlord) - alongside your mutant friends.

As an MMO platform with a built-in scripting (LUA) system and all the mechanics for trading, loot drops, rewards, chat (public and private, text or voice), cash/trading shop etc, AOW will be a full-blown virtual environment in which you can do anything - including gaping at the scenery. And you never have to play the quests or go on raids. You can simply explore, trade, mingle and chat with your friends while earning rewards, tokens etc.

That’s the whole premise of my vision for this. Imagine a planned session whereby on a certain date or event (e.g. Halloween), you earn rewards just for logging in or going to a certain location etc. These are all simple activities which don’t involve the time sink required for actually playing and making gains in online games. And the Alganon game, when it was live, regularly did events like that.

The end result is that, at all times, you will have something to do in the AOW environment.

  • Otherside has promised UGC via its ODK.

The AGE suite does not support built-in UGC - nor is it planned because we’re not building or extending an engine. And so, neither will AOW.

Instead, the same tools used to create the Alganon game can be used to create additional lands and also import game world assets. Imagine a land for BAYC, another for MAYC etc. And on pre-existing and new lands, exposing those same tools allows gamers to buy a plot of land, and use pre-existing assets (prefabs) to build their own settlements such as camps, towns, villages etc. - all the same assets we already used in the game engine.

The only limitation to the above is that gamers can’t create these prefab assets from scratch inside AOW because there is currently no mechanism in AGE to support that. That said however, it is always possible to allow asset submissions to the ACE team for their inclusion into the game world - based on merit and importance (e.g. MBA businesses, partnerships etc.). We have plugins for this. So, while we’re likely to put an MBA themed building, sign or banner in AOW, tie it to an account thus allowing for it to be used as a prefab, we’re not likely to allow you to create a giant phallus and expect the team to import it into the game.

In short, in game, you could buy (or create them externally and pay a fee to import them into AOW) all the assets required to build your own village, buy an alias of the pre-existing cash shop, and then trade goods via that shop in the same manner as you would with other gamers or NPC. And you can gate access to your village as you see fit.

  • Otherside is pitched to be a Metaverse where gamers can create experiences via the ODK
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    Yuga, in a Feb blog post, made clear that Otherside is not and will not be an MMO game.
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    “I think it’s important to take a beat and also clarify what we are not doing for now on Otherside. We are not making a competitive MMO that takes many years, many tens of millions of dollars, and has enormous risks. There are AAA game companies that have their thousands of employees working on these and other projects, and that red ocean isn’t one we want to swim in.”

AOW, will be created from an MMO game engine, and as such has all the attributes and features that come with that. Like any online game world, it is a virtual environment for social gathering and events, complete with text and audio chat. And there are currently very few Web3 communities such as Axie and Sandbox, that have this sort of community engagement. And we in ApeCoin need ours.