Executive Summary
The Grant Ships project, led by DAO Masons, has achieved a pivotal milestone with the completion of Milestone 1. This phase was marked by progress in developing the game's core mechanics and establishing essential collaborations, which set a solid foundation for future development.
We made significant progress in product prototyping, exploring and finalizing various technical solutions integral to the game's framework. This prototyping phase proved crucial for shaping our technical strategy and aligning it with the game's vision.
Simultaneously, we focused on developing a comprehensive rule book, which was instrumental in providing a clear framework to conceptualize the game. This effort was prioritized over completing the whitepaper, as the evolving nature of our integrations and smart contract development demanded a more adaptable approach. The development of the rule book and smart contracts lays a robust foundation, essential for the game's integrity and future scalability.
Our outreach and engagement initiatives have been productive, resulting in promising discussions and collaborations with Allo Protocol, Hats Protocol, and Karma. These partnerships are critical for enhancing the Grant Ships ecosystem and solidifying its impact within the Arbitrum community. Additionally, our Public Relations and recruitment campaign has gained momentum, leading to media appearances and increasing awareness of the game among the community.
Project Overview
Grant Ships is a "meta" framework for pluralistic grant-giving. Individual ships design unique grant programs. During a grant round, ships compete against each other to determine which are most effective in deploying capital. All capital deployment is measured for impact in ways that benefit the Arbitrum ecosystem.
Milestone Objectives
Original Proposal
Whitepaper
Product Prototyping
Promotion
Progress and Achievements
In Milestone 1 of the Grant Ships project, our team focused on laying a strong foundation for the game’s development. A key accomplishment was the progress in product prototyping. We explored and tested various integration options, which was essential for determining the most effective technical solutions for the game. This phase of prototyping has been instrumental in shaping our approach to the game's technical architecture.
We also made considerable progress with the rule book, achieving near completion well ahead of schedule. The rule book is essential for establishing the game’s mechanics and guidelines. Its early completion represents a major milestone for the project, laying the groundwork for consistent gameplay and player interaction.
In parallel, we began the development of our smart contract, aligning with our aim to integrate various protocols. This initiative is pivotal in enhancing the game’s backend infrastructure. The development of these contracts is key for integrating diverse tools seamlessly and ensuring that as much of the game as possible is played on-chain.
Our team has actively engaged in networking and collaboration. We established connections with key players in the space, including Allo Protocol, Hats Protocol, and Karma. These collaborations are vital for the continuous growth and enrichment of the Grant Ships ecosystem.
We've made notable progress with the integration of our Grant Ships contract, having successfully tested it with the Hats Protocol. Our team is also working closely with the developers at Allo Protocol to integrate their system into our platform. Once this integration with Allo is complete, it will pave the way for us to collaborate with Karma. This subsequent integration is aimed at enhancing our capability to track the impact and performance of individual ships effectively.
Despite these advancements, we strategically chose to defer the completion of the whitepaper. This decision was driven by the need to prioritize other crucial elements of the project, particularly the development of the rule book. By focusing on the rule book first, we were able to establish a framework that has been instrumental in conceptualizing the game more effectively. This shift in focus was essential for ensuring that all subsequent developments were aligned with a clear and well-defined game structure.
Our efforts in promoting Grant Ships have also been fruitful, with successful participation in events like Twitter Spaces by Plurality Labs, Hats Protocol Demo Day, and the establishment of our Telegram channel as a central hub for community discussion and operator training.
Additionally, we are pleased to announce the release of our first dev log report in the Arbitrum DAO discourse, marking a new phase of transparent and frequent updates on our development progress.
While some initial goals were re-prioritized, we remain on track to build a robust and engaging grants experience. The adjustments made during this milestone were necessary to ensure a comprehensive and thorough development process, keeping in mind the evolving nature of the project.
Challenges and Solutions
The development of the whitepaper encountered challenges, primarily due to the ongoing integration processes. The addition of smart contracts significantly altered the scope and content of the whitepaper. Given these changes, we realized that finalizing a comprehensive whitepaper requires the completion of these integrations to ensure accuracy and relevance of the information provided.
Focusing on the rule book's structure during this milestone was a logical step. We dedicated significant time to developing the game's rule book, which is pivotal for guiding gameplay and player interactions. Additionally, we have initiated the process of planning and creating training materials for those interested in operating a Grant Ship, laying the groundwork for an informed and engaged player base.
Future Outlook and Planning
As we transition into Milestone 2, we are soon going to finalize our contract development and testing. Upon completion of that, we will create a Sub Graph (or similar tool) so we have access to the data created during the game.
As the contract is being finalized, we will begin the layout and development of our front end app, which will coincide with the contract upon completion of the Sub Graph.
We will also continue work on promotion, with continued efforts in the PR field and also hosting our own spaces. All promotion will also serve as a recruitment drive as we seek people willing to learn about the game and possibly establish Ships they can propose to enable.
Finally, the whitepaper. While we did have one draft complete, we decided to pull that back as the game was still under development, from a technical standpoint. As those details are now being finalized, we will rewrite and ratify the whitepaper.
Feedback and Learnings
Throughout Milestone 1, we learned the importance of flexibility in project development. The decision to delay the whitepaper and prototyping in favor of developing a solid rule book and smart contract provided a more robust foundation for the Grant Ships project. Feedback from our initial outreach efforts highlighted the enthusiasm in the community for our concept.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Milestone 1 of the Grant Ships project, while deviating from the original plan slightly, has set a strong precedent for the future. The establishment of foundational elements like the rule book and smart contract development, coupled with proactive community engagement and collaboration, has positioned us well for the next phase of the project. As we move into Milestone 2, our focus will shift towards finalizing the technical aspects of the project and ramping up our promotional and educational efforts, aiming to build a robust and engaged community around Grant Ships.
Appendices
Dev Log - Development Log posted in Arbitrum DAO's forum.
Grant Ships Proposal - Original Proposal for Plurality Labs
Kanban Board - Our Main Project/Task Board
Operator Training Rule Book Quest - This Quest focuses on Rule Book knowledge. More to come.
Project DAO - This is our sub DAO that we use to track hours for the project.
Request Registry - This is the smart contract that will make up the back end of Grant Ships.
Ritual of Light - This is the app we use to track our individual contributions to the project. Clicking on an entry in the timeline will show the hours and work that is being claimed.
Rule book - Everything someone needs to know to start playing the game.
Signup Form - Sign up form for potential contributors and game players.
Splash Page - Where people arrive to start their journey.
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