[DAO:5b941cf] Echelon in Decentraland: Boosting Decentraland's Reach and Platform Engagement

Governance
1

by 0x59fcc103d50e7dcbac3f230397d115ab4c4d380f (KennyRoy#380f)

Should the following $70,000 grant in the Platform category be approved?

Abstract

Echelon was created with the Twitch leadership to offer a direct path for gamers to amplify their visibility through skill, while automatically increasing a game’s presence on Twitch. We propose integrating Echelon into Decentraland to enhance the platform’s visibility, community and diversity. Leveraging our experience from collaborating with Twitch, our team is equipped to enrich Decentraland and transforming the platform into a vibrant hub where achievements and streaming intersect.

Grant size

70,000 USD in DAI

Project duration

5 months

Beneficiary address

0x59fcc103d50e7dcbac3f230397d115ab4c4d380f

Email address

kenny@novembergames.com

Description

We recently met with the DCL Foundation and was encouraged to apply for a platform grant; we share excitement about how Echelon can drive new membership to the Decentraland community through evangelizing experiences through streaming. It is with this goal in mind a proposal was formed.

Echelon, conceived through a groundbreaking partnership with Twitch, fundamentally transforms the relationship between gamers’ achievements and their success on streaming platforms. By excelling in games, players witness a direct surge in their Twitch viewership, thanks to Echelon’s unique system that seamlessly marries gaming skill with streaming fame through a real-time feedback loop. We propose to intricately integrate this cutting-edge technology into the ecosystem of Decentraland, fostering a unique synergy between gamers’ prowess and viewer engagement. This initiative aims to significantly boost the vibrancy and overall appeal of Decentraland.

Central to our initiative is the goal to blend the realms of gaming, streaming, and social connectivity within Decentraland’s digital landscape. Through the deployment of Echelon’s streaming rewards, we anticipate a more enriched Decentraland, becoming a melting pot for gamers, streamers, and content creators alike. This amalgamation is expected to revolutionize user experiences, attracting a wide array of individuals from the gaming world and beyond, thereby adding rich layers to the platform’s community fabric.

With a robust foundation in blockchain technology, game development, and a proven track record with streaming innovations, our team is uniquely positioned to realize this vision. Our collaborative efforts with Twitch have sharpened our ability to develop systems that not only engage but also retain user interest over extended periods. By incorporating Echelon into Decentraland, we’re looking to duplicate this success, equipping developers with the means to produce compelling, interactive content that keeps the platform teeming with life and interaction.

Ultimately, our proposition for incorporating Echelon into Decentraland transcends mere technological integration; it represents an endeavor to create a deeper, more meaningful interconnection between in-game actions and their digital repercussions. Our vision is to craft an immersive world within Decentraland where every game achievement resonates across the community, encouraging widespread participation and fostering a sense of growth and belonging among all users. This is the future we envision for Decentraland, with Echelon acting as the catalyst for a new era of digital interaction and community building.

Roadmap and milestones

Month 1: SDK Modification for Decentraland Compatibility

  • Week 1-2: Conduct a comprehensive analysis of Decentraland’s architecture and identify key areas for Echelon SDK adaptation.
  • Week 3: Begin modifying the Echelon SDK, focusing on ensuring seamless integration with Decentraland’s code environment.
  • Week 4: Complete the initial SDK modifications. Begin internal testing to ensure basic functionality within Decentraland’s framework.
    Month 2: Advanced SDK Development & Initial Tests
  • Week 1-2: Refine the SDK based on initial test results, focusing on optimizing performance and user experience within Decentraland.
  • Week 3: Deploy the updated SDK in a controlled testing environment within Decentraland, gathering feedback for further refinements.
  • Week 4: Finalize SDK adjustments. Start preparations for a public test in our own Decentraland space.
    Month 3: Public Testing & Feedback Collection
  • Week 1: Launch our Decentraland space for public testing, monitoring performance and interaction.
  • Week 2-3: Collect and analyze user feedback, focusing on usability, engagement, and potential improvements or additions.
  • Week 4: Implement feedback to the Echelon SDK, preparing for broader integration across Decentraland.
    Month 4: Initial Integration with Popular Decentraland Spaces
  • Week 1-2: Begin white-glove integration support with popular Decentraland spaces.
  • Week 3-4: Continue support, monitoring integration outcomes to ensure success and high user satisfaction.
    Month 5: Expanded Support & Finalization
  • Week 1-2: Expand white-glove support to additional Decentraland spaces, using insights gained from initial integrations.
  • Week 3: Conduct a comprehensive review of all integrations, gathering final feedback from space owners and users.
  • Week 4: Final refinements to Echelon SDK based on the review. Officially conclude the integration phase, transitioning to ongoing support.

Vote on this proposal on the Decentraland DAO

View this proposal on Snapshot

2

I still have no idea what Echelon is.
“Get reward from being good at a game on twitch thus boosting your viewers base and exposure”
I mean, subs are a big enough reward already. Where is the money for the streamers coming from?
What is your economic model?
How is that a platform grant? It sounds like providing a SDK (not even sure to do what…) for a third party service, not really improving the platform by itself.

3

Thanks for commenting.
We intend to post some demos so the community can get a sense of how Echelon works.
Echelon is currently an SDK integrated by developers to increase viewership on Twitch, by incentivizing players to participate in the streaming ecosystem. If you’re familiar with Twitch Drops, you’re halfway there. Players watch a Twitch stream of a game, and get in-game items and rewards in exchange. Where we go further is instead of watching any random stream, we serve the player base the streams of the top players in the game. The higher you climb in game, the more your stream is served to other players. Suddenly, being the best in a game becomes a clear path to becoming a pro streamer.
What this allows is for developers to attract streamers to their game, who have hopes of competing to be the best and grab those impressions from the Echelon system. In turn, the games are evangelized on Twitch, the category grows, and new players are exposed to this mechanic and join the loop. We feel Decentraland especially could benefit from having more exposure, and this is the best way to do it.

As of now, Echelon is a separate SDK, but what this grant will allow for is for Decentraland developers to simply choose to “Enable Echelon” for their games with the click of a button, and the visibility boost comes automatically. More folks exposed to DCL on Twitch, which feeds the system and grows our reach via network effect.

I will post supplemental info soon, so stay tuned if you’re curious to see it in action!

4

Recorded a brief video here to explain more about how Echelon works!:
https://youtu.be/JRju4SnMftE

If you have any questions at all, please reach out. I want there to be total alignment and clarity in this proposal, so nobody feels in the dark!

Best,
Kenny

@maryana @HPrivakos

1 Like
5

Just had a very productive meeting with some VP holders!

One important piece of info I think is important to reiterate here is that Echelon is a built, working product, and not a nascent tool, or “pie in the sky” idea with serious questions around building it. I was advised there have been some uncomplete grants and it’s totally understandable for the community to be cautious. I would expect nothing less.

Another part of our discussion centered on getting some current DCL developers to offer their perspective, so I’m off to gather developer feedback and have some of them chime in on the proposal here. If you’re on the fence, or you have any doubts, please hold off until I bring some devs to chime in - they can probably (better than I can) explain the benefit to integrating this natively. Looking forward to more discussion with the community!

Thank you all! :heart_eyes:

6

In order for this to be remotely successful for Decentraland growth, we would need 2 things:

  1. A substantial amount of gamers
  2. A substancial amount of streamers who have a reach that transcends our very small community

As it is now, Decentraland has neither of those things. For that reason I am voting no.

7

Thanks Kenny! Commenting since I met Kenny at GDC and recommended he bring this proposal to the DAO.

The video Kenny posted in the comments in helpful to understand how it works, super easy for players to integrate and do what you normally do in DCL but adds the streaming element and additional rewards for doing so.

I think this could be a great way for our current community players to get more rewards and recognition as well as introduce DCL to a wider audience (due to Kenny’s partnership with Twitch and the way the streaming amplifies the game play) bringing in even more streamers and explorers to the platform.

8

Maybe the Foundation should fund it if it’s such a great addition =)
Kenny doesn’t currently have any demo to show and the product is not build for any other games. I’m even doubting the partnership with Twitch (as they don’t currently have anything, why would twitch partner with someone who has nothing to show?).

9

I met Kenny at GDC and again yesterday to try and further understand how Echelon works. I expressed to him that I would feel more comfortable if he had a few games in Decentraland who had already confirmed that they would use his code in their scene (since the success of this project relies on games agreeing to launch Echelon’s code, which will prompt a pop-up when a user starts to play). I gave him the names of a few games, and I will be curious to hear their feedback.

11

Way way way too much text, not enough cut to the chase. Try with pictures next time ! (the video was useful though)

Decentraland is not a game platform. There is currently no game in Decentraland which would warrant the effort of being streamed, and there will most likely not be in the (near) future.

Decentraland is a social experience platform ! At the core, this proposal shows a fundamental lack of knowledge in the Decentraland experience.

This said… an Echelon-like feature that would encourage people to stream their life in DCL, could be quite an interesting one !
But it would certainly not be implemented at the SDK level, but at a level that is a lot closer to the engine.

And really, tying Twitch APIs into DCL APIs does not feel like a 5-month project to me :roll_eyes:

12

Voting Abstain for now.

In order for this to be successful, the team would need games within Decentraland to agree to imbed the Echelon code within their scene. We could fund this project and completely build it out, but it will be unusable if no one agrees to deploy the code.

@DedHeadJ you asked my opinion…

What I like about it:
I like the idea. This is one of those projects that could be a game-changer. It’s complicated at first to understand, but makes sense once you dive deeper. Long story short, it’s a way for users in Decentraland to give views to Twitch streamers, which then make it easier for “Decentraland” to come up in front of Twitch streamers who then in theory say: “There are so many people interested in Decentraland content, I must know more!”

What I don’t like about it:
The success is absolutely dependent on the participation of games in Decentraland. Without games already on-board, it’s a giant risk to pre-fund this.
A pop-up has to occur for users to count as a Twitch view (Web3 people are weary of pop-ups)
The pop-up changes the organic game-play experience, games might not want that when someone goes to play KOA, DG, Etc.

Without an example that they can show us to prove a use case, I am afraid I will have to vote Abstain for now, even if I like the idea. And ultimately, it causes me to slow down and ask: If we have to use a system to create non-organic Twitch viewers to view Decentraland, what does that say about Decentraland?

1 Like
13

Hi @Kenny if you want to apply a proof of concept on Golfcraft game ping me. New builders/creators are always welcome, whatever I can help on it.

14

Echelon in Decentraland: Boosting Decentraland’s Reach and Platform Engagement

This proposal is now in status: REJECTED.

Voting Results:

  • Yes 9% 705,756 VP (36 votes)
  • No 63% 4,452,097 VP (33 votes)
  • Abstain 28% 2,060,605 VP (7 votes)