by 0xb2223f4038def8a62a86e3c4b108cdfe00a74c4f (Chillin)
Should the problem/opportunity outlined be refined and taken to the next level?
Problem Statement
The Genesis Plaza is the most important build in Decentraland. It’s the first place every newcomer experiences, and where they decide whether to take Decentraland seriously. However, it no longer showcases the full potential of the platform, especially given the recent advancements with SDK7.
As the gateway to Decentraland, it must evolve to inspire new users, demonstrate the platform’s latest features, and keep them engaged. Right now, Genesis Plaza does not effectively show off what Decentraland is truly capable of—both technically and creatively.
Proposed Solution
We propose creating an enhanced version of Genesis Plaza that truly reflects the possibilities of Decentraland’s SDK7. The new design will include:
Multiplayer games: Introduce a variety of multiplayer experiences (shooters, racing, card games, etc.), showing new players the wide range of interactive possibilities.
New models: Utilize high-quality, SDK7-optimized assets designed to perform seamlessly in the new client.
Watchtowers and teleports: Add high-visibility watchtowers and teleportation hubs to enhance exploration, making Genesis Plaza a true starting point for adventures across Decentraland.
Dynamic environments: Create living, breathing spaces that change based on user activity, day/night cycles, and events.
This update would provide newcomers with engaging activities right from the start, keeping them interested in exploring the broader Decentraland ecosystem.
Target Audience/Customer Base
The target audience includes:
Newcomers: Users new to Decentraland who need to be impressed from their first visit.
Returning users: Those who haven’t visited Decentraland in a while and need to see how far the platform has progressed.
Game developers and creators: Developers interested in building on Decentraland need a modern example of what’s possible with the SDK7 and the new client.
NFT and digital asset creators: Creators looking for a vibrant, engaging environment to display their work, Genesis Plaza would serve as a perfect showcase.
Why is this relevant now?
The timing for this upgrade is crucial because of the following factors:
SDK7’s new capabilities: With SDK7, we have powerful new tools to build more immersive, interactive, and high-performance experiences. Showcasing these in Genesis Plaza will help position Decentraland as a cutting-edge metaverse.
Market competition: Other metaverse platforms are rapidly improving and showcasing new developments. Decentraland needs to stay competitive by leveraging the latest technology and content.
User engagement: Retaining new users and bringing back lapsed users requires compelling experiences. An upgraded Genesis Plaza can help drive this engagement by being the centerpiece of activity and innovation.
DAO investment in growth: By investing in this project, the DAO will be directly contributing to user retention, platform visibility, and community growth, which are critical goals for Decentraland’s continued success.
As I mentioned to Yemel and Maraoz during the summit, Genesis Plaza is the first place visitors and players encounter, and first impressions are crucial. Currently, the space feels static with little to engage players. To enhance the experience, I suggest introducing interactive activities, such as a peer-to-peer shooting game or spawning zombies randomly around Genesis for players to seek and destroy. This would encourage map exploration, and adding a scoreboard and badges for achievements would promote competition and “bragging rights” among players.
Additionally, I recommend incorporating flying vehicles in Genesis Plaza, allowing new players to explore the area from a different perspective. This would also align with the potential for VR, where flying around the plaza would offer a unique bird’s-eye view. This idea ties into Decentraland’s original promotional video, which featured a flying vehicle. Now might be the perfect time to bring that concept to life in preparation for virtual reality.
Explorer is no. 1 high priority problem. 90% of the “new features” does not make a significant difference compared to SDK6 capabilities. Everything you code and publish on DCL is capped on low FPS. Your PC might run a scene at 120FPS while the scene code only runs at 30FPS. Ever wondered why there isn’t a quality FPS game on DCL? Because of slow SDK, broken raycasts, broken KeyPress’es and the list goes on. As long as this does not change, there will not be a high quality scene on DCL. Hopefully Explorer 2.0 will solve a couple of them but they will introduce new problems. 1- New client will only be released for “centralized” Windows and Mac. 2- You will “have to” download and install the client on your PC. This will make it no different than any other “game” on Steam let alone a metaverse. I assure you the Genesis Plaza upgrade will not solve any problem I mentioned here.
I’m glad there is interest! Now is a good time to try new things because of the early access of the new client I wish you the best luck but be prepared with slow responding code which is a deal breaker for a quality gameplay. Even DCL’s own code examples are not as responsive as a simple ancient flash game.
At some point, who said DCL was meant to be a place for decent gaming? Nowhere on the website neither in code DCL is always mentioned as a place for socializing, showcasing your art, a workplace or some way to monetize your digital assets. It is never mentioned as a game engine or sorts of. So I can’t blame foundation for this. Yet, they are missing a huge market which Sandbox, Nifty and a couple more are growing their shares.
In this old forum post what I proposed is that at some point of the onboarding flow the user could be asked about his interests, then invited to visit a specific plaza related with user interests, giving a bit more importance to other plazas, nowadays a bit ignored. I prefer that approach instead of having everything in Genesis Plaza (as is described in this proposal) and continue ignoring the other plazas.