Proposal: GAM3R Summit 2022

Proposals
#1

Background

Events are an excellent way for people to come together to share ideas, collaborate, and build relationships. Although gaming quickly became a major vertical in the blockchain industry over the last year, we have yet to see an event that is truly tailored for developers in web3 games. The value and experience of meeting other like-minded builders face-to-face is irreplaceable.

On behalf of the Event’s Committee, I’d like to propose GAM3R 2022: a community-led event built for developers in web3 gaming.

I hope this event will provide a blueprint or perhaps act as a proof-of-concept for large and small community events that can help connect web3 builders – with the tools, resources, and talent (that’s you!) – to accelerate the future of blockchain gaming.

A brief introduction of myself: I’m Jarret, Events Committee Lead for Game7. Before Game7, I led the Global Esports Event team at Riot Games, and previously held VP roles at Gartner and Barclays leading global event portfolios and teams. I’m thrilled to lead this committee that will fund collaborators to host community events and educational initiatives (i.e. content production) for blockchain gaming.

Proposal

In the past few weeks, I lined up an opportunity for us to collaborate with UC Berkeley and Crypto Economics Security Conference (CESC) to host a dedicated web3 gaming day during SF Blockchain Week (SFBW) on November 2nd, 2022 at UC Berkeley. In the past, this group of events attracted top talent and speakers in the crypto space including: Vitalik Buterin, Balaji Srinivasan, Naval Ravikant, Hon. Hester Peirce, Joe Lubin, Karl Floersch, and many more!

Given some of our members’ existing relationship with SFBW, they agreed to feature GAM3R 2022 as an official event this year (if we choose to participate). We believe there is great alignment with SFBW’s mission of providing world-class education and collaboration for developers to push the boundaries of blockchain innovation. Additionally, the Game7 community will benefit from becoming part of a legacy brand in the blockchain events space and pro-bono marketing support to increase our reach.

Before I confirm with the relevant parties, I would like to hear from our community whether this is an event worth pursuing and, if so, your feedback on the following:

  1. Is anyone interested in joining the GAM3R event’s committee to help us organize it?
  2. What topics should be covered?
  3. Who should we invite to speak?
  4. What types of speaking formats should we explore? i.e. workshops, roundtables, fireside chats, presentations, etc.

Also, if anyone in the community is interested in speaking at the event, please let me know so we can discuss topics. I believe we should aim for around 10-20 speaking slots with as many as possible from community members leading initiatives in the space.

Please comment below with any responses and feedback!

If you’d like to contact me, feel free to add me on discord: jss19#6822

Thank you

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GAM3R Forum 2022: update [event launch]
#2

I would be interested to speak about about porting traditional games to web3. I am leading dev team for https://worldofmidgard.com/ which is classive 3D MMORPG being ported to web3.

I can also help organize event :slight_smile:

6 Likes
#3

Sounds like a wonderful opportunity !
Can’t wait to see what’s in store.
Thinking about the future of web3 gaming I would like to talk and listen to ideas and solutions regarding interoperability, I believe it is a huge step we need to overcome.
Thanks Jarret ! Let me know if I can lend a hand in anything

4 Likes
#4

Thanks for sharing this proposal @jss19.

I appreciate you doing the legwork and lining up the opportunity for the community.

A few questions and suggestions:

  1. Are you seeking members to help with the event’s logistics or has it been taken care of? Organizing events can be a big undertaking so if we’re moving forward with it, we should define a team to execute on the logistics and operations first and foremost.

  2. On topics, we should start with the report posted a few weeks ago, I found that these topics are well articulated but the need to discuss them in-depth could result in meaningful results and alignment on how we as a community should be solving them.

  3. I think the format should be free form. Community members should be able to sign up to host workshops and discuss technical matters to accelerate the community collective knowledge of building in web3.

For me, I’d like to meet like-minded builders facing similar challenges so I can learn from others and ship my game faster. Time is my more scarce resource :slight_smile:

Happy to help with proposing topics if needed.

Also, should we create a working group channel on discord to start brainstorming?

gg

4 Likes
#5

That looks like a dope game! Curious to learn more how you think about porting games into web3. Btw, are you referring to how to convince web2 devs to migrate or how to technically migrate existing games?

#6

I was referring to tech main.

The main problem is that you do not want to have write simple functions to import export of NFTs/tokens between DB and blockchain, and call it a day.

It would work but you are exposing yourself not only to potential hack but also to employee fraud (big monetary incentive).

One of the ways to improve security is underlining audit only blockhain where certain events are immutably stored.

That way even change to server side DB will not allow to export assets to blockchain because completely separate exporter app, on separate server will run through audit trials on blockchain before confirming validity of the request. (also can have number of nodes running audit trial and they need to agree to reduce risk even further).

Of course there is much more to (tokenomics etc) it but it is a gist of what is big concern for us and many devs I talked with.

As for convincing developers, according to poll form 2022 Game Development about 29% of mainstream game developers are interested to have NFTs in their game and 28% tokens.

Those are pretty big number considering number of mainstream games developers.

Those numbers are in strong contrast to about only 1% actually doing it with the one of main complains being of easy tool to do that.

Bottom line is, creation tool for each import between server based game engine and blockchain could sway mainstream game developers to start at least experimenting with blockchain.

While working on Wolrd Of Midgard 3D NFT MMORPG conversion from regular game we are building such engine for our own use, and already learned a lot on some failed tests.

#7

Thank you for clarifying. I totally agree with your statements above. I believe someone within the community brought up this point before and proposed a solution that they wanted to open source for everyone.

Is the exporter app you’re building internally could be open sourced for the rest of the dev community or you think it’ll be go against your business model today? Just thinking out loud here but if it’s a product that will eventually be commoditized, maybe the G7 grants team can fund it as an OSS public good.

#8

Great proposal Jarret! Really excited that I am contributing to this initiative :sunglasses:

4 Likes
#9

NFTs/tokens exporter + audit trial including also in game events for moving assets between players in the game itself could be open sources ( it was planned to be totally separate from the game itself )

Assuming sizable grant it should be doable to make it open source library for everybody to use.

1 Like
#10

Thank you for your questions and suggestions Dirtyrabbit.

On 1: Agreed on the logistics and operations comment. I think Jarret could expand on that.

  1. I believe the idea is indeed to start with the Dev Report.

  2. Not sure what you mean by free form, but for workshops and working group channels on Discord, all set: head over to WORKING GROUP HUB - Events

Feel free to DM me if you’d like some help / support to set up a call with other community members around some of the technical topics; we can announce them in advance and spread the word.

a.

#11

Hi Dirtyrabbit,
Thank you so much for your note and sharing your thoughts. For the logistics, we do have some folks to help with it to move that forward, and if that is an area you (or others) have interest in feel free to ping me. If there are logistical projects that pop-up will also share for additional collaboration.

For the topics, thanks for the ideas and we can use that working group discord channel to share and collaborate.
Thanks again.

#12

Hey gmdev, thanks so much for reaching out.
We can use that working group discord channel (Working Group Hub - events) to chat more. Also, thanks for the offer to help organize, let’s discuss for sure. Thanks!

#13

This sounds like a wonderful idea. Thank you for taking the time to write this and solicit feedback, @jss19–I hope it’s the beginning of many more such discussions. Three things came to mind after reading this:

  1. I’m curious about the specific objectives. Lots of the value is hard to quantify, such as:

I buy the idea that it’s valuable for these reasons. However, it might also be helpful to set out some success metrics (or at least factors) before making format and content decisions. Do we want 1,000 developers to “hello world” Game7-built tools? Do we want to land partnerships with ecosystem players? Is it to build relationships between members of these blockchain communities and members of Game7? Perhaps it’s some mix of all of the above, but crystalizing our purpose can help us make smart planning decisions.

  1. An event like this sounds like a perfect place to showcase the Game7 community’s efforts. Other events and media channels offer enough pontification about what blockchain gaming can/will be and analysis of existing “P2E” games. Instead of that, I’d love to see tech demos and hands-on workshops of what’s being built through the various Game7 work streams.

  2. Events cost money and effort. What’s the proposed budget for this? Who approves the budget and through what decision-making mechanism? If we want to be true decentralists, such things should be made transparent and shared for comment (even if the decision itself is centralized for now).

Thanks again for starting this effort, and I’m looking forward to GAM3R 2022!

3 Likes
#14

This is awesome, Jarret! I definitely see a ton of synergies from the outreach and content we shipped on the Game Developer Report last month. There are many topics in the report that should be expanded upon as a discussion between the developers we interviewed. This can definitely channel a ton of great content for the community and better understand the challenges and gaps people are facing. Excited to get involved and start inviting the folks that participated in the report as both attendees and speakers!

I really like the idea of having workshops, roundtables, and more engaging formats since this is event seems to be focused on tailoring to builders. I was helping organize the SF Blockchain Week event in the past and it has worked really well. It definitely aligns with the ethos and structure that attracted the right audience.

Can we start a dedicated channel on Discord for GAM3R 2022? It’d really help with planning, coordination, and inviting talented attendees to join! Super excited for this, let me know how I can help!

4 Likes
#15

I love this idea! For several years, CESC and SFBW have successfully served as a platform to propel leading discussions in blockchain and web3. This persona aligns very well with Game7’s mandate of breaking down walled gardens and driving collaboration across the entire web3 gaming space.

Adding onto what Game7SJC shared, the Game Developer Report is more than just a snapshot of the most pressing challenges in our industry. It was a community initiative that began with small conversations between builders and it has grown into a living document contributed by many. It makes a lot of sense that this initiative is the next step forward to fostering these engagements in-person.

Can we start a dedicated channel on Discord for GAM3R 2022? It’d really help with planning, coordination, and inviting talented attendees to join!

I have created a dedicated channel for GAM3R Forum 2022. It is now accessible via Working Groups Hub. If anyone has trouble finding this, please contact me on Discord: junkim#4184.

We can use Discord as a platform for more frequent exchanges. I recommend we plan a GAM3R Forum community call a couple weeks out, say September 9th, to openly discuss the feedback that has been voiced in the forum.

4 Likes
#16

This is awesome feedback and thanks all for sharing your thoughts. The Game Developer Report is a great foundation and direction for the content to build out the event. That’s a great idea for the dedicated discord channel as well and looking forward to continuing the discussions and planning in the channel.**

2 Likes
#17

Great questions @dtedesco1. Here are my opinions :slightly_smiling_face:

Regarding success metrics: I find that the most successful events are those you meet like-minded individuals and learn something new from the content or other participants. It is not a quantifiable metric per se, but I would love for any attendee to feel it was worthwhile flying in and spending a full day at the event. The success will come after the event if attendees objectively share that GAM3R is a must-attending event moving forward. The organizing team will have to create spaces and opportunities to meet new people, facilitate thoughtful conversations, ensure passionate builders attend, and give a stage to big ideas.

Given this is the first event organized by the community and this (undefined yet) GAM3R committee, I agree it should highlight what the community has been working on yet provide a space for people outside the community to share thoughts and host workshops as well. Given the size of the community today, a success metric could be how many new members joined as part of the event. Analytics can easily be tracked but the organizing team must be proactive and integrate the proper tools.

I sense that Jarret’s vision is to host it as an industry event rather than a Game7-specific event to align with G7’s vision to accelerate the gaming industry at large. Therefore, if it’s too closed off, it may send the wrong signal to the larger gaming community. However, I think there should be a consideration for hosting members-specific events globally or an afterparty :partying_face: (maybe once we can identify members with NFTs?). So, given this opportunity presented to work with UC Berkeley, perhaps we should leverage that to introduce our community to a larger audience? (just my 2c)

On content, I would love to see hands-on workshops and open-ended round table discussions about topics from the dev report and more. Rather than only panels or fireside chats, imo anyone should be able to join and contribute to discussions freely if they have something to say :nerd_face:. I think we will need to have strong moderators (not speakers necessarily) to facilitate the discussions. Still, I find it more community oriented / forum-like vibes than being told by others what’s right/wrong. I haven’t seen this format in other events, so I’d look for feedback/help if anyone has good ideas on how to facilitate it based on previous experience.

As for the budget, my understanding is that Jarret is gathering quotes from UC Berkeley and other local service providers like catering, AV, branding etc. I’d recommend we externalize it and share an estimation for community transparency and accountability. From my experience hosting events in the past, given it’s a one-day event in the Bay Area, we should expect higher costs in other locations globally. Plus, it’s hosted in a prestigious university, and they may have hidden fees that are hard to foresee.

The recommendation to fund this initiative will have to pass the grants and events committees, and committee members should also be encourage to provide their feedback publicly imo. In general, in community initiative I participated in before, I found that ‘decisions are made by those who show up’ regardless of the predefined roles. So… definitely count on me here as I think this is a great opportunity for me and anyone else looking to build strong relationships in the web3 gaming industry. LFG!

2 Likes
#18

Agreed the report is a perfect source of fodder and ideas for event topics.

Thanks for setting up the channel @junkim.

Makes sense to me, and I think this is quantifiable. A survey at the event asking about these and then another a few months later to see how what was learned was used. This could also help prepare for GAM3R 2023, GAM3R 2024, …and GAM3R 2040: Live from Mars! But I also know doing surveys well takes a lot of time, so it will need to be balanced against other priorities.

That’s another good one and a bit easier to track if we look at people who joined the Discord during/immediately after the event. To get even deeper insights, we could also analyze engagement of those newcomers, how many convert into active contributors, and how that conversion rate compares to people who joined purely via online means, etc. This also isn’t perfect, but can also help justify the benefits to Game7 from such events.

@jss19, I’m curious what you think about defining success and tracking results for GAM3R and other community events? Given your work before, you probably know a bunch more about best practices and what’s possible than I do.

Strongly agree with both of these. I’ve organized events in this format before and can share more in the meetings.

Perfect!

2 Likes
#19

Hi @jss19, grateful to meet your acquaintance. I’m a core founding member and Vice President (Strategy, Operations, Business Development, Community, Partnerships) at Galactic Entertainment, an entertainment studio exploring the use case of blockchain technology in a wide range of entertainment media. Our flagship game PlanetQuest is an Immutable portfolio game.

To explain our current team DNA, are staffed by traditional professionals with decades of game development experience from Sega and Tencent, as well as 3 key tell tale game writers and Hollywood professionals who’ve worked on the Star Wars and Marvel franchise. Our VP of technology is also the CTO of Getir, a middle eastern SaaS unicorn.

As the person responsible for hiring the team out, we have reached a point of organizational maturity and are looking to bridge the web 2 and 3 discovery gap whilst we work with Immutable. We have our own in house marketplace developed with our own web game engine in development, and will eventually have our own guild and gear lending technology developed in-house.

Apart from this, I advise similar studios such as Digital Insight Games and am connected with a number of traditional game studios who are on the same journey as us. There is a large body of fluctuating knowledge flowing across the internet on a daily basis and It is critical that we filter out the credible ones and gain the necessary actionable insights for us to drive adoption of blockchain technology in entertainment in a credible and value based manner.

Game7’s mission resonates with ours and I would like to fully support events like these by inviting them to apply to attend. It would help me greatly if you could send me a deck which I can forward and if there is a blurb I can send over together with it. I can write the blurb myself, just thought I’d ask because you’d be able to more credibly and accurately represent the event with me as a proxy.

Do also let me know if you are looking for sponsors and if you have a sponsorship deck. My contact is @mychainsarebroken (Telegram), Leonard Tye 戴文彬 - Vice President Of Strategy & Operations, Business Development, Community Experience & Partnerships - Galactic Entertainment | LinkedIn, Ikigai#2222 (discord, already added you) if you’d prefer a more direct contact. Otherwise, I will be watching this thread closely.

Thank you for reading my wall of text and have a great day everyone. Would be my honor see all of you tomorrow live one day. Peace V

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