This is an entry to @aggroed’s business plan #contest. I propose bringing more card games to #steem with a focus on mobile players. I am willing to invest time, steem, and my Computer Classics Card Game.
The very essence of the project proposed is teaching more people about the advantages of steem and gradually introduce it to mainstream users. Mind you that playing games is highly instructive. In the “stoneage of computing”, folks playfully used the computers in my Computer Classics Card Game to get ready for computer-based workplaces later. Games make learning about new technologies fun and easy, because they are taking off the edge.
Feel free to quote me: I really believe that, without Pong, the popular vintage gaming blockbuster by Atari, we probably wouldn’t have smartphones - same as Chicago’s pinball builders helped preparing workers for Detroit’s automotive industry. So, let’s bring out a fun blockchainy version of the Computer Classics Card Game and tell folks about the advantages of steem.
(To the picture from this Malaysian island: This is the Computer Classic Card Game's first edition. All cards are in English-language, only the titel bilingual. But the best thing is the special backside model, if you ask me. Find out more at www.nerd-dream.com)
- THE PROBLEM: There is no White-Label Framework for mobile Card Games on the Blockchain.
There are a lot of great card games in this world, but to this day, only a handful are blockchain-borne. My problem is that I created several popular card games ready for upload, such as the Computer Classics Card Game, but don’t have a handy framework to publish them in a mobile (d)app or as a browser-based version such as steemmonsters.com. And I know for a fact that I am not the only creator obstructed by this bottleneck.
This is particularly frustrating for several reasons:
Once unwrapped, printed cards are played less often than mobile games. All games may eventually lose their attraction, but for physical games that means they become dust catchers waiting to be thrown out on moving day.
Creators of printed card games have almost zero chance of staying in contact with their customers once those have left the point of sale. Neither can they update customers on new editions nor can they invite them to use other options such as tournaments. Another reason why printed games wither and wilt, unless they are collectibles.
Space for additional content is limited. That is why I had to publish all the historic facts behind the Computer Classics Card Game on www.nerd-dream.com
It’s also a shame that a creator can’t learn from how customers are actually playing their game.
Shipping card games around the world is a b***h. Trust me, I know…
Centralized mobile offerings do not guarantee any real possession of the cards. That is an important psychological factor in the UX.
You can only play a printed card game with people in the same room.
- THE VISION: People across continents are playing a blockchain-borne version of my Computer Classics Card Game on their smartphone.
Wouldn’t it be cool, if card content creators had an easy way of publishing their card games on a blockchainy mobile UI? People around the globe could play together on their smartphone to ACTUALLY lose and win more cards as testified by the network. And anyone could become a creator of an entire card game or simply add the one additional card everyone deemed missing.
A series of comments that I have read around this #contest com are compelling me to continue the Vision section with this somewhat philosophical note. Please consider my thinking as merely my point of view, not a request to share a dogmatic truth. It’s (mostly) a free and colorful world after all.
Capitalist meritocracy is the reality for many of us. I have seen my share of wealthy people leveraging excess liquidity to entrap and exploit others. All too often, innovation is stifled by the same few. But I have also seen those exploiting themselves for giving birth to a product or service that dropped dead in the marketplace. All too often, it was their final attempt at creating something exceptional.
Hence, I confess to that people helping me to build this should make a ton of money, live a healthy life, and have many children. Having said that, let’s now build something with the customer in mind. Let’s create something they love. If paying us is their way of showing their love, how is this different from steemit?
(A card in the Computer Classics Card Game, older and heavier trumps, but usually the younger win in the specs categories. The price element randomizes the deck.)
- THE MISSION: Crowdsourcing – as much as possible
There are couple of steps that we need to climb one after the other. One way of doing this is simply by hiring a company, get an estimate, and build it. Let’s call that buying. Another way would be making. In either case, you need someone to coordinate it. I am offering to be that someone, because I have experience in creating both card games and blockchain solutions. It is as funny as true.
A great deal of what needs making has already been made. It’s called @steemmonsters and huge success. Aside from providing great entertainment in its own rights, @yabapmatt build the system to register individual cards on the steem blockchain and play with them. This could also be the backbone for the new service we build. If that’s open source we do not need to buy it. But if it is for rent or sale, we probably need to finance it. I am willing to invest 8.500 STEEM (where 1 ETH = 285 STEEM) in total.
The best approach to this would be an investment by @aggroed into a joint venture (see last section for details). If that is not enough, or even an unwarranted demand, we put together a group of willing supporters to rent or pay for what is on offer. On top, those who invest quality time into dev and other creative efforts should be rewarded with medium-term incentives.
The rest isn’t exactly “admin”, but doable. There will be #contests for user stories and time to sprint through epics derived from them. If you want to help with dev or agile management to create a minimal viable product, you will be rewarded. My hunch is that we needed a group of max. 7 to pull this off.
And here’s why the Computer Classic Card Game should be the first card game to be released under this new framework. There is already a stock of cards and a booster set I created. People from around the world bought the printed version (see picture from #Malaysia). I already crowdfunded three versions of it. Show me a techie who wouldn’t buy a deck when the price is right! So, there you go, a proof of concept and early adopters as our target group. How much better can it get?
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(To the picture: This lady features on the backside of the second edition)
- THE PLAN: Three concrete steps for the next 3 months
Step 1. Starting to communicate under @nerddream, an account I already created for that. I am positive to have enough content (fun facts) ready to make “Computer Classics” a thing on steemit. I would need some initial and later on some lasting community support. And maybe powering up a little would not hurt.
Step 2. I will sell the last 155 printed decks to my name for steem and physically ship them worldwide. It’s a great present for the holiday season, but then we really need to speed up the process to ship them in time – they should be put in the mail by me no later than Dec. 8th to reach everyone around the globe in time for the holidays. For Europe that is Dec. 12th.
There are three printed editions of the Computer Classics Card Game now:
1st Edition = 5 decks
2nd Edition = 150 decks
The 3rd Special Edition has been released to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Computer Games Museum in Berlin. It comes with an Apple Booster Pack. It is available online at www.quartett.net and for sale in the Berlin-based Museum’s gift shop as well as the Brobot Store in Friedrichshain and the Comic Book Store "modern graphics" in Oranienburger Straße .
Step 3. HE WHO PURCHASES A DECK SHALL ALSO OWN A STAKE IN THE FUTURE OF THE COMPUTER CLASSICS CARD GAME!
Once all buyers have received their deck, we will take a vote amongst all buyers. That way, they get to decide whether the Computer Classics Card Game merits an on-chain future or remains offline.
To be more precise, in the poll, 155 buyers of the physical edition will cast their votes on whether the steem gained through the closeout sale will be invested in one of the two options below:
- The first option is that the steem funds collected and held by me will be invested into pursuing the project of bringing the Computer Classics Card Game to the blockchain and the world’s smartphones.
OR
- The second option is that the steems funds will be donated through me to the Digital Retro Park, a non-profit, which recently opened a museum close to my home of Frankfurt, Germany.
It’s a tough one! Buyers will be choosing between the physical and the blockchain world. Will they rather support a not-for-profit and existing-in-reality museum where kids have fun playing Computer Classics or a yet-to-launch mobile App that brings Computer Classics to the whole world through steemit? Only as a buyer, you’ll have a say in that.
AGAIN:
If buyers of the physical version vote in favor of bringing the Computer Classics Card Game out as blockchain-borne App for their Smartphone, I pledge to use all proceeds as an invest in pursuing just that.
If buyers rather want the STEEM collected in the closeout sale to be donated to a real-life Museum, the recently-opened
Digital Retro Park in an up-and-coming part of Frankfurt am Main, Germany, I pledge to donate profits (=revenues minus cost).
For full disclosure, I am a founding member of Digital Retro Park, a peer of the Berlin-based museum mentioned above. Such, I can make sure they will get the STEEM as a donation. As for me, it will result in supporting a project I am passionate about in either case. But clearly, I do prefer that the Computer Classics Card Games helps making Tech-History and we max out the scaling effects together.
If you have not heard about the Digital Retro Park museum in Offenbach, or fail to find it in common travellers’ registries, that is because it really just opened a month ago. It is usually open to the public on Wednesday’s and Saturday’s in a city called Offenbach am Main. Hence, you are herewith cordially invited to swing by and testify to the #steemit community that I was not joking or misleading anyone when I said “recently opened”.
To launch the Digital Retro Park, we successfully collected 25K in EUR on a the German platform startnext.de. After that, it took us a while to find the right real estate for the museum. But just recently, we gave birth to a new playground of computer history. You will be able to witness that playing old computer games is great fun.
Too few people know about our museum yet. But maybe you are the first to put it on the international map and be a sponsor of credibility to my project at the same time. So, how would you like to play a Computer Classic and be a witness?
THE BUDGET AND TEAM:
Reaching the 1st milestone of the closeout sale requires mostly my own resources in time and money. Mind you that there is an implicit FIAT investment from myself when I can only ship out using FIAT money. I may subtract that from the revenues alongside other unexpected costs.
In this first step, I am not looking to make money. Spending time and learning from the project will be my reward.
But how would an investment by @aggroed and possibly @yabamatt look like? There is to consider that I need help implementing SC2 or the key-protected plug-in alternative by @yabapmatt to complete the closeout sale. I am also confronted with a steep learning curve, but strategizing with @aggroed would be help. Let's make it four to six hours as an investment from the two of you, where @yabapmatt helps with gathering shipping data and steem and @aggroed helps me hammer out a decent marketing strategy?
After the buyers cast their vote, we will discuss more complex issues.
How does that sound, my fellow steemians? Would you like to purchase and vote as a buyer, become a real-life witness, and even get a the Computer Classics Card Game as a present for yourself or fellow nerdians?
PS: If you want to know more about the Computer Classics Card Game you'll find what you need to know in this old kickstarter campaign: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1586914059/the-computer-classics-card-game/
Best, @kryptokessler
Great to meet you at SteemFest and very interesting business plan. Good luck with the competition!
Hi @kryptokessler, I'm @checky ! While checking the mentions made in this post I noticed that @yabamatt doesn't exist on Steem. Did you mean to write @yabapmatt ?
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!help.Gee, thank you. Great catch!! I changed that.