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Summary
The outside world often sees crypto as little more than a decentralized casino but an optimistic counternarrative has emerged around the Gitcoin community. This vision, known as the Infinite Garden, reveals that crypto gives us coordination superpowers.
I intend to cultivate the Infinite Garden vision through a fun and accessible card game.
Prototype V1: https://twitter.com/mettahead/status/1630018583458906113
Abstract
Web3 is an epic adventure. Many of us are here trying to save the world using new coordination tools. We form guilds with like-minded travelers, earn tokens, and fight each day to slay Moloch. Meanwhile, the outside world continues to fracture and the internal crypto space faces ceaseless scams, multibillion-dollar contagion outbreaks, and plot twists revealing master villains (looking at you SBF).
Web3 empowers us to be heroes on this adventure, but new crypto settlers are often unaware of this path. Even many experienced crypto users arenât following the plot. That is understandable, because humans make meaning through stories, and the prevailing narratives of crypto revolve around money, fear, and greed.
I believe that for Gitcoinâs mission to succeed, it must amplify regen stories that are informative, fun, and accessible to all.
Together, the community has begun crafting the lore of this story. In the project I am proposing Moloch, Etherâs Phoenix, and the Dark Forest are just the beginning of a new, uplifting mythology represented in the Infinite Garden Trading Card Game (TCG).
Motivation
Crypto is at a critical inflection point. Gitcoinâs choice to invest in this project will help realize a positive-sum future for the following reasons:
- Everyone loves a good game. That makes them core infrastructure for the degen to regen pipeline. Unlike linear entertainment, games evoke feelings of freedom, creativity, responsibility, accomplishment, and friendship. These feelings mirror the core values of Gitcoin and the larger regen ecosystem. My experience of handing out a few hundred Edition 0 cards at ETHDenver also reminded me that our community loves physical swag.
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The Infinite Garden TCG mirrors reality. Every card has abilities in the game, and every character, technology, and gameplay mechanic also represents a powerful force in the real world. The game will present critical concepts like private keys and self-sovereign identity in a way non-technical folks can grok.
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Web3 is by nature adversarial. Newcomers consistently fall for the same schemes and OGs can do a better job of passing along the wisdom of past cycles. The Infinite Garden mythology will feature relatable characters and lore that orient and guide new adventurers through the cryptoverse.
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New settlers are not the only people confused about web3; many crypto elders are still unaware that âEthereum isnât here to make you rich, Ethereum is here to set you free" (Vitalik Buterin). Beliefs motivate behavior and it is essential we make Gitcoinâs vision clear and attractive.
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Public goods awareness needs to increase in the NFT space. The NFT community has an outsized impact on how the world perceives crypto but our PFP frens are generally oblivious to the regen way. The Gitcoin x MetaLabels drop, Creature World collaboration, and PublicNouns projects have made promising headway and the Infinite Garden TCG is the next step to trojan horse our regen crypto values.
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For those of us already Greenpilled: the Infinite Garden TCG represents a celebration of the adventures that have brought us hereâand an inspiring vision of what we hope to buidl together next.
Specifications
Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
This first prototype was very well received by the community at ETHDenver '23:
https://twitter.com/mettahead/status/1630018583458906113
The next phase of the project will include completing a regen library wiki (recording the lore) and a pilot program that tests gameplay and new art.
I have recently dedicated my full-time work to this project with a primary focus on creative direction, project coordination, and art assets for the Alpha Set. A few others have joined to work part-time on gameplay. All work up to this point has been unpaid.
Gameplay:
Weâre currently testing two game modes: Competitive (training to battle Moloch) and Cooperative (team up with frens to slay Moloch).
We are also exploring two crossovers between the finite TCG game and the infinite game of crypto .
- The gameâs IRL events will be focused on building meaningful community (starting with gatherings and tournaments at crypto conferences) and real-world impact (imagine the only way to get the coolest/best cards is to take the Greenpill Pledge or hand out pizza to the homeless with PizzaDAO).
- Long-term, the Infinite Garden TCG should be a bottom-up headless brand. We are all living the web3 adventure and the community should guide how it is mythologized. Governance specifics will be ironed out when the time comes (hopefully we will have improved systems by then).
Bio:
As a Creative Director with Gitcoin, my art helped fundraise over half a million dollars for the Gitcoin Grants Matching Pool since 2021. Ethereumâs culture and values are central to my creative work and I have continued to dedicate my art sales to funding social causes. I have a proven record of project generation, initiation, development, and completion.
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Infinite Garden Coloring Book (forward by Aya Miyaguchi) - 2023
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Gitcoin Creative Director (NFT fundraisers for Gitcoin Grants) - 2021-2022
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Spider-Man Character Artist (Sony) - 2018-2021
Benefits
Memes:
- The next billion crypto users need inspiring and informative stories to guide them through the cryptoverse. Those of us deep in web3 want to celebrate this extraordinary adventure. The Infinite Garden cards will depict meaningful memes and the gameplay will create an immersive experience for exploring crypto mechanics and this diverse ecosystem.
Money:
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The Gitcoin community can propose 3-5 cards to be included in the Alpha Set. For example: Grants Festival, Schelling Point, Passport, Moonshot Bots, Quadratic Lands, Allovi (Spirit of the Allo Protocol) . . . what elements of Gitcoin do you want to see?
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10-20% of Alpha Set primary sale profits will go to the Gitcoin Grants Matching Pool. At this early stage of development, it is unclear how many cards will be sold for the Alpha Set. The print run will depend on market conditions and which conference we release at.
Drawbacks
The cards and gameplay have great traction, but they may be a flash in the pan that fizzles out as time goes on. In that case, the regen library wiki would live on and we would still have cool collectable cards that raised money for the Matching Pool while turning degens into regens.
Vote:
1 - Yes to $10k to build the Alpha Set (40-69 cards including 3 proposed by the Gitcoin community and 10% of primary sale profits to the Matching Pool).
2 - Yes to $20k to build the Alpha Set (69-150 cards including 5 proposed by the Gitcoin community and 20% of primary sale profits to the Matching Pool + ability to bring on additional roles, such as developers, marketing support, game designers, and business development).
3 - No, do not invest in the Infinite Garden TCG.
Iâm looking forward to hearing from the community!