UPDATE This is the latest version of the proposal: Proposal: [Non-Constitutional] Funding for Into the Dungeons: Machinata - a PvP Digital Miniature Game V2
Abstract - Into the Dungeons is a Web3 native IP. The closest thing is Forgotten Runes. We are building a 2 player PvP digital miniature turn-based strategy game called Machinata. We are seeking funding, in tranches, to help us offset development costs as well as speed up development.
Motivation - We’ve been involved in TreasureDAO since its inception and have been building Ruffion Reborn – the first homebrew cartridge for Treasure. The game is fully open-sourced, with a front-end built in Godot and backend in JS. The alpha of the game is live https://alpha.ruffionreborn.xyz – no NFTs or wallet connections are needed to play. You do have to have someone else be online to play it though 
We are currently working on Godot/Wallet integration and some smart contracts so that it is a fully functional project that people can use to develop their own Arbitrum/Treasure games. It is supposed to serve as a tutorial for game developers.
Ruffion Reborn was all self-funded. The mint (currently open) raised about 4.5ETH and we got a 5000 ARB grant from Treasure. All these funds were used offset develop costs.
Rationale - Into the Dungeons: Machinata is being built as a collectable digital miniature game, where our primary goal as it pertains to the Web3/NFT aspect is to create something that is sustainable and does not rely on speculation. We realize that it is impossible to stop people from speculating, but we have kept the design such that there is a collectability aspect to the game which although doesn’t provide any competitive advantages is like owning a 1st Edition Charizard from the Pokemon Base Set released in 1999.
We are huge believers in the ETH ecosystem, and Arbitrum specifically. Evangelizing it to others within the ETH ecosystem and outside of it.
Key Terms (optional) – TBS: Turn-Based Strategy, PvP: Player vs. Player, Machinata: Name of the game being created. It is the chess equivalent on the world of Xyg (a fictional place where Into the Dungeons stories are set)
Specifications - The game will be made using Unreal Engine 5
Steps to Implement - We’re sharing a PowerPoint deck that is uploaded on OneDrive. It includes more details about the Into the Dungeons Universe, team background, roadmap, cost breakdown, etc.
We will provide an overview of the steps to implement in this section. Please feel free to ask questions if more details are required.
We have prototyped the game on pen and paper. Created a 27 card deck. There are three types of cards – units, buildings, spells.
We prototyped the game in Godot/Unreal and decided to go with Unreal for several different reasons.
The art style has been finalized and all 27 cards will be created along with the accompanying miniatures.
We are first creating a subset of the game with 9-12 cards, a single player experience with an AI opponent.
That will be made live for the community to test, give feedback on, while we work on the multiplayer component.
A core part of the Machinata Digital Miniature ecosystem is to allow artists to create their own versions of miniatures as limited editions and sell them in the in-game marketplace. There are two parts to this tooling: 1. Asperite templates and 2. Marketplace where assets can be uploaded for approval and then sales.
Timeline
High level Roadmap:
Mar 2024: Finalize art and animations
Mar 2024: Playable single player build, with a subset of the 27-card deck
Jun 2024: Prototype + Website Release
Sep 2024: Alpha release of game + Marketplace
Nov 2024: Incorporate community feedback
Feb 2025: Release V1
Overall Cost - We’ve estimated the overall cost to be about $415,000 USD to complete and release V1 in Feb 2025
Ask - We are seeking a grant from the DAO for 30,000 $ARB, to be released in tranches as we make progress towards certain milestones.
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Upfront release of 15K ARB for end of March 2024 deliverable – Single Player Build with subset of 27 card deck
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Release of additional 7.5K ARB once Prototype is completed and made available to the community. This prototype will not have multiplayer.
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Release of last 7.5K ARB once the website is live, and Marketplace designs are shared.
The launch of the website will allow us to offer our already completed PFP collection for sale as well that will help us raise additional funds. We did not want to launch a PFP collection first and then commit to a game. Instead, we want to release a playable version of the game first and everyone who will mint a starter pack for the game will get a PFP along with it.
Why? - This investment of 30,000 $ARB will enable us to release the game, raise additional funds that we need to complete the game. We believe this is in the DAO’s interests for the following reasons:
- Machinata is seeking to create a Web3 Warhammer40K digital miniature experience.
- If we succeed in this, it will bring gamers, collectors, artists into the fold and using Arbitrum
- Also leading to additional on-chain transactions and fees for the network
- Into the Dungeons is an ambitious project that will have comics, games, and more and this initial 30K $ARB will enable us to accelerate execution
Into the Dungeons - PFP Art & Machinata Art Examples, PPTX & In-Engine Demo Clip
Some examples of the 1:1 PFPs - All of them are ready and this will be an under 10K collection, likely 7777.
An example of The Nightwalker card and the five animations that go along with the miniature:
Idle
Attack
Move
Damage Taken
Special Ability
Into the Dungeons Machinata Deck.pptx
MachinataUnrealClip.mp4
The Forgotten Machine Team
Ali Husain, Co-Founder, Game Design & Story
Ali founded Forgotten Machine to fulfill his childhood dream of designing and developing games. He has been very actively involved in Crypto and Web 3 since 2015 and is an avid collector of all collectable things – comics, miniatures, action figures.
Under Forgotten Machine, Ali launched Ruffion Reborn, a self-funded project that is built to enable other developers to create their own games on Arbitrum and in the Treasure ecosystem. All the art assets are CC0, and all the code is opensource. The alpha went live earlier this year.
Ali also co-founded Navigate, a Web 3 AI data platform powered by crowdsourced data and was part of the core team that raised the seed round of $7.625MM from numerous investors.
Previously, Ali has served as the Chief Software Architect and Chief Product Officer at SkyGrid, a Boeing-SparkCognition joint venture, named as one of the Top 50 Blockchain companies by Forbes and spent 8+ years at SparkCognition, an award-winning industrial AI company. He joined SparkCognition during its initial startup days and left to lead Navigate at the end of December 2023, when the SparkCognition had grown to 400+ people and was valued over 1.4B USD.
Ali has a B.A. in Economics and my BSc in Computer Science from The University of Texas and has multiple patents under his name.
Zehra Akbar, Co-Founder, Project Management
Zehra is a business strategy and operations with experience building and leading high performing projects. She started Forgotten Machine alongside Ali to build amazing games and engage the Web 3 community.
Previously, Zehra served as the Chief Strategy Officer at SkyGrid, a Boeing-SparkCognition company, named one of the Top 50 Blockchain Companies of 2021 by Forbes.
She also helped close the funding round for Navigate, a Web 3 AI data platform powered by crowdsourced data and was part of the core team that raised the seed round of $7.625MM from numerous investors. Her other job experiences include strategic projects as SparkCognition and consulting work with Deloitte and Accenture.
At Forgotten Machine, Zehra is responsible for running operations and project deliverables.
Zehra has a Master’s degree Global Policy Studies from the University of Texas at Austin and multiple patents under her name.
