[English] MetaDojo >< OnBlock AMA Recap

Part 1: Introduction

Please introduce about yourself and your project

Thank you very much for the warm welcome! Hello everyone. My name is Echo Guo. I am CEO & Co-Founder of MetaDojo. A proud Chinese-Kiwi, meaning I’m originally from China but have lived in New Zealand for over two decades.

I have a Masters Degree in Marketing with first class honors and I spent the early years of my career working for a global market consulting company specialized in the FMCG sector. After that, I had broad experience in a variety of areas such as personal coaching, international trading, real estate development, and started a beverage brand back in 2017.

I got into tech when I bought shares of a SaaS software company called Aimy Limited and became its CEO in 2018. Aimy serves over 70% of New Zealand’s out-of-school care and education service providers and has gone into 5 overseas countries in the first 3 years of founding. It has over 100K end users and processes over US$40M of bookings annually. Since taking over, I have successfully turned it into a profitable business with steady growth.

I was aware of cryptocurrency from quite early on through Bitcoin investment. But it was not until I heard of the job opportunities the crypto game Axie Infinity provided to people in the less developed parts of the world, I became obsessed with the Web3 movement. I studied what decentralization was about and the benefit and limitless possibilities it brings. I was convinced Web3 is an inevitable future and was particularly interested in its role in wealth redistribution and inequity elimination.

I registered the company MetaDojo in Singapore in July 2021, with the mission to contribute to the transformation of the internet economy and social interactions from Web2 to Web3.

Our vision is
- To provide affordable and ready-to-use solutions for scalable metaverse land development.
- To empower metaverse landowners with tools of MetaFi utilization.
- To assist Web 3.0 mass adoption by offering website-integratable 3D virtual worlds to individuals, businesses and organizations.

Part 2: Question round

1. Currently, there are many projects that give their own definitions of the metaverse world may i ask what is the central orientation that metadojo is aiming for in the development of metaverse ?

Followed by the hype of DeFi and NFT, many agree that the year 2021 sees the birth of the era of the Metaverse. Its definition varies but we like how Outlier Ventures CEO Jamie Burke puts it — “ the Metaverse could be understood as an interface layer between the physical and virtual worlds, comprising a combination of innovations in hardware and software, but most importantly, an economic system parallel to the fiat financial system.”

Here are some of MetaDojo’s unique value propositions.

1. Ready-to-use for all open metaverse networks
One of MetaDojo’s primary goals is to collaborate with all open metaverse protocols, to give their landowners an economical way to jumpstart their MetaFi journey by monetizing their virtual real estate, increasing the value of their digital assets, and strengthening the communities they belong to.

2. Web 2.0 integration to accelerate metaverse mass adoption
We want to bring the metaverse to all individuals, businesses, and organizations. If you currently own an online presence, whether it’s in the form of a website, an online store, or a social media account, our Dojos allow you to enjoy the new dimension of Web 3.0 without the upfront costs and technical skills related to metaverse land acquisition.

3. Job opportunities through the Creator Economy
The metaverse belongs to digital native creators! Our dream is to facilitate an open and inclusive ecosystem where community members not only enjoy visiting but also can make a living from it, so they become true residents of the metaverse.

2. There are 4 components to the MetaDojo ecosystem, named Dojo Owners, Ninjas, Creators and Treasury. Could you explain details about roles of these components in MetaDojo ecosystem?

Before getting into each of these groups, let’s begin with what can be expected of our Dojos. ‘Dojo’ is a term we use to describe virtual premises despite their shapes and forms. It could be a floating skyscraper, an art gallery in the form of a spaceship, or a nightclub shaped like a planet! Our team will develop them in various collections, to satisfy users with different functional, cultural, and aesthetic requirements.

Dojos are 3-dimensional premises built in the form of NFT and are compatible with the ERC-721 standards, thus can also be stored and sold peer-to-peer on platforms outside the MetaDojo ecosystem. In addition to providing a virtual space with functional interior and exterior, our Dojos come with built-in mechanisms that facilitate Play-to-Earn (P2E), Play-to-Learn (P2L), and socialization. Through these, Dojo owners and visitors alike can benefit and monetize from their investment in the metaverse, whether it’s financial, time or energy. We have labeled these economic activities “In-Dojo Economy”, more details will be revealed as development unfolds.

Second part of this diagram is Dojo Owners. A Dojo’s selling price is determined by a few factors including its size, complexity and the collection it belongs to. Buyers can also look in the secondary market for Dojos that are being re-sold. Dojo ownership takes place when the ownership of the Dojo NFT is transferred from the platform to the owner, or from the existing owner to the new owner. Once Dojo ownership is transferred, the owner can then personalize their Dojos.

Apart from placing them on metaverse lands, users will also be able to integrate Dojos they bought to Web2 platforms such as websites. We believe this will help bridging the gap and clear some blocks particularly for smaller businesses, so the benefits of the metaverse can be accessed and enjoyed by them as well.

Some examples of use cases of the Dojos:
- Galleries for NFT display and trading
- Virtual presence with product/service demonstrations by images, videos and 3D models displayed in the Dojo
- Extension to existing eCommerce platforms
- Extension to existing marketing campaigns with built-in P2E mechanisms
- Online education with built-in P2L mechanisms
- Virtual team meetings, conferences and events
- Virtual personalized hangout space for close friends and sub-cultural groups

In line with the Dojos, we have given the term ‘Ninjas’ to the players. Different from most GameFi-focused platforms, Ninjas in the MetaDojo ecosystem can be Dojo visitors, community members, and game players. They are the primary users of the Dojos and their gaming aspects.

Some examples of in-game experience include:
- Play-to-Earn (P2E): By playing in-dojo games and/or completing missions, Ninjas will be rewarded with gaming tokens.
- Play-to-Learn (P2L): Aparting from earning rewards and monetizing time spent in a Dojo, Ninjas can choose to conduct immersive learning through the photos, videos, NFTs and information displayed in a Dojo.
- Socialization: Being in the same Dojo at the same time? We reckon socialization will happen naturally through avatar interaction, voice chat and team game playing.

Creators are significant contributors to the MetaDojo ecosystem, by bringing their valuable skills and experience to the ecosystem in the form of enlisting their professional services and/or NFTs in the marketplace. Dojo owners and Ninjas make purchases from them in order to enhance their own in-game experience (e.g. buying a designer Avatar), to enhance the in-game experience of, or value generated from, their Dojo visitors (e.g. installing a mini-game to help make product A/B testing more fun; engaging with a virtual event expert to plan next product release), or to enhance the value of their Dojo (e.g. adding a pet to your Dojo to make it feel more homely). We also believe the Creators will be a significant force when it comes to mass adoption of the metaverse as they see financial gains, recognition, and career advancement in the metaverse.

In order to jumpstart the ecosystem, Creators such as designers, developers, musicians, marketers and virtual event planners will be rewarded to set up their Dojos in MetaDojo. We plan to use tokens from The Creator Foundation to subsidize their Dojo purchases. At the same time, newly joined Creators will be assigned allowances, allowing them to participate in the economy immediately. These financial incentives will help bootstrap the utility value of the Creator Economy until the ecosystem organically attracts a stable flow of Creators.

3. MetaDojo has 2 tokens $DJT and $NINT, could you share their roles and utilities in MetaDojo’s economy?

$DJT is used to govern the MetaDojo ecosystem. It will be generated during the Token Generation Event (TGE) with a total supply of 1 Billion. It is the platform’s utility token and is used to interact with the platform in the following ways:
- Governance
- Dojo purchases
- Dojo upgrades/expansion
- Paying a Creator to engage in their professional services
- Paying marketplace commissions.

NINT, our in-game currency, is minted by the MetaDojo Treasury on a daily basis. Some examples of use cases for NINT include:
- Play2earn
- Staking rewards
- Platform rewards
- In-app purchases
- Dojo Running Cost
- IPFS private utility asset hosting fees

4. What are the benefits of holding token for a long term?

Staking is a way to reward our community members for their long-term commitment to Dojo maintenance and upgrade and appropriate content display. You will be able to earn NINT rewards when you lock up your $DJT through the staking dashboard. In the near future, staking $DJT will give you voting rights and a say over the use of the Community Treasury.

5. Assuming the market goes into a downtrend for several years, does Meta Dojo have any plans to prepare yet?

First of all, I do not believe the crypo market will stay at a bearish market for several years. A few months yes but not years.

Secondly, yes we are prepared. MetaDojo successfully raised $3 million USD for its seed round. Our backers include some of the best-known venture capital firms, alongside well-rounded community groups in over 10 countries across Asia, North America, Europe, and Australasia.

Apart from the start up capital, we are also confident in the demand for our Web2 solution. Let me explain. Following Mark Zuckerberg’s firm belief of the future of the metaverse in shaping our society, mainstream business sectors such as retailing and sports clubs have started seeking innovative ways of gaining Web3 presence to be future-proof. Unfortunately, the costs and relevant blockchain knowledge required when it comes to metaverse land acquisition can be prohibitive. In some territories and regions, ownership of digital goods on the blockchain is not legally recognized and fully protected.

Given how many years it has taken businesses to transform to be cloud-based and digitalized, few will argue that the Web3 adoption curve is going to be long-tailed. One of the biggest challenges businesses will need to manage would be that while Generation Z is ready to jump in, most of their older customers may remain ignorant or even skeptical toward cryptocurrencies for quite some time.

To speed up the mass adoption of the metaverse, our team recognizes the importance of having an interim solution that links a brand new world with the more familiar Web2 platforms such as websites and online stores. For instance, non-crypto customers can taste the enticing elements of the metaverse such as 3-dimensional animation, avatars, and social interactions, but being redirected back to the Web2 eCommerce platform when it comes to making payment.

6. What preparations has Metadojos made to be compatible with device hardware e.g. VR glasses, shoes, etc. to help users interact in the metaverse?

The technology we use to build our 3D space is called BabylongJS. It is supportive of the VR/AR features with all major hardware suppliers. So MetaDojo will be able to integrate with VR glasses, wearables etc, obviously additional development will be required.

7. “Audit” play an important role in enhancing the stability of any projects. I can’t find your Audit Reports on MetaDojo website, so do you have any “Audit Certifications”?

I can’t agree with you more — having the codes audited and any potential security defects found is crucial to all Web3 projects. At this stage, the focus for our team has been non-blockchain related, hence why the need for audit certification hasn’t risen yet.

We are currently working on Dojo design and modelling and in-game features development. We will most definitely approach credible auditors to obtain code reviews and all other relevant reports before our beta launch in Bit.Country later this year.

8. NFT and Metaverse are growing very fast, will MetaDojo encounter some barriers to enter this market? What are your plans to unlock the full potential of the market, to compete with other Metaverse projects in this rapidly growing market?

We don’t consider the metaverse building projects as competitors at all. The more the better! They will become our partners because what we do adds great value to their community by providing them with affordable and efficient ways of installing virtual space on their mateverse land parcels. Their land owners will be able to utilise the space by opening NFT galleries, building their dream homes, opening metaverse offices, hosting virtual events, socialising and making money…

As you can see on our roadmap, we plan to launch with our first metaverse partner Bit.Country in Q2 this year. We will build on top of that success and start engaging with other major metaverse protocols.

Part 3: Community round

1. In last February, MetaDojo held a event about the idea of Dojo Guardians with 188 Tiger NFTs. This event attracted more 15K participants, so do you have plan hold similiar events in future to help your fans own more NFTs or any upcoming events?

Have you seen this teaser video of our upcoming Easter Egg Hunt event? This will be a mega event as the prize pool so far is over $5K

2. Many NFTs collectors often buy metaverse lands as a digital place to display and potentially trade them, so why should they choose MetDojo for purpose-built metaverse buildings rather than buying lands?

You will still need a space to display your NFT even when you have bought metaverse land. That’s how MetaDojo adds value.

3. What are strategies to attract people to develop lands in the MetaDojo?

We don’t sell lands, at least not at this stage. We build on top of your land, or your website. You will be able to embed your Dojo on your website and integrate with eCommerce platform so purchases can be made via Web2 solutions. Imagine having all this to stand above from competitors while the cost is going to be as low as a couple of hundreds USD.