Please describe your proposed solution.

Flooftopia plans to offer Japanese language integration to both its Build-An-NFT functionality and the game itself to expand our target audience beyond English-speaking communities.

With more than 125 million speakers, Japanese is one of the most widely spoken language globally. Yet, most NFT and/or gaming projects on Cardano pose a language barrier to Japanese users as the vast majority of them are based in North America and Europe. We would love to bridge the language gap between the continents and bring as many East Asian users into the fantastical and adorable world of Flooftopia!

We are aware of the complexity and nuances between languages when interpreting one to another, especially when the subject is technical in nature. We aim to provide translation that take into consideration the accuracy and precision of technical jargons in each language. We will always proofread translated work to ensure the high quality of delivery.

With our highly capable team with connections to the translator community, we strive to break down the language barrier between East Asia and the rest of the world, helping the community become more interconnected than ever.

Please describe how your proposed solution will address the Challenge that you have submitted it in.

This proposed solution addresses the challenge by accelerating the interconnectivity between East Asia and the rest of the Cardano Ecosystem. With our Japanese integration to the Flooftopia project, we will be able to engage users previously unreachable due to the language differences.

What are the main risks that could prevent you from delivering the project successfully and please explain how you will mitigate each risk?

The main challenge would be funding. We have many translator connections who are ready to provide the services, but funding is needed to keep these individuals employed by Flooftopia. Though, this is why we are seeking Project Catalyst funding.

Please provide a detailed plan, including timeline and key milestones for delivering your proposal.

-- Q3 of 2022 –

Hire on a Japanese translator.

Translate Flooftopia website and minting functionality.

Begin translating game dialogue.

-- Q4 of 2022 –

Have all completed quests and NPC dialogues translated.

Please provide a detailed budget breakdown.

It is difficult to provide a detailed budget breakdown for this proposal as it will depend on how much dialogue Flooftopia's game has.

Japanese translation costs: $7500

Please provide details of the people who will work on the project.

Coding: Dirk worked for Ubisoft, founded two gaming studios as a Dev Lead, and is currently working as a Technical Architect. He is the go-to guy, well-versed in everything tech-related, with 20 years of experience!

(LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dirk-potulski-71313428/))

Game Programming: Simon studied in game design and worked as an application and videogame programmer for over 5 years and is proficient in a variety of languages including C#, C++, Lua and CIL as well as the Videogame engines Unity and Unreal. Worked previously with Alexander Cimpeanu on several projects including two titles with Ubisoft Campus and as Technical Lead on Faith & Honor Barbarossa at encurio. Further co-created the Harmony library for a high-level approach of altering compiled code in memory for .net framework applications at runtime.

(LinkedIn: <https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-latusek-094728143/>)

Art: Christian is our Illustrator and UX Designer with more than 15 years of professional work in digital art, gamification, interface- and app design in the industry. Starting as a big fan of the classic "point & click" adventures (e.g., Monkey Island, Beneath a Steel Sky, Day of the Tentacle) on DOS and hoarding tons of comic books, he turned his geek hobby into an ever-expanding full-time job!

(LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-hayungs-9ba22457/))

Strategic Advisor: Marcin worked in marketing, sales, and project management for THQ, Ubisoft, CI Games, Daedalic Entertainment, and Rockstar. In the past 10 years, he has helped some start-ups in their initial phase, and he will provide additional guidance for Flooftopia, as well!

(LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcin-kugla-a92b5964/))

Game Design: Alex worked as a creative director at Ubisoft's campus and as lead developer of Faith and Honor Barbarossa. He has considerable experience researching psychological and neurological sweet spots in game-based learning. With over 4 years of experience in game design, Alex is geared to bring the best gaming experience to Flooftopia!

(LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-cimpeanu-b9507a112/))

Narrative Designer: Christopher Smith is a highly experienced writer, and when he is not working on his writing company, Lazy Kid Imaginings, he is building out the questlines, storylines, and dialogue that breath life into the inhabitants of Flooftopia!

(LinkedIn: <https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-smith-783b6b93/>)

Engine Work: Lena is a student in University that wants to work within the gaming industry, and after multiple internships at other companies, she has brought her Unreal Engine-work skills to Flooftopia!

(LinkedIn: <https://www.linkedin.com/in/lena-ochmann/>)

Marketing: Conward is the lead of marketing and founder of Flooftopia! He has been within the Cardano Ecosystem for 3 years. He is the host of The Cardano Convo Podcast, and he is an avid gamer at heart. After noticing that there weren't any NFT games being built for a broad demographic, he began putting together the ideas that would define Flooftopia!

(LinkedIn: <https://www.linkedin.com/in/conwardswift/>)

Together, we have decades of professional gaming and business experience. We know that games are a great way to bring people together and into the Cardano Ecosystem. With this in mind, we will create an NFT gaming experience that caters to all ages and the broadest possible demographics and their languages.

If you are funded, will you return to Catalyst in a later round for further funding? Please explain why / why not.

Though we have a plan/roadmap to get Flooftopia to a point of sustainability, but, we may have to apply for further funding in future rounds.

Please describe what you will measure to track your project's progress, and how will you measure these?

We know that timelines can have fluctuations, and this could happen with ours as well. That being said, we could use a more milestone based approach towards the ultimate goal of connecting the Japanese speaking community with the rest of the Cardano Ecosystem in the NFT space.

Though, specifically we would also be measuring:

• The number of users of Flooftopia originating from Japanese-speaking communities.
• The number of users newly engaged in Flooftopia that were not previously engaged due to language differences.
• The level of satisfaction among Flooftopia users’ experience with the Build-An-NFT process and the game in Japanese.

Most of these metrics would be easily trackable through surveys and polls among Flooftopia’s target audience.

Importantly, we would be able to provide this information quickly and, in some cases, in real-time.

What does success for this project look like?

A broad spectrum of people across the Japanese community coming together to enjoy the world of Flooftopia.

Overall, we’d use the metrics listed above to measure our levels of success. Furthermore, our ultimate goal is to on board more users from East Asia that may have been discouraged to enter the CNFT gaming space due to language barriers. In the end, having a solid number of users that have benefited from our language integration features would constitute a great marker for success as we have broadened our community impact.

Please provide information on whether this proposal is a continuation of a previously funded project in Catalyst or an entirely new one.

This is a new proposal on Project Catalyst.