"I am xAlice" - Unstoppable Community Grants Program Application

[pnizo]

We decided to switch our application to UCG after discussions in our application to dApp Staking.

Intro

Dear Astar community, it is a pleasure to be here. I’m Hiroyasu Wakatsuki (AKA pnizo), project manager at Lead Edge Consulting co., ltd.

We have been working in the NFT field since 2021 and have done multiple NFT business include, NFT SaaS focused on mass adoption and our own marketplace.
Lead Edge is leading “I am xAlice (not Alice)”, a community co-creation project to launch a new animated IP.

Project Overview

“I am xAlice" is a project to create a new animated IP based on the theme of “virtual worlds” and “AI”. As a first step, we are selling the NFT collection. We have formed a partnership with Yomiuri TV Enterprises, a Web2 prestigious anime production company, and MEGAMI, one of the top anime NFT projects, and will continue to collaborate with various companies/projects to release content loved around the world.

What we want to bring to Astar Network:

• Prove that the Astar Network has sufficient capabilities and market size to serve as a platform to support the NFT project
• Show that a business model for producing and distributing content within the Astar Network ecosystem can be established by leveraging the low gas fees and Build 2 Earn mechanism.
• Demonstrate the benefits of joining Astar Network for Japanese content production projects and companies.

Team members:

Artist: Chon* (She has 166,000 followers on X (formerly Twitter), has created illustrations for the “絵師100人展” and “HoloLive”, and her first original art book “Polaris*” was released in July)

BizDev: Masahiro Nakayashiki (Lead Edge, Director of “TOMIE by Junji Ito NFT collection”)
BizDev: Ken-ichi Niimi as miin(Lead Edge, Evangelist for NFT Information)
Project Manager: Hiroyasu Wakatsuki a.k.a. pnizo (Lead Edge, NFT Development, Community Manager)

Advisor: Taizo Hashizume a.k.a. Fao (Ariwori Inc. / MEGAMI project, Advisor)

Past Performance & Milestones:

Our goal is to have 20,000 Twitter followers and 15,000 Discord members prior to our NFT collection launch.

To achieve that goal we ran a NFT free mint campaign and over 30,000 NFTs were issued.

We are also planning to release 8 teaser videos to achieve the milestone.

We’re also getting full support from the famous “MEGAMI” team, the experts in ETH anime NFTs. In addition, we’re working with “Yomiuri TV Enterprise” who have the experience and the knowledge of video making and merchandise business. Our final goal is to create an anime and broadcast on the televisions.

Nearby Milestones:

• Second NFT free mint campaign (12th Oct.)
• Auction of the special collection "xAlice Origins” (Late Oct.)
• Create the proto-type of visual novels

Future roadmap:

We’re launching the NFT collection in October 2023. Followed by some events, AMAs, and some exposure on media platforms and projects. We’ll encourage and collect fan-made stories, comics, and art from our community. Our goal is to make an animation using the revenue of the NFT collections and merchandise, and dApps Staking rewards, and air it on TV.

dApp Staking Reward Usage Breakdown:

Animation production cost pool (50%)

• Managing Assets with dApp Staking

Contents creation (30%)

• Prize money for secondary creative contests
  • Illustration contest
  • Manga contest
  • Lore contest
• Voice drama creation

Personnel costs for community management staff (20%)

• Community Manager
• Modelator
• Collaboration Manager

Appendix:

Here are the basic links to our product and communities:

Website: https://xalice.ai

Docs: I am xAlice｜note

Deck/slides: NFT「xAlice」presentation - Google スライド

Discord: I am xAlice

Twitter: https://x.com/xalice_NFT

Telegram:

[0xRamz]

Thanks for the proposal xAlive team! I’m supportive of this. The connections you have already established (MEGAMI and Yomiuri) are a very strong start and telling of the seriousness of your team and plans.

It’s also important to the Astar Network and its brand to continue to support projects like this as they can serve as a great example and template for future projects from other IPs.

Your experience on the Eth side is also promising in regards to bringing users to check out Astar EVM, as you have already shown with the type of minting activity we have seen.

Lead Edge also has an opportunity to grow their reputation and resume among the web3 space, further serving our community and network.

Excited for your future developments!

[souleater]

I missed the first mint, I won’t miss the second.
Thanks for the proposal!

[codymuro3]

No reason to say no to this! Can’t wait!

[Disruptor1]

With the shift to community grants, i believe the proposal has become even stronger.

The project boasts excellent connections with Japanese artists and a team brimming with great ideas. Moreover, the first mint campaign it has created a remarkable network effect within Astar.

The community grant proposal is well-defined, and i support this proposal!

[pnizo]

Thank you for the warm and strong messages of support from the Astar community!
We will do our best to make this project that will increase the presence and enthusiasm of Astar Network!

[DrCAO]

It seems the project already got a lot of support from the community and artists, would like to support this proposal

[rhee]

Hi team, could you please turn your deck/slide link to public so that community members can take a look as well? Thanks in advance👍

[pitcoin777]

@pnizo

Our goal is to make an animation using the revenue of the NFT collections and merchandise, and dApps Staking rewards, and air it on TV.

Thanks for your proposal. Do you guys have any budget in mind when you talk about making an animation? I am just wondering how much it costs for projects and what resources would you need.

I’ve missed the mint phase but nice NFT art.

[Sequaja]

Hey, thank you for the application.

Is there already a clear process who you will be partner with to air on TV and how long it will take?

[defiguy]

Interesting project.
I would like to know if you plan to use these NFT models for 3D Style/VRM in the future or not. I’ve noticed an increase in interest for this type of content on YouTube and Twitch.

[pnizo]

We apologize for any inconvenience caused.
I have asked the creator of the document to relax the restrictions.

[pnizo]

It is said that it takes 200 to 300 million yen to produce one cool TV animation in a normal 30-minute runtime.
However, our NFT collection, even if sold out, would only generate 1/10th of that amount.

So we do not use NFT sales to immediately start producing animation.
We will start by creating a rough story plot, character setup and correlations, a novel, a game, an offshoot manga and a voice drama, and gradually grow it into a larger ecosystem.

[pnizo]

No clear process has been established yet.
When the film is televised, it will be on Yomiuri TV, but it is possible that it will start with Netflix or other online screening.

[pnizo]

I am working with a team to see if we can create Live 2D avatars using generative NFT material.
No plans for 3D models at this time, but that is an interesting idea.

[VasaKing]

I really like the artistic style and the future plans for xAlice Happy with the first mint , I’m waiting for the second one I will support the proposal

[Disruptor1]

Hey @pnizo, please add me on Twitter @matosfranzeh.

How about collaborating on something exciting with Astar Degens and I am xAlice?

[0xRamz]

Unstoppable Community Grant for xAlice

• Yes
• No

[Matt]

Voted yes, would love to see more of your art anndideas, keep it up!

[GuiGou]

As I said previously, you really want to create more than a simple collection of NFTs. If the content you produce is quality, I am confident that you can retain a certain number of regulars and loyal users. Glad to see you on Astar. Voted yes.