Below is Part II from our Metablox Whitepaper 2.0, which includes our Product Design. Part I on the Vision can be found here. Later on I will also post Part III (Game Design), and Part IV (Technology and Team) here for your convenience too.
Also, join the Metablox.co Discord to be part of our Journey!
Product
๐บ Rollout Phases (our multi-year masterplan)
Metablox will be released in several phases in order to balance speed to launch with a delightful user experience that brings meaning and value to Neighbors.
๐ Phase 0 (MVP) – Address reservation
Allow people to reserve addresses.
Phase 0 objective
The objective of Phase 0 is to quickly bring to market a scoped-down version of the product that allows people to minimally yet meaningfully participate.
Launch quickly
In order to launch Phase 0 quickly, we will scope down the product.
| In scope | Out of scope |
| Address searchSearch resultsBlox pageReserve Blox | Connect walletPurchase BloxAdd memoriesLeveling upMetaRent |
User stories
As an early adopter, I want to reserve a Blox, so that I can later buy it before anyone else.
๐ถ Phase 1 – Purchase homes
Allow people to buy Blox as NFTs and collect MetaRent.
Phase 1 objective
The objective of Phase 1 is to open the doors and allow people to connect their crypto wallet and purchase a Blox.
Buying early is important as youโll immediately start to collect MetaRent.
User stories
As a Nostalgic Neighbor, I want to purchase a Blox before anyone else because the Blox is meaningful to me.
As a Museum Curator, I want to purchase Blox that are meaningful to me so that I can eventually curate its memories.
As a Real Estate Mogul, I want to start buying a high volume of Blox in order to collect MetaRent and eventually unlockbuy landmarks.
Out of scope
- Memories
- Neighbor Collectives
๐ Phase 2 – Add memories
Neighbors can start to add memories to their Blox.
Phase 2 objective
Phase 2 is when we start to make headway on our mission — to preserve humanity’s more important memories.
The objective is for Neighbors to add their memories to the blockchain and level up their Blox.
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User stories
As a Nostalgic Neighbor, I want to add my most meaningful memories to the blockchain so that I own them and theyโre preserved forever.
As a Museum Curator, I want to add my most meaningful memories to the Blox that I own and plan to curate so that I can set the aesthetic style and culture.
As a Real Estate Mogul, I want to start buying a high volume of Blox in order to collect MetaRent and eventually unlockbuy landmarks.
Out of scope
- Adding memories to Blox that you donโt own
- Neighbor Collectives
๐ Phase 3 – Add memories to other Blox
Neighbors can begin to submit memories to Blox that they donโt own.
Phase 3 objective
The objective for Phase 3 is to empower Neighbors to put up a Bounty for memories. In this way, even owners that do not have memories near the Blox can level up their Blox.
User stories
As a Museum Curator, I want to collect and curate the most meaningful memories in my community so that my community is known as the place with the richest history.
As a Real Estate Mogul, I want to set up Bounties for memories so that I can level up my properties and collect even more MetaRent.
As a Real Estate Mogul, I want to buy Blox from other Neighbors that have leveled up so that I can collect even more Meta Rent.
Out of scope
- Neighbor Collectives
๐ Phase 4 – Neighbor Collectives
Neighbors can begin to form Collectives in anticipation to bid for landmarks against the Moguls.
Phase 4 objective
We are close to releasing our very first landmark. To get prepared, Neighbors will continue to stock up on MetaRent to prepare for the auction.
In order to outbid the Real Estate Moguls, Neighbors can join in Collectives.
User stories
As a Neighbor Collective, I want to team up with my community so that we can outbid others and purchase/unlock a landmark.
๐ Phase 5 – Landmarks
The first landmark will be auctioned/unlocked.
Phase 5 objective
The objective of Phase 5 is to release the very first landmark. The very first landmark will be determined before this phase. To see a full list of landmarks, go here.
User stories
As a Museum Curator, I want to win the first landmark to become recognized as the memory curator of a globally renowned landmark.
As a Real Estate Mogul, I want to win the first landmark because landmarks will be the most valuable places in Metablox.
As a Neighbor Collective, I want to team up to win the first landmark because they are the most valuable places.
๐ Phase 6 – New cities
New cities will be made available.
Phase 6 objective
The time has finally come! In Phase 6, we will expand Metablox to cities outside of San Francisco.
We will determine the next city based on reservations, community feedback (on our Discord), and strategic factors.
User stories
As a Nostalgic Neighbor, I want to buy the places in this new city that have meaning to me so that I can add my memories.
As a Museum Curator, I want to enter the new city early in order to claim communities that I want to curate.
As a Real Estate Mogul, I want to enter the new city early in order to buy up Blox and continue collecting more MetaRent so that I can unlockbuy landmarks.
As a Neighbor Collective, I want to start building my Collective early to prepare to outbid the Moguls.
| ๐กFuture phases: There are many phases planned after Phase 6. In this White Paper, we are publicly documenting up to Phase 6. Future phases will be added to this document at a later stage. |
๐ค Memory types
Memories are the heart and soul of Metablox.
To the Nostalgic Neighbor and the Museum Curator, memories add meaning to their Blox and community.
To the Real Estate Mogul and the Neighbor Collective, memories level up Blox, increasing the MetaRent potential.
Types of memories
- Images
- Images will be the first memory type available to add to a Blox. The types below will be made available in future phases.
- Video
- GIFs
- Audio
- Memories donโt need to be visual. Music and audio recordings can invoke feelings as well.
Other NFTs (art, characters, trophies, vehicles)
Although Art NFTs wonโt be added to a Blox as a memory, they can still be added to a Blox or community as a way to build the aesthetic and culture of the area. In future iterations, you can explore various neighbors within our platform or AR (Augmented Reality) and see a whole street of Bored Apes, best replays of NBA Top Shot, and Star Atlas spaceships hovering above a home.
๐ง Memory moderation
Memory moderation is critically important to build a platform that is meaningful and safe.
It is inevitable that people may upload memories that are NSFW, violent, or even pornographic. In order to mitigate this challenge, we must create the right balance of proactive and reactive moderation.
Bad actor deterrents
Bad actors are inevitable, but we have several deterrents that we expect to decrease their incentives/actions and their effect on the platform.
- Adding memories costs MetaRent: The only way to collect MetaRent is to buy Blox on Metablox. In addition, it takes rooting time to plant memories. The cost and time investment for memories act as deterrents.
- Adding memories requires a gas fee: In order to add a memory to a Blox, the Neighbor must pay the gas fee (on the MATIC network, which is not high but not zero). The cost of this gas fee acts as a deterrent.
- Strict punishment for Terms of Service (TOS) violations: A Blox is an NFT, so when a Neighbor buys it, they own it. If they then add an image that violates our TOS, we cannot take the NFT from them. However, we can still reactively respond with strict punishments on our platform:
- Stop serving the Memories on Metablox
- Stop MetaRent collection
- Blacklist the sale of this NFT property directly on the Metablox platform for an extended period of time (such as a year)
- Disable ability for wallet to purchase further NFTs from Metablox
- Disable ability for wallet to sell NFTs on the Metablox platform
- Disable ability for wallet to participate in landmark auctions
Memory flagging
Neighbors are able to flag memories that they believe violates our TOS. After a flagging threshold is met, our team will manually review the memory. If our review shows it does violate our TOS, then we will take the following actions:
- The memory will immediately be removed from serving on Metablox
- We will send a warning to the Neighbor to remove the memory within 48 hours
- If the memory is not removed within 48 hours, then punishments listed above will start to take course
๐ Where weโre going with this
If weโve done a good job with communicating Metablox, then by now you should understand why our NFTs will be valuable and why people value memories.
If not, please leave us a question or comment (comments are open for all), and we will do our best to improve.
So, where are we going with Metablox? If we succeed, how will the world change? The best way to communicate this is through our Neighbor types.
The Nostalgic Neighbor
The Nostalgic Neighbor has the comfort and satisfaction of owning their most precious memories, forever on the blockchain. When they have a life milestone, such as an engagement, a baby, or a career move, the Nostalgic Neighbor captures the memory in a photo, video, gif, or audio and adds it to their Blox in Metablox.
As the Nostalgic Neighbor grows older, they pass on their Metablox NFTs to their children, who continue the legacy of documenting the familyโs most important memories. After many generations, the entire family tree and legacy is captured on the blockchain so that all family members understand and appreciate their family history.
The Museum Curator
The Museum Curator proudly owns and curates a community or a landmark. They have spent years, maybe even decades, collecting the best memories in that area: memories from a myriad of people, dates from a year ago to decades ago, and even curated what kind of NFT art is for display.
Carnival โ Folsom at 4th Street. Gif credit.
San Francisco is known for its wonderful street art and culture. People from all over the world come to take tours of the street art and to listen to the rich history of the city.
By becoming the bridge between the metaverse and real life, people in the city will be able to walk the streets of cities all over the world and see the magnificent memories and NFT art that the Museum Curator curated.
If and when we succeed, we envision a world where tourists experience the culture of a city through their own eyes and through the lens of the Museum Curator.
The Real Estate Mogul and the Neighbor Collective
The Mogul and the Collective strive for asset appreciation. To this end, they will compete to capture the most valuable places in Metablox — the landmarks.
Block by block, city by city, Moguls and Collectives need to buy Blox in order to amass enough MetaRent to outbid the other. To further increase the velocity of their MetaRent, Moguls and Collectives will seek to purchase high level homes and communities driven up in level by Nostalgic Neighbors and Museum Curators (high level homes earn more MetaRent).
If and when we succeed, Moguls and Collectives will amass wealth through the economics of buying and selling landmarks and high-level Blox.