PermaDAO 1-on-1 Interview: leeduckgo, Founder and CEO of Dimension Life

Through the interview with the founder of Dimension Life, we can understand the story behind the establishment of Arweave and AO ecological projects, especially the game projects, the current development status, and future routes. Let the contributors of PermaDAO know the project parties better, and let the project parties know the operation and collaboration mode of PermaDAO, so as to enhance PermaDAO's influence in the Arweave ecosystem, especially among developers.

Author's statement: This article is only an interview with the project parties by the author, and the introduction of the project parties is not intended as any investment advice. Please comply with the laws of your country and conduct Web3 activities in compliance with regulations.

Author: Xiaosong HU

Translator: Xiaosong HU

Reviewer: Scarlett LI

Source: Content Guild Translation

July 2024 is destined to be a highlight in the Web3 world.

In the United States, presidential candidate Trump made a high-profile appearance at the Nashville 2024 Bitcoin Conference and released positive signals in his speech, indicating that the US government's attention and support for the crypto industry will usher in a new change. This wave quickly swept the world, injecting a shot of adrenaline into the entire Web3 world. At the same time, the AO ecosystem also showed unprecedented vitality: Hyper Parallel 2024 Asia Intercity Shuttle Tour Tokyo Station ended successfully, bringing AO technology and concepts to more developers and users; and at this time, an application called Dimension Life came out of nowhere and quickly attracted the attention of the community.

Dimension Life is based on the concept of "pet cultivation". In just one week after its launch, it has attracted more than 5,000 users and has become the most dazzling star project in the Arweave ecosystem in recent times. In the community, people are enthusiastically discussing the gameplay and future of this game. Some people jokingly call it a "super dad simulator", while others think it is just an electronic pet game built on Arweave. However, with the continuous disclosure of official information and articles, we gradually realize that Dimension Life's ambitions go far beyond this. The functions and design concepts hidden behind it herald a new exploration of decentralized applications.

To help everyone better understand Dimension Life, PermaDAO specially invited the project's founder, Mr. leeduckgo, to conduct this one-on-one in-depth interview, hoping to unveil the veil of this mysterious application. Before officially starting the interview, let's take a brief look at the Dimension Life project.

Project Introduction

Dimension Life — Building an AO Autonomous World Based on Protocol

Dimension Life is far more than a simple pet training game. It is a grand vision built on a protocol, aiming to create a truly decentralized AO Autonomous World. Its core design concept lies in simplicity and protocol stability, striving to build a sustainable, safe, and reliable digital world. The uniqueness of Dimension Life is that it deposits user behavior and data into Arweave's distributed ledger, creating a user identity system that can be used in different applications, which means that the user's Dimension Life data will become their digital identity in the Arweave ecosystem, breaking the data barriers between traditional applications.

In addition, Dimension Life has also pioneered the concept of "AI avatars", combining gamification with AI agent technology. Users can create and cultivate their own AI avatars in Dimension Life, and interact in the digital world through AI avatars to obtain personalized services.

In order to ensure the authenticity and credibility of the ecosystem, Dimension Life adopts a clever mechanism design. By associating user behavior data with its universal archives across the entire network, after the player upgrades his dimensionLife, the corresponding level of functions will be unlocked, which can effectively distinguish "robot users" from "real users". The ultimate idea is to build a healthy ecosystem with transparent recording and display of real user data, and promote the vigorous development of AO Autonomous World.

The link below is an introduction to the design concept of Dimension Life (Chinese Version): https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/HVFEwUc6ZJyKfu9TSF8GgQ

Part I: Regarding Dimension Life

Q1: Hello, Mr. leeduckgo! I am from PermaDAO, the largest Asian community incubated by Arweave. I am glad that you can accept our interview. We saw that just last week, the first pet training game on AO, Dimension Life, was launched and quickly spread in various communities of PermaDAO on the same day. What kind of pet game is this? Can you briefly introduce the gameplay and core features of the game to us?

A: Hello everyone! I am very honored to be invited by PermaDAO. I describe Dimension Life as a game to help you understand it better. It is essentially a protocol, but it is in the form of an external game. In essence, it creates a digital avatar for each person, and this digital avatar is its unique Dimension Life, all its behaviors and activities in the AO world will be recorded in this Dimension Life. (Click the link below to log in and start your journey)

https://dimension-life.rootmud.xyz/

Q2: Why did you choose the name "Dimension Life" when you designed it?

A: Because I want to realize a scenario in Dimension Life that combines Community-generated content (Community-Generated Content), User-generated content (User-generated content), AI-generated content (AI-generated content) and Developer-generated content (Developer-generated content). Then the meaning of Dimension Life is that it was a very simple version at the beginning. For example, all the Dimension Life I see now exists in the form of some simple character paintings. But with the deep participation of these communities, Dimension Life will evolve itself and have more complex versions: for example, Dimension Life will evolve into this pixel version, and then slowly evolve into a voxel version, and even into some 3D versions, etc. These design concepts and mechanisms are not determined by centralized game designers like traditional games, but created by this community, and then everyone votes with their feet to decide the future development of the game.

Q3: We found that when you first register for the game, you need to link your wallet, and then three pets, cats, dogs, and bears, are randomly generated. How is the pet training system in the game designed? What kind of interactive experience can users currently have?

A: We have just started, and currently only a click-to-upgrade function has been launched. The pet training system is like this: after the user upgrades, he can unlock new gameplay, such as unlocking a function to upgrade this Dimension Life to a pixel version. So this is the fundamental guide to prevent robots, and design from the mechanism. If he just uses a robot to click on the script and click on his level, then he is not a real user. When he unlocks a new function but does not use it, it is meaningless to him.

Q4: Why did you choose to develop this game on AO? How does Dimension Life work on AO? Could you please introduce the whole process of developing and operating this game on AO?

A: The Dimension Life project is currently in the main process. Later, we will make full use of the function of the AO Pro process, which is the subprocess, to create a richer gameplay.

The reason why we chose AO is that we have a history of development in Erlang for decades. We strongly agree with the philosophy of Erlang, so we have always been looking forward to a blockchain product that inherits the Erlang philosophy, and it was finally launched ten years later. In fact, the whole process is really quite long. (Note: Erlang is a general-purpose concurrent functional programming language. Erlang can also refer to the general name of Erlang/OTP. The open-source telecommunications platform is a common execution environment and a series of standard components of Erlang. The Erlang execution environment is designed for systems with the following requirements: distributed computing, high fault tolerance, soft real-time computing, high availability, non-stop application hot plugging, and the ability to modify programs without downtime)

If we talk about the development and operation process on AO, then in fact, it is equivalent to activating the first batch of user groups. In the past two days, we have been developing some new features, including some aspects of how to combine them with the most popular game in the current AO ecosystem - Llama Land, etc. Everyone can wait patiently, and these new features will be launched soon.

Image: Llama Land

Q5: As the 18th user of Dimension Life, I currently have nothing to do except click once every hour. What is the next step for us users?

A: I can explain it again: We design the mechanism to ensure the distinction between human players and robot players. For example, after upgrading, he can unlock the corresponding functions. If you use the functions, then you are a human player, but if you don’t use the functions, just click the level endlessly, even if you upgrade to level 1000, it is just a number, and you will still be judged as a robot player. So, I think there will be many tricks in the future.

Q6: Most of the games on AO are currently in the very early stages. For example, Llama Land used to log in every 12 hours to receive tokens. Pet or Rekt used to be just a game of shooting elephants. They can't even be called games. Maybe they just used the concept of AO. What do you think about the future development of games on AO?

A: I think AO's games are very promising in the future. This is based on two core judgment points.

The first judgment point is that it inherits the philosophy of Erlang. Erlang is a very powerful technology. In the 1980s, it could support a system with a large number of users of Ericsson. In fact, Erlang has been underestimated for a long time. So if you can inherit the philosophy of Erlang and develop a blockchain system, then it will be very powerful in the first point.

The second point is Lua, because Lua is actually a very traditional scripting language for developing games. So when AO chooses Erlang combined with Lua, it is a very wise approach. Because like many other chains, they will develop a language independently and reinvent the wheel. This is actually unwise because I think they don’t follow computer science. In fact, predecessors have stepped on many pitfalls when doing these things. Now they have to reinvent the wheel and step on all these pitfalls again. I think this is particularly meaningless. I personally think that this behavior of reinventing the wheel is actually designed for VCs, because VCs like this new trend. You come up with a new language, a new smart contract, and you have something to tell VCs, and then VCs are very happy after listening, but they don’t make sense at all. This design concept is not a real thing, it is a fake thing.

Q7: Will Dimension Life consider designing a token like Llama Land? If so, what is the Tokenomics? If not, are you worried about user loss?

A: Dimension Life itself is a game protocol, and the game protocol itself is not suitable for issuing tokens. But we will build the Dimension Life ecosystem in the future, and this ecosystem can issue tokens, because there will be many projects in it, and there will be an economic model to encourage the projects in it, so it is suitable to issue tokens at this time. However, this token will not be used directly in the protocol. For example, Dimension Life needs to spend money on the project, which will not happen. But for example: there is an accelerator or incubator in the Dimension Life ecosystem, and it has a token mechanism at this time, which is very reasonable.

Q8: So how many people are currently doing full-time development at Dimension Life? Are they doing it for love or have they applied for official grants? In the future, how do you hope everyone will participate in the Dimension Life ecosystem?

A: Currently, I am the only one developing, and if I apply for an official grant, I plan to start the application after attending the Shenzhen station of Arweave Hyper Parallel on August 3. In the future, I hope that developers can join on the one hand, and on the other hand, I also hope that the user-generated content mentioned earlier can allow community members to participate in the production and creation of this content. At the same time, there is developer-generated content (Develop generated content). I hope that developers can also do some project development based on this Dimension Life because everyone can share a user pool.

Part II: Regarding leeduckgo

Q9: How did Mr. leeduckgo get into the Web3 circle?

A: My Web3 journey began in 2016 when I joined a cryptocurrency exchange. That period was a period full of freshness and challenges for me. Not only did I first come into contact with Erlang, a powerful functional programming language, but more importantly, I began to understand and learn blockchain technology and was deeply attracted by the concept and development prospects of Web3. It can be said that that experience opened a door to a whole new world for me. Since then, I have been rooted in the Web3 field and have never thought about returning to the traditional Internet industry.

Q10: So how did Mr. leeduckgo learn about the Arweave ecosystem?

A: It’s interesting to say that I first came into contact with Arweave in 2019 when we were building a developer community called Bewater. In the process of community building, our designers found that Arweave was becoming more and more popular in the field of decentralized storage, and many artists began to use Arweave to store their works. He introduced me to the concept and technical features of Arweave, especially the concept of "permanent storage", which deeply attracted me.

I began to study Arweave in-depth and explore the technical architecture and application scenarios behind it. I realized that Arweave is not only a tool for storing data but also an infrastructure for building a "permanent network". It provides a reliable data storage platform for the development of Web3, allowing data to be permanently stored and not tampered with, which is crucial to building a more open, transparent, and trustworthy Internet world. It was from then on that I began to pay close attention to the development of Arweave and finally decided to join the construction of Arweave's ecosystem.

Q11: Is Mr. leeduckgo ALL in Web3 or is he doing it part-time as a hobby?

A: Currently, I am ALL in Web3 and I don’t do any Web2 work.

Q12: Many people outside the circle find Web3 very mysterious. What suggestions and opinions do you have for friends who want to enter the Web3 circle (especially developers)?

A: The world of Web3 is indeed full of mystery for outsiders, and is full of various new concepts and technical terms. If you only pay attention to price fluctuations and market sentiment, it is easy to be influenced by the general pessimism on Twitter and think that this bull market is about to end. But I think we should pay more attention to the technical essence and development trend behind Web3, rather than being swayed by short-term market fluctuations.

Looking back at the development of blockchain technology, the emergence of Bitcoin has created a decentralized currency and payment system for us, just like a digital bank built on the Internet. Ethereum goes a step further. It not only supports cryptocurrency, but more importantly, it provides a programmable blockchain platform that allows us to build various decentralized applications on it, just like building a brand new financial system based on digital banks.

However, the potential of Web3 is far more than that. I think that after Bitcoin and Ethereum, blockchain technology will usher in the third wave, which is to explore "what else can we do with blockchain besides finance." From the perspective of computer science, it is impractical to design an all-encompassing general system. Therefore, we should let Bitcoin focus on decentralized currency, let Ethereum focus on decentralized finance, and leave innovation and exploration in other fields to latecomers such as Arweave/AO.

My advice is not to be disturbed by market noise, to focus on learning and understanding the essence of blockchain technology, and actively explore the application of blockchain technology in different fields. The future of Web3 is full of infinite possibilities. Let us embrace this era full of opportunities and challenges together!

Q13: The entire market is still in a bear market. Do you feel financial pressure when starting a business? How do you relieve this pressure?

A: I feel that these are not bad. In fact, according to the current situation, the market should be considered as a mid-term bull market. Speaking of financial pressure, there are some other sources of income, not just relying on We3 as a source of income.

Part III: Regarding NonceGeek DAO & PermaDAO & everVision

Q14: You created NonceGeek DAO. What was your original intention?

A: The original intention of creating NonceGeek DAO stems from my deep thinking about the future way of working. I believe that a revolution in production relations is imperative. The traditional company system, based on long-term employment, has gradually revealed its rigidity and inefficiency in today's highly developed information and globalization. We believe that the future way of working should be more flexible, open, and people-oriented, and DAO (decentralized autonomous organization) is the best carrier to achieve this goal.

The core concept of NonceGeek DAO is the "bounty system". We hope to break the shackles of traditional employment relationships, allowing developers to freely choose projects according to their interests and expertise, and get corresponding rewards by completing tasks. We believe that this decentralized collaboration model can maximize the creativity and enthusiasm of developers, avoid the phenomenon of "Draw a big picture" in traditional companies, and is more in line with the spirit of Web3.

Of course, it is not enough to rely solely on changing production relations. The simultaneous improvement of productivity is also required to bring about real changes. When NonceGeek DAO was founded in 2019, we spent five years constantly refining our operating model and exploring more effective ways of collaboration. As we enter 2023, with the rapid development of AI technology, we see that productivity is about to usher in a qualitative leap. The combination of AI and DAO will release unprecedented energy and bring unlimited possibilities to Web3, and we are full of expectations for this.

Q15: So what is the mission of NonceGeek DAO, what is the current development status, and what is the future vision?

A: The mission of NonceGeek DAO is to help these indeed hikers - completely independent developers, to help them achieve success in their careers and growth in their lives. At present, there are already quite a few indeed hikers in NonceGeek DAO. Of course, the indeed hiker thing is still in an early stage of exploration, so everyone is also in the early stages of growth. But as I said just now, the two elements of productivity and production relations are already in place, so its future mission will be achieved, this is an inevitable thing.

Q16: We know that PermaDAO settles real money for contributors every week. What is the operating model of NonceGeek DAO?

A: Our current operating model is timed settlement because according to our initial design of NonceGeek DAO, it is to use the bounty system to replace the traditional company system. So if the traditional company "Draw a big picture", then we will issue bounties on a timed basis, and all additional income will be considered as additional dividends, but the basic settlement is settled in time.

Q17: So how did Mr. leeduckgo know PermaDAO and everVision?

A: I met Outprog. I remember that I had known Outprog before PermaDAO was created. Since we were both interested in DAO construction, we kept in touch. After the emergence of PermaDAO, our cooperation became more in-depth.

Q18: So how do you view the development of PermaDAO? In what areas do you think NonceGeek DAO and PermaDAO or everVision can cooperate in the future?

A: Regarding the future form of DAO, we have some differences with some popular views on the market. In the early days, everyone was full of fantasies about DAO, thinking that DAO could do everything and should be like an all-around warrior, covering all functions. But we think this idea is too idealistic, just like a game character, if all skill points are evenly distributed, it will only lead to mediocre performance in every aspect.

We believe that the future DAO will develop into a collaborative and win-win network (DAO Network) like the Internet. In this network, each DAO focuses on its areas of expertise, and interconnects through API interfaces, cross-chain protocols, etc., to jointly build a colorful Web3 world. For example, NonceGeek DAO is committed to providing technical support and a creative platform for independent developers, while PermaDAO has performed well in community building, incentive mechanisms, and project incubation, and has created decentralized applications such as Permaswap that are highly recognized by the community. In the future, NonceGeek DAO can provide technical support and development services for PermaDAO's ecological projects, and PermaDAO can help NonceGeek DAO expand community resources and influence, and jointly explore more possibilities for the Arweave ecosystem, such as jointly incubating innovative applications based on Arweave, or jointly hosting developer events, etc. We believe that the interconnection and coordinated development between DAOs will be the key to the prosperity of the Web3 world.

Q19: Thank you for your time. Do you have anything else to say to everyone?

A: I am very grateful for this opportunity to share some of my thoughts on Web3 with you. I think the future of Web3 is full of hope. Although it is still in the early stages of development, we can already see that many promising technologies and applications are emerging. More importantly, more and more developers and users are beginning to realize the value and potential of Web3 and actively participate in this transformation. At the same time, everyone is welcome to continue to pay attention to the Dimension Life project. This is my Twitter account: https://x.com/0xleeduckgo. Please pay more attention and feel free to communicate!

For those friends who have already devoted themselves to Web3, I would like to say that persistence is the most important thing. The development path of Web3 will not be smooth sailing. It will inevitably be full of challenges and setbacks, but as long as we stick to our original intentions, continue to learn, and continue to explore, we will be able to overcome difficulties and finally realize our ideals. As the saying goes: "As long as you don't leave the table, there is always a possibility of a comeback." Even if we make mistakes in the process, we still have the opportunity to start over, but if we choose to give up because of temporary difficulties, we will really miss all opportunities. Let us work together to create a more open, free, and prosperous Web3 world!

Conclusion

We were not only impressed by his passion for the Dimension Life project, but also deeply moved by his firm belief in blockchain technology as a senior technical developer. He firmly believes that the core value of blockchain technology lies in its decentralization, security, transparency, and immutability, and these characteristics will provide unlimited possibilities for building a fairer, more efficient, and more trustworthy Internet world, which is what we call the Web3 world. As a pioneer in the field of decentralized permanent storage, Arweave is committed to building a "permanent network" that can permanently preserve human knowledge and cultural information. This coincides with Dimension Life's vision of building decentralized identities and AI avatars, and together they have laid a solid foundation for the development of Web3.

At present, the vigorous development of DAO organizations, the widespread application of bounty incentive models, and the increasing maturity of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence have created unprecedented opportunities for Web3 builders and participants. We hope to conduct in-depth interviews with Arweave ecosystem projects and developers, and show the outside world the vigorous development and huge potential of the Arweave ecosystem with their real work experience and mental journey, provide some reference and reference for those who are curious and yearning for Web3, and encourage more people to participate in the construction of Web3. At the same time, we also hope to take this opportunity to promote PermaDAO's collaborative model and excellent products to the Arweave ecosystem, such as Permaswap, the decentralized exchange with the largest traffic in the Arweave ecosystem. PermaDAO has long been committed to building an open, collaborative, and win-win Arweave community, and has developed a series of practical tools for DAO organizations. We believe that these tools can not only help Arweave ecosystem projects develop better but also contribute to the progress of the entire Web3 industry.

We look forward to Dimension Life, which uses games as a representation but contains deep thinking about future digital identities and decentralized applications, to bring us more surprises in the future. We also look forward to more sparks coming from PermaDAO and Dimension Life, and working together to contribute to building a more open, free, and prosperous Arweave ecosystem, and even the Web3 world!

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Disclaimer: This article does not represent the views of PermaDAO. PermaDAO does not provide investment advice or endorse any projects. Readers should comply with their country's laws when engaging in Web3 activities.