5 Questions for Rick Crosschain of ggQuest

Initially playing with the idea of starting an eSports guild, Rick Crosschain, co-founder and CEO of ggQuest, shifted focus after identifying sustainability gaps in blockchain games. He noticed that most were vulnerable to attracting an audience more interested in exploiting the system than genuinely playing the game. Along with his co-founder Daes, this realisation led them to establish ggQuest.

At its core, ggQuest champions the 'proof of play' philosophy, emphasising genuine engagement over superficial metrics. By aggregating on-chain gaming histories and interactions, it offers gaming studios a holistic overview of player profiles, allowing for data-driven innovations and advancements, ultimately enhancing the overall Web3 gaming experience.

Who are you, and what is ggQuest?

I'm Rick Crosschain, Co-founder and CEO of ggQuest. I see ggQuest as a living organism on the blockchain that evolves dynamically with our fast-paced industry. We're creating a protocol that will be used in various ways. Initially, the main purpose will be to help both new and existing on-chain games acquire and retain users. We will also assist promising Web 2.5 games by manually integrating them and helping them bring more game data on-chain. For users, since we're chain- and ecosystem-agnostic, they can have an aggregated view of their on-chain gaming history at a glance and receive opportunities based on their on-chain activity.

We aim to change the perception people have of quests, as they're often viewed negatively. Social questing systems encourage users to engage in superficial interactions, such as simple clicks, likes, or following on social media. This approach attracts individuals looking to exploit the system rather than genuine gamers. Our method monitors on-chain actions, assessing activities linked to your wallet on the blockchain. For instance, we assign a score based on your activities and interactions within a blockchain-based game like Pirate Nation. It's fundamentally a 'proof of play'. Authentic on-chain missions require genuine player engagement, not mere social media likes and retweets. They need actual players engaging in their games. This approach minimizes exploitative behaviours because the potential reward doesn't warrant the effort.

What inspired you to establish ggQuest?

Our initial idea revolved around creating an eSports guild. However, with our gaming background, we recognized the need for a sustainable model. Many models out there weren't sustainable in the long run, so we aimed to create something that added genuine value to games. We understood that the goal wasn't just about launching the next big thing but enhancing the existing gaming experience. That's how ggQuest was born. From the beginning, we identified a major issue: most crypto games were vulnerable to sybil attacks and attracted the wrong audience. Therefore, we sought to develop quests that were more difficult to manipulate.

We first attempted to launch a platform but quickly realized that the necessary infrastructure either didn't exist or required enhancement. This realization prompted us to start building it ourselves, leading to our evolution towards a protocol. My personal experiences in the field significantly influenced my journey with ggQuest - my time in the trenches, so to speak.

What problems is ggQuest solving?

Our plan is to build an ecosystem around player data that connects gamers and games in a way that's value-additive for both. The foundational building block for this is creating the players' social graph. We aggregate a user's on-chain gaming history across games, chains, and wallets. This provides game studios with a holistic view of players so they can identify their target group with high precision. For players, we use all the indexed data to create a dashboard for them where they can see & showcase all their gaming NFTs and achievements. On top of that, we're building tools that allow games and gamers to make use of that data. For example, our first app will be a platform for in-game quests. That gives games a channel to reach out to their target users while players get access to exclusive opportunities based on their reputation. We see ourselves as the core team building out the primitives, but ultimately anyone can use the data to build apps for the ggQuest ecosystem and reach our community of players. For instance, player data can be used for better matchmaking. Or, a little bit further out, personalizing game experiences. For example, games can adapt the tutorial based on a player's experience to improve the first-time user experience (FTUE) and increase Day 1 retention.

What have you learned so far since founding ggQuest? 

On a personal level, it's been a learning process through trial and error. I've learned from every mistake, whether it's in communication, recruiting, or collaborations. As a founder, you're involved in different areas of the business. Diversity and versatility are essential when you're part of a small team. Some aspects of the job might not play to your strengths, but you learn from your team and adapt daily.

About the broader crypto and gaming space? I've learned a lot through my interactions with partners, developers, investors, and various stakeholders over the past year. I've attended many conferences, which have exposed me to different perspectives. Chatting with everyone gives you a sense of how the industry ticks, And there's a lot to leverage from all this in the coming year.

What’s in store, and what can we look forward to?

Top-down, we've been diligently working here with a stellar team, which has now evolved into a well-oiled machine moving us forward. We're advancing on all fronts, particularly in product development. And now, we're also kicking things off on the marketing side. I believe that one month from now, we'll see substantial momentum. 

We've also developed our own API and SDK, providing primitives like quests, badges, achievements, and more. Developers can use these to create their own platforms or achievement systems. We are putting more data on the blockchain and allowing developers to create DApps using our API/SDK. We'll launch all of this soon to showcase what's possible with our infrastructure.

 For those of you who are curious about ggQuest, I'd say, "stay tuned." We'll have something exciting for you. So, yes, over the next month, expect to hear a lot more on this.