The Guild Advancement Program (GAP): A Battle-Tested Model for Questing in Web3
In December 2020, Yield Guild Games set out on a journey to recognize dedicated web3 gamers for their time and effort while offering them opportunities to use their skills for personal growth. The first step in this journey was the invention of the Guild Advancement Program (GAP), launched in July 2022. The program, initially aimed at strengthening the web3 community, connects players with games and rewards guild members for fostering sustainable community growth. Now in its fourth season, the GAP rewards hardcore gamers as well as community leaders and participants with token incentives and immutable recognition for their efforts.
Each season, guild members who completed achievements received YGG tokens as a reward for their contributions to the guild and its ecosystem. Additionally, they were presented with a soulbound NFT designed to commemorate their achievements within the game.
The Growth of the Community
Committed to providing the best experiences to its community, YGG continues to refine each GAP season based on the feedback of members and gaming partners. Quest objectives, difficulty levels and features have been fine-tuned with data and input.
This has cultivated a sense of ownership and belonging within the YGG community. Mark Tan, Community Product Lead, emphasizes how the guild has been learning directly from participants.
“The community has been instrumental in pointing out what’s effective and what isn’t,” said Mark. “We maintain an ongoing dialogue with our members to incorporate their feedback to deliver a more productive platform to our gaming partners. We aim to build a platform that brings together games and gamers in long-term, meaningful ways through the exchange of engagement for reward and recognition.”
GAP by the Numbers
GAP Season 1 launched with 45 quests across eight games, including Axie Infinity, The Sandbox, CyBall and Splinterlands. As an example of the types of actions required to complete a GAP quest, guild members who wanted to achieve the status of YGGLOK (League of Kingdoms) Squire would need to defend the Shrines in-game at least four times throughout the season’s 12-week run.
In Season 1, there were 1,030 achievement NFTs awarded to guild members across the available quests. The season concluded with 102,160 worth of YGG tokens distributed to guild members for their productive engagement with YGG game partners.
In Season 2, the guild began to co-design more achievements with game partners and the community. This introduced various non-game achievements to recognize more members for their valuable contributions.
This diversity not only catered to varied interests but also tapped into the unique skills and talents of the YGG community. GAP achievements began to include responsibilities like being a game ambassador, onboarding new members, and community volunteering.
With the broadened scope, Season 2 saw over 100 achievements across 14 games, with Gods Unchained, Legends of Venari, Skyweaver and Blocklords being added to the lineup, among others. Season 2 also saw 225,000 YGG tokens distributed to guild members as more found their own way to participate.
The second season introduced a new quest format, the Axie Builder Community Quest, which rewarded guild members for hosting community events on Discord. This marked a turning point for the GAP, shifting it from a player-centric achievement platform to a community-driven amplification platform.
Entering the third season, YGG worked very closely with a small cohort of games to develop a range of achievements designed to attract new players directly while transitioning engaged players into advocates.
To achieve this goal, guild members were rewarded not just for playing the games but for creating educational content, streaming gaming sessions and providing game reviews. The YGG Royal Artificer achievement was available to anyone who streamed at least three times a week during the season using unique YGG-branded overlays. Besides promoting YGG gaming partners to an even wider audience, this also allowed the community to hone their video production skills. The YGG Royal Artificer quest content alone generated 4,374 individual streams during Season 3.
While there was a more focused approach to gaming partners in Season 3, over 1,635 achievement NFTs were awarded in over 90 quests. New games were added as well, including Crypto Unicorns, Champions Ascension, and GensoKishi and Pixels. To reward the achievements of individuals who were engaging with and promoting the YGG gaming partners through the GAP, over 488,000 YGG tokens were distributed for their participation in the guild.
Just a year and a half later, GAP Season 4 boasts 150 quests across 12 of the latest games looking to launch and harness a web3 community. My Pet Hooligan was the latest web3 game to join the roster ahead of its launch on the Epic Games Store to ensure it had traction from day one.
In addition to new participating games, Season 4 introduced Group Questing, where teams of five would need to complete at least 20 quests throughout the season in order to unlock the Elite Squad Quest achievement. This feature encourages guild members to invite their friends to join them in the quests, utilizing their established reputation within the guild to compete for even greater rewards.
GAP: The Road Ahead
As the GAP evolves alongside YGG’s Reputation and Progression (RAP), it provides a structured framework for participants to enhance their reputation and contribute to the growth of their favorite games. YGG players have always been known for enriching the virtual worlds they inhabit, and with each quest, our community shares the goal of empowering everyone to strengthen ecosystems and attract more passionate gamers to web3. As YGG collaborates with more games for the GAP, these effects will magnify, creating a larger network effect.
Learn about Guild Advancement Program (GAP) Season 4 and YGG’s Superquests with Axie Infinity to kickstart your journey in establishing your web3 reputation.
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