SIP-12: Run a Sandbox Academy in the Philippines

[ENTENIUM]

I really admire @markbagogames for creating this initiative. I remember how I joined in Sandbox when Mark & Papejay had a live stream with Pinas Sining (a project initiated by Blockchainspace and was superhanded by Mark). It was that time I feel trying out VoxEdit, infact I tried hard that I won twice 1st place in VoxEdit Contest and earned 40K SAND. I vote YES for this SIP because I do think there’s still a lot of Filipino Talents out there that hasn’t been reached. I could tell that Mark is capable enought to start this initiative because he’s a good storyteller and I know students would love him.

However, if this SIP wouldn’t get approved, I propose new changes:

1. Add more creators/builders/studio to get involve in the initiative. As i think it’s too hassle for one person to do all the job. Perhaps invite El or Papejay to help you with? Adding big names like Vaux would also help.
2. Remove the word allowance and transpo etc, just replace it with ‘operational cost’ to sound more corporate. Also remove the laptop and pizza, as it doesn’t sound good. Alhough students love to hear that ‘pizza’ haha yeah you can advertise that onsite
3. Start doing livestream as early as now so you have more visibilty. Just an idea.

Hope i can help you Mark!

[dawhat]

I would like to share a few points.

1. Philippines is home to many great individual creators and is a market that would benefit from education to grow more creators. There ARE bad apples that try to multi-account from all over the world and The Sandbox will continue to do its best to clamp these practices down. Having said that, don’t penalise genuine efforts to grow creators. Creators did not contribute to ANY of the problems that is being brought up so please keep the topics separate to what is being proposed.

2. Regarding cost, please study the proposal, the majority of the funds goes to participants and supporters of the ecosystem. Prizes, giveaways, F&B and paying people to help with the project, are those really unfair? And personally speaking, for 6-7 months of work (and I know Mark made more when he was working at a studio) and the fact that we should value creator’s work more, is the figure really unjustified? Should we demand for bottom dollar all the time or should we honour the effort, talent and knowledge of creators? The metaverse, above all else, needs content for it to thrive and be valuable, creators are the lifeblood of the metaverse. And understand that education is hard work, do teachers need to be remunerated less? And by all accounts I don’t think the proposal is actually expensive.

3. I understand some people think that other studios should be an academy. And guess what, they are free to submit their own proposals for an academy as well! The more academies there are, the better the games would be. Nobody said this is the ONLY academy that we can have. And I think many studios have chimed in for support too. Believe it or not, the studios are really supportive of each other and I believe that we can have an academy in every country and every major area, why not?

4. Much like communities, don’t we always want a local representative? That goes the same for education. We can have an online academy globally for sure but having a local academy helps especially when understanding local culture and language. We are seeing some of the best built experiences from the Philippines and this is because some of the good work from a local partner previously which Mark was also a part of back then. Trust me, Europe knows nothing about Asia and vice versa. A combined global+local initiative is always better.

I know things are not perfect and improvements are necessary. But understand that growing the ecosystem has to start from somewhere. Don’t penalise good COMMUNITY members who are just trying to do more good and make things better. THEY are not the multi-accounters. They are not the scammers or cheaters. And they are certainly doing more to make things better than many others.

[19vodka03]

1.) The Philippines can be an excellent country in every field. Nobody would probably object to that. We can have healthier conversations if you stop your perception of creating hatred about certain countries. The Sandbox is doing NOTHING about multiple accounts, I’m sorry to say, so stop playing the polyamory. Clean players who haven’t cheated in any way are dealing with the chaos when the season starts and ends, not the creators. The fact that you see this as punishment is another perception. I am against this unnecessary proposal, not because “training cannot be provided because of multiple accounts”, but because “WE HAVE MUCH MORE CRITICAL PROBLEMS TO TACKLE”. If the situation continues like this, you will not even see the end of your so-called training. Because the company will have already shut down (Sorry but not sorry). So this proposal cannot be separated from the problems you mentioned. It would be a betrayal of the company. I respect the efforts of the content producers, but when it comes to the season, I have to think about us players. Because they are the ones who suffer the most, and that’s not something that the creators care about. For the record, this is maybe the tenth time I’m writing this: Even in my own country, if such a proposal was presented, my attitude would be the same.

2.) This is not the first time such trainings have been organized. BootCamps were held in various countries. There, too, fees were sent to the offices of the countries to organize such trainings. (If you ask how you are so sure, I had the opportunity to attend one of them) I personally think that the fee requested for this proposal is much lower than it should be. However, the other side of the coin is that there is no difference between these bootcamps and this proposal. Only the duration is ridiculously long. And with all due respect, asking for 3000 sand for a laptop is ridiculous. Go buy it yourself. Such ridiculous and absurd fees in the name of the development of the Metaverse really make me laugh. I don’t even want to talk about the 7 months of training. People won’t learn physics. It is a program that can be learned in 1 month with hard work and 2 months with a relaxed attitude. So this proposal seems to me a bit like an excuse to get money from the company. (Sorry but not sorry 2)

3-These things are easily done/can be done with bootcamps and twitch broadcasts, youtube guide videos. I agree that studios should be strong together. However, if the academies mentioned are going to be held for 7 months and stupid amounts of money will be spent, it will be a loss in the long run.

4-Again, I love the idea of the online academy as you mentioned, if the issue is that Europe doesn’t know anything about Asia, Asia can come to Europe and introduce itself. Then I hope you will stop defending the cost issue.

I am glad that you have finally grasped the fact that things are not perfect and improvements need to be made. GROWING THE ECOSYSTEM DOES NOT START WITH SUCH A SUGGESTION. If you see this as punishment, I doubt that you are really sincere.

I am starting a 12-month training program at the University of Athens in Greece, which will require 10 million SAND. With 1 million SAND I will buy a laptop (4090ti)

P.S. Congratulations to The sandbox Dao Twitter, no matter how hard we tried to get it rejected. Whoever came up with the idea of boosting the yes vote under the pretext of the LAND lottery really deserves 1x1 premium LAND.

[DaruthTheHuman]

Bro chill this isn’t a real DAO. It’s much more fun to play if you keep that in mind.

[Lanzer]

I completely agree that a SIP that helps SandFam anywhere in the world is worthy of our consideration.

[dawhat]

1. Please understand that these things run in tandem. Improving on anti-cheats etc is ongoing regardless if this SIP passes or not. This SIP passing or failing technically has no direct bearing or impact to The Sandbox operations because they’re separate from the DAO. There’s also a separate allocation just for this type of engagement within the DAO so it has no bearing on those efforts.

2. Bootcamps are meant for more advanced builders, I know as I am one of the organisers of them as well. This initiative is about university students and beginners. They ARE very different.

3. Although 7 months seems like a long time, its not 7 months on ONE university but across many universities, so like 3-6. So yes, you’re right. It IS something they can learn within a month and this can help accelerate a lot of new interest in creators.

4. My point is that both should happen. Online AND local efforts. Not everyone speaks English and its not easy giving attention to everyone without the help of the ecosystem.

To re-highlight what I mentioned in point no.1, TSB operations is separate from the DAO. If it passes, I see it as a net positive growth to the ecosystem. I don’t want Mark to be penalised just because of TSB and TSB nor myself benefits from this passing. I just see it as giving a genuine community member a chance to do what he loves for the betterment of the community.

Do note that the effort to get people to vote is to help with achieving quorum, not to push for a yes. Ultimately yes or no it is the community’s decision. The last 2 SIPs failed not due to a No vote but due to the lack of quorum. If the majority hates the idea, it’s sad but we have to accept majority rules. At this moment in time, the majority hasn’t spoken yet.

PS. I do try to improve on anti-cheating and a recent campaign I did, I rejected 90% of accounts from receiving rewards due to cheating. It’s not much but I hope you understand we do try and this will be an ongoing effort as there will always be more cheaters in any game

[markbagogames]

Hi @Lanzer! Thanks for the support! BTW I adjusted the requested fund from 53,560 SAND to 51,560 SAND.

[markbagogames]

Hey brother! Thank you so much for the support. And thank you so much for contributing your creative talent to our community. And yes, I’ll go ahead and do your suggestions. Especially rephrasing the word pizza

Much love brother!!!

[markbagogames]

Thank you @dawhat for explaining this to the community. I appreciate the all-out support not just for me but for all of us!

[markbagogames]

Hello SandFam!!! Just sharing a picture of my workshop last night with our future creator friends from Saudi Arabia.

[Emma]

Hey @markbagogames I’m not fully convinced to support this idea for several reasons. Firstly, the lack of a prepared curriculum is a significant concern. Secondly, I envision this workshop more as a showcase where you’ll be improvising with a single laptop for a group of students. This setup will make it challenging for students to learn effectively without access to their own computers during the class. While I know you have the best intentions, there appears to be a lack of preparation. Is there any chance you could share the curriculum or at least a preview of the topics you’ll be teaching?

[Lanzer]

This is pretty cool. Looks like it was successful! Is this something you can apply to the Philippines?

[DaruthTheHuman]

You want the man to basically create the school before he gets support . He is already wasting his time enough as it is. The time he could have spent making stuff for Sandbox would have been better spent.

[Emma]

I appreciate your optimism and positivity. Speaking of optimism, I’m also 100% certain that if he had prepared the curriculum before applying for this DAO, he would have garnered much more support from the community, without a doubt.

[DaruthTheHuman]

Its not a real DAO so all the preparation he DID do was wasted even if he passes it if The Sandbox thinks its a bad idea. Would you write a business proposal under those conditions?

[SANDcultivator]

Hi, Mark!

I offer up my tiny voting power in favor of this SIP. I’m more of a cultivator of knowledge than a cultivator of SAND.

You’ve grown so much as a creator since we first met in the 2021 bootcamp. Your enthusiasm for learning has driven you to have so many skill and knowledge building experiences, and it’s awesome to see your drive to pass that on to others.

If the SIP passes, please let me know if you’d like me to provide feedback on your curriculum or any instructional insights. I’m happy to support you as a friend and creator I believe in!

[markbagogames]

A billion thanks Becky! I wouldn’t be what I am as a builder and educator in the Sandbox without you being one of the people I inspire. And again I thank you for everything.

How can I connect with you for some instructional insights?

[SANDcultivator]

Send me a DM on X: x.com.

I’ve heard a lot of edu program pitches, reviewed curricula, and I’ve written, coordinated, and delivered content in many forms for various audiences. Ask me anything! I’ll prepare some questions and suggestions based on what you have here in the proposal and comments.

[MALAMAYA]

Just gonna jump in here and say thanks to this wonderful human being!

Becky was the one running the Sandbox Bootcamp program from 2021, the very same Bootcamp where I met a lot of amazing builders in the Sandfam.

I support education initiatives, this SIP included, for the very same reason why i applaud Becky - because I’ve seen it work, her classes spawned off GMF and CF creators, Game jam and Voxedit Champions, and all around amazing builders who have gone to work in the ecosystem as professionals! I should know, I was one of them, and have built stuff in the space for brands and IPs here and there, I’ve also championed Sandbox as my main Metaverse of choice for the studio I and the friends I met building in the metaverse founded called XOVOX Labs.

@markbagogames was a key part of founding that studio before he left for Smobler, but we went on to become an official studio in the Trusted Partners Program, and have been supporting the Sandbox’s reach here in the Philippines since.

The work we do is mainly in education- it’s in teaching new folks interested in building in the space and getting them excited to create worlds of their own, I put myself first and foremost as an example of why it’s possible. I’m a no-coder pleb, but I’ve gone to head XOVOX Labs to become a recognized Metaverse Game and Creatives studio placed in the enclaves of the Philippine Game Development Scene, partnering up with the Institutions and Associations that make Game Development here in the Philippines, more accessible, and supportive for upstart gamedevs such as myself. It is through that, that many students from the ones we’ve taught have gone to try out The Sandbox builder tools, have gone to try and even win in Game Jams and Voxedit contests, and even then, it’s still an uphill task - but it is fulfilling work.

I’m currently doing work for a metaverse course in the Philippines partnered with a local school system and Metaversity. I’ve taught on-site and remotely for 3 years now, it’s always at least 10 times harder to teach online than it is when I’ve taught on-site, be it logistics, connections issues, or even just basic human problems like reading the room. This is why if the budget and time allows it, I always choose to teach face-to-face. I’ve had the highest conversion (anecdotally) from on-site classes, and that says a lot for folks who have never touched a game engine prior to that.

I don’t get the opportunity to thank @SANDcultivator as much as I could, and the wonderful educators such as Pandapops and Cyberdragon - but do know that what you guys have taught, through the various sessions, lives, workshops, streams, and content throughout the years, are being trickled down to the students we’re teaching about the Sandbox.

PS. I still have the TSB Certification from 3 years ago

[Lanzer]

Dang, that’s a really nice NFT. Congrats