Polkadot Web0 Berlin - Monsters Ink!

Overview

Two weeks after ETHGlobal Cannes, Owen Barnes invited me to a Polkadot hackathon in Berlin. This collaboration proved to be incredibly successful.

The Challenge

Why are developers EVM-first by default, despite Polkadot's technological improvements? The complexity barrier to entry. We needed to make Polkadot development accessible and fun.

The Solution

Monsters Ink! - A gamified learning experience where users write Ink! smart contracts within interactive website lessons. Instead of traditional coding tutorials, users breathe life into digital creatures through code. Writing a flipper function gives the creature consciousness, and you see its eyes open. The language of fun transforms contract writing into creature creation.

Technologies Used

Team

This hackathon demonstrated the power of collaboration and networking. Meeting Owen at the previous event led to this successful partnership.

The platform uses no AI, focusing on fundamental understanding. Users earn NFT certificates that save their progress as metadata, with richer visual aspects as they complete more lessons. Each lesson completion enhances both the NFT's metadata and visual representation of their learning journey.

Outcome

Achieved a rare triple win, taking home three different prizes: technical innovation (Main Track), ecosystem integration (Ink Alliance), and user-centered design (UX Bounty). The project successfully addressed the onboarding challenge in the Polkadot ecosystem.