Onboarding new users to Web3 platforms can be challenging; even experienced cryptocurrency users may find it difficult to get to grips with the unique idiosyncrasies of decentralized finance (Challenge) platforms are a real struggle, let alone newcomers.
DeFi Network Base created RadQuesta gamified onboarding platform, to tackle the problem head on. That meant thinking “from the ground up” about what it means to onboard both crypto-savvy users and people new to Web3, said Matthew Hine, RDX Works’ chief product officer. Decrypt.
Above all, the onboarding process had to feel “relevant, not just an information dump,” Hine explained.
RadQuest, he said, is focused on “giving them opportunities, giving them cool, fun things they can do that they couldn’t do before” and highlighting the unique features of the Radix ecosystem, including human-readable transactions and its Persona system.
When opening the app on a desktop or mobile device, users are presented with cards featuring basic and advanced quests. RadQuest’s friendly mascot, Jetty, guides users through the process of setting up a wallet, staking Radix’s XRD token, and using decentralized exchanges (DEX).
Image: Radix
It’s all made possible by Radix’s simple and user-friendly interface; when setting up and connecting your Radix wallet, you’re prompted to log in using a Character—a fully decentralized and secured access key type connection through the Radix network.
Other research tools featured include JettySwap, a “consumer goods” exchange that allows users to “discover things you can use on a real DEX,” and Radix’s human-readable transactions. This feature eliminates complex interfaces and hurdles like blind signing and public keys, presenting the steps of a transaction in a clear, understandable summary view.
Image: Radix
“None of the transaction summary information in the wallet relies on trust in RadQuest,” Hine said. “It’s just analyzing the actual transaction that’s going to be submitted to the network, and that’s not a RadQuests thing. Every transaction you make on the Radix network is human-readable.”
It’s RadMorphin Time
The centerpiece of RadQuest’s gamified onboarding process is RadMorphs, an NFT reward that users generate after completing quests to earn gift boxes containing Morph cards and energy items.
“These are these interesting 3D crystal structures that are generated algorithmically,” Hine said.
Designed with the help of ustwo, the game studio behind the iOS hit “Monument Valley,” RadMorphs are created by users by combining earned items and Morph Energy cards in RadQuest’s user-friendly interface. The fine-tuning of the NFT game mechanics was done in collaboration with an in-game economics specialist who previously worked on titles such as Magic: The Gathering.
Image: Radix
The goal, Hine explained, was to create a customizable, interactive NFT, rather than “a system where you get one and think, ‘All right, here’s a PFP, and that’s all it does.’”
“We have a really cool metadata system that allows you to visualize everything about your RadQuest assets in a really fun and user-friendly way,” he added. This includes an automatic view of NFTs in the wallet that shows users the “quality” of the NFT and other interesting specifications.
“When you create your RadMorph, you do so through real interactions on the ledger with the smart contract using all the cool features of Radix,” Hine said. “RadQuest allows you to experience in real-world ways what Web3 resources can actually mean, even outside of the applications you’re using.”
Image: Radix
The goal of the platform is to allow newcomers to the cryptocurrency space to realize that “Web3 is not just a craze, it’s actually something I can engage with, it’s accessible to me,” Hine said. For crypto veterans, RadQuest presents the unique features of the Radix ecosystem in an accessible way. Hopefully, Hine said, Web3 natives will walk away thinking that “the way Radix is doing this is really as radically better than what we’ve talked about after years of work.”
“We’re at a really interesting point where we have a growing ecosystem of applications, we can start adding more quests here that introduce some of these applications and introduce people to the benefits of Radix,” he said, adding that “this is our exit to the rest of the crypto ecosystem.”
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