Announcing NEAR Hack One
By: Jessica Watson Miller
Tags: Crypto, Blockchain, Hackathons, Typescript, Dapps

Explore the crypto universe with the first NEARathon — NEAR Protocol’s first Online Hackathon

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Right now, developing on a blockchain sucks, and creating a smooth user experience for blockchain dApps sucks even more. We’re working on that with the NEAR blockchain, and as we continue to BUIDL the core protocol, we want to support developers to create real, sticky, interesting apps (that just happen to be built on a blockchain) with NEAR. Crypto is on the hunt for its killer app, and we know that whatever it is will take advantage of the connections between users to create powerful network effects and let everybody do stuff that wasn’t possible before.

Introducing Hack One: Create Your Universe

In this first NEAR hackathon, we’re sponsoring over $5000 worth of prizes for projects that create an interactive universe using the NEAR blockchain.

What’s in a universe?

This could be a game world, a 2D visualization, a social app or even a forum. The only requirement is that you create a world that users can help create themselves, whether through exploration, art, storytelling or game mechanics. This world can be brand new or integrate with an existing virtual universe. We will be on hand in Discord to help you work out what kinds of mechanics work well on a blockchain, so you can let your imagination run wild!

This hackathon would suit you if:

You are a web developer (NEAR smart contracts are written in Typescript!) and have always wanted to try out blockchain

You have ideas for dApps but have been daunted by the complexity of building on other platforms

You want to re-think the way apps are made and how they make money

You have an idea for a universe that could work on a blockchain

Stuck for ideas? Here are some cool ideas we would love to see someone try with NEAR.

Ideas for Hack One projects

Open-world sandbox

Creating a truly open world requires no one entity ‘owning’ the ‘space’ on which the world is built. When you have a world that is truly permissionless, anyone can add to or destroy parts of the world. A great example of this is r/Place. Open worlds can a part of bigger game mods or exist on their own as places for collective creative expression.

Collectibles breeding and trading game

Cryptokitties was the first smash hit dApp, with more than 15 thousand daily active users at its height in 2017. At its core, Cryptokitties lets you buy, breed and sell weird-looking cats that mutate according to genetic rules that mean each kitty is unique. Collectibles become much more interesting when you have some control over their uniqueness, something that is possible with on-chain mutations and non-fungible tokens.

RPG collaborative map-making

Let the community build the map with simple rules for what you can do in each pixel. Create an endlessly modifiable game like Zelda or Mario where anyone can create new areas and new levels.

Open asset protocol

Create the infrastructure for trading non-fungible tokens between games, and let people break their game assets out of the worlds they were created in.

Digital art marketplace

Let artists create, upload, and uniquely sign their art, and sell it on an open-access marketplace.

How can I sign up?

The Hack One hackathon kicks off with a live streaming event on Twitch on Saturday 27th April and finishes with judging and prizes on 11th May.

Check out the event details and register for the hackathon before then to secure your place!