[Open Grant Proposal] LORE: Decentralized Game State & Cryptographic Cartridges via Lighthouse IPFS & Filecoin

[Comic2Canvas]

Open Grant Proposal: LORE

Project Name: LORE

Proposal Category: Integrations

Individual or Entity Name: StarkeMatter Studios Inc.

Proposer: @starkematterstudios

Project Repo(s): https://github.com/Comic2Canvas/EternalForge

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1. Project Overview & Problem Statement

Traditional digital games and Web3 titles store player saves, item attributes, and procedural assets on centralized cloud databases (such as AWS or Supabase), introducing vendor lock-in, data manipulation risks, and server shutdown vulnerabilities.

LORE is an interactive digital RPG connecting Unreal Engine 5 gameplay with verifiable decentralized asset ownership. We utilize Lighthouse IPFS and Filecoin persistent storage to permanently pin cryptographic character cartridges, procedural item attributes, and tactical trading cards client-side without relying on centralized relational backends.

2. Value to the Filecoin & IPFS Ecosystem

• Persistent Game-State Storage: Demonstrates real-world production utility for Filecoin/IPFS storage beyond static NFT art, anchoring dynamic game-state payloads and decentralized character cartridges.
• Developer Tooling / Public Good: Delivers an open-source, lightweight TypeScript/Node.js helper package that abstracts CID generation, metadata formatting, and gateway retrieval for independent game developers integrating decentralized storage into client loops.
• Engine Bridging: Bridges decentralized file retrieval directly into native C++ game engine memory (Unreal Engine 5), validating sub-second asset parsing without runtime thread-blocking.

3. Deliverables & Technical Architecture

• Production Integration: Fully operational Lighthouse IPFS and Filecoin persistence layer integrated into the live production client (https://eternalcardforge.online).
• Client-Side Hashing: Deterministic JSON serialization and client-side cryptographic hashing of procedural game items and character states.
• Open-Source SDK / Module: An MIT-licensed npm module and sample repository demonstrating plug-and-play Lighthouse IPFS game save-state pinning and gateway verification.

4. Milestones & Funding Request

Total Ask: $5,000 USD (payable in FIL)

• Milestone 1 — Open-Source Pinning Utility ($2,500):
  Public GitHub release of the MIT-licensed helper module with automated unit tests for CID generation, JSON payload validation, and Filecoin/IPFS pinning via Lighthouse.
• Milestone 2 — Production Deployment & UE5 Integration Sample ($2,500):
  Live production verification on https://eternalcardforge.online retrieving pinned character cartridges, paired with documented Unreal Engine 5 C++ blueprint examples for parsing decentralized metadata in runtime game actors.

5. Team & Maintenance

• Lead Architect: Zacharya Starke — Founder & Lead Systems Architect, StarkeMatter Studios Inc. Deep specialization in native Unreal Engine 5 C++, full-stack TypeScript/React, and Web3 decentralized protocols.
• Commitment: Full-time commitment to LORE and long-term open-source maintenance of the developer helper tooling.
• License: MIT License for all developer tooling deliverables.