Utilizing Microtransaction as an Incentive System in a Volunteer Computing Project

In this project, we present a solution that introduce game credit as incentive in a volunteer computing project. The aim of our method to introduce a new way to motivate volunteers in VC project. The proposed method is to perform game-based microtransaction in VC project. Volunteers that have completed a certain amount of task are given a token that can be converted into game credit. This credit can be used to buy digital content in a specific game. To implement this concept, we built VCRT, a volunteer computing-based 3D rendering that allows volunteers to render part of the image. Upon completion, volunteer receives a token that can be converted into Arcturus Dawn, a 2D platformer game built specifically for this project. We performed the test by inviting 5 volunteers to collaborate to render an image and perform an interview to measure the effectiveness of our proposed method. Based on our interview with the volunteers, overall, our method was able to motivate them to collaborate on the project.