I recently decided to try to throw my hat into the ring of game development. I was wondering how one might find programmers and artist and such to help create my most recent project. Is there a site that I might find such eager people?
Hmm… Well, to completely honest, you’re unlikely to find anyone of quality to work for you (assuming you’re not paying) given that you haven’t any previous work in this field with which you could sell yourself by. Whilst really not wanting to pour cold water over this project, your request could be interpreted as hoping that people will make the bulk your game for you, whilst you bring little to the table yourself. I suspect that you’ll have a hard time convincing people that this is not the case.
So far, so discouraging; but where to start? Perhaps you could offer your services as a writer to an already established mod project? This would offer the twin benefits of getting to know people who may be amiable to the idea of helping you with your own projects, and establishing yourself as someone who has something to offer when it comes to game design. Another option open to you is to try and develop your project in an environment intended for people with no experience of programming. Ren’Py, Inform7, GameMaker, and Unity are worth considering here, depending on the mechanics you have in mind. Perhaps if you could construct a prototype with place holder graphics using one of these, you could attract an artist to your project; then with a prettier prototype, you could pull in a programmer. A huge advantage to this approach is that you’ll be able to assess for yourself if project is coming together in an enjoyable way, if the story you’re telling has resonance with the mechanics you’ve chosen.
Anyway, good luck to you. Can I ask what style of game you hope to make? Some of the game engines I’ve suggested suit only very specific types of play…
Well basically it’s a mix of super meatboy and lemmings in a medieval setting. It’s a platforming game with what I think might be one of the last original mechanics I can think of. I am actually willing to pay people to help me. I realize that I might have to make more of a name for my self before I can start to make this game. I am totally willing to pay people up front and then give them a percentage of all the sales. I’m not going to ripe anybody off. I just think I’ve came up with the next big i-phone/i-pod game.
Steam and gamastura forums to start. Craigslist is also not a bad place.
Do take a look at Unity. It’s beginner friendly, you can develop 2D games with it (with reasonable in-game physics), and export to Android. The community there may be able to help you further, too.
[edited for weird grammar]
edited by Hyoscine on 1/13/2012
Just an FYI, games rarely have an “idea guy” whose sole job is coming up with the concept. Probably your best bet is to learn how to program yourself, then hire artists.
If you want to follow Urthdigger’s suggestion and be your own programmer–which I highly recommend–then Ruby. All the Ruby.
(Ruby is a programming language, and it’s both very powerful and really easy to learn–I got started on it recently, and I had no idea how to program before this. I haven’t the faintest idea how to do a GUI with Ruby yet, but I’m sure it’s possible, and Ruby is just…sensible.
If you want to get started with it:
http://mislav.uniqpath.com/poignant-guide/book/ This is brilliant.
http://pine.fm/LearnToProgram/?Chapter=00 I found this more helpful to begin with, though.)
Now the question is how easily could I acquire any of these. I believe it is time for some online privateering.
I believe that’s the second time you’ve let slip here your penchant for piracy (unsavory companies such as MediaDefender are more analogous to privateers). I’d be intrigued to hear your thoughts on this issue, should your seed of a game be made available for purchase some day, then heavily torrented…
One can only hope that they make a product that someone so thoroughly enjoys that they endorse you in the future. If you truly like a product you will pay for it in due time. I will admit that I have never bought a “single” issue of Invincible but I have bought the big collectors edition’s when they come out. I believe we live in a age where its truely immpossible to stop someone from acquiring your game for free. So the best you can hope for is to make a good product and hope some so genuinely enjoys it that they buy it down the line when there more financially sound… Are you know crap out a ton of merchandise. There’s no way for someone to torrent that.
Conversely, you could pick up some talent for art, then hire programmers. Speaking from experience, the latter are much more easily picked up at places like TIGSource than the former. IT is, however, a very good idea not to simply present yourself as “idea guy”. That’s become something of a running gag, although you might have more luck if you’re actually willing to pay people. (It might be a different story in that case.)
Just be prepared for, in prosaic terms, a world of **** if you go commercial with such an, ah, openly cavalier attitude about using others’ intellectual property.
Please excuse the slow reply, it’s been a busy week or so. Anyway…
I don’t agree with this stance, but I do sympathize with it. The problem with this as I see it though, is that creators of things, their publishers, or more likely still, their publishers’ legal team’s minions, have no way of discerning between those who leech with the intention of paying for the product at a later date, and those who are simply just disinclined to hand over money for something they can obtain for free. Despite it really only being the latter (in my opinion) that presents a problem for people hoping to be recompensed for their digital product, the recent SOPA/PIPA furore illustrates how little lobbyists care for the distinction. I can’t help but feel that the nebulous approach to the retail experience you are advocating is inadvertantly adding fuel to the fires of those that seek to exert undue control over the internet as it stands.
Apologies for the awful run on sentences, by the way. I can’t seem to get to sleep tonight, yet I’m tired to the point where I couldn’t pen something more concise to save my life. Annoying.
I’d look into the free game maker programs out there. There’s plenty that are decent and require little to no programming experience.
Artwork can also be found for free, depends on what you’re going for.
To make a quality game, going for the free stuff is the wrong way to go. If you have a good idea and you think that you can really go for it, here is the way I would proceed:
Start with a document that details your game to the tiniest details. This is both a way to solve any basic problems in the design, and to give you a feel for your game. It is entirely possible that after creating such a document, you will give up your idea alltogether. If it still looks good to you, try to estimate workload. you have a document which should detail all your graphics and features, so you can get a rough estimate from people in forums. Assume you need to pay people for this work, and according to time estimates and price ranges, try to estimate how much do you need to sell in the app store to break even. Check out similar games in the app store, and check how many copies they sold (approximately. There are sites to check that). Still looks conceivable? Good! Go for it. It is not true that there is no “idea guy” in the indie game industry. They are called game designers, and although they usually save money by being either the graphic designer or the developer, it is entirely possible to outsource both.
My model is paying my graphic designer with a basic salary, and 15% of the sales. It gives him a good incentive to do great work.
Is it supposed to be a commercial game project or just a hobby project? Is it something you expect to earn money on or is it supposed to be a free game done just for the fun of it or as a learning progress?
edited by Owlor on 2/7/2012
edited by Owlor on 2/7/2012