I''m a member of a team that started from here a while back - it was formed on the basis of ''we want beginners who feel like learning in a team.'' (That doesn''t quite fit my description, but I felt like going back to basics and trying to help some people out at the same time).

Of the original 20 or so people who said ''I''m in,'' about 4 remain (myself included). Our first project was never completed (pacman), and we''ve decided that for the next project (and yes, there will be one ), we''re going to get a concrete design before we recruit people, and when we do we''re going to be recruiting on an as-you''re-needed basis.

However, I don''t think we necessarily need more than a concrete design doc and a development plan (that is, ''first we make the graphics engine, that should take a month - then you and you will go draw textures, and you will make models,'' etc).

Superpig
- saving pigs from untimely fates, and when he''s not doing that, runs The Binary Refinery.

that is actually a great point superpig, about asking for peoples help then u have something for them to do. I remember working as a consept designer for a game a while back, and loosing interest very soon because the people a) did not know what they want and b) has anything solid for me to be working on...

good luck on ur project....

[edited by - mentalstatement on December 23, 2002 1:50:40 PM]

thus the importance of good project managers / producers...

well, unfortunately, geocities is one of the better services for me - mainly because i can get rid of the damn ads. i have decent websites, at least, so i figure that geocities won''t be too bad. usually, though, i make a link with different text, or a picture, that doesnt say ''geocities'' on it. usually, if i click a good picture-link (not knowing where its going to take me), and the site looks good, i won''t care too much where its hosted. i WILL care if it has ads.

my project site:
Elementum - i haven''t updated it, i know. im not marketing the game or advertising it in any way, so who cares?
my newest site:
red eye games

and yes, they are on geocities. another option is the .tk sites... but i havent figured out how to get rid of those ads yet.

my other site
Dragons Cove Productions

of course, i have some in various places, also, but mainly geocities. i have one on my attbi server, and one has its own domain name because the band pays for it:

Rowlett Band.org
RHS Jazz Band - on the above site
RHS Horns - on home.attbi.com
Chemistry - on geocities (notes i provide for a class)

Sorry to resurrect this thread, but I forgot to reply.

quote:

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Original post by garconbifteck
...And RolandofGilead, I think he means webpages that look like word documents.

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Well, that''s just silly, there''s nothing wrong with that. I would say use plain text but you can''t put in clickable links.

(Sighs) Did anyone use the internet back in the early 1990''s? When a website had a picture if and only if it was really necessary and nobody heard of a 56k modem? I know I have a 10 Mbps connection nowadays, but I still tell my browser not to install any new version of Flash and still haven''t gone to any site that wouldn''t let me in earlier because of the version of my software.

All I want is information from your site, an introductory animation, fancy menus, lots of graphics that take up more room than the tiny text that can''t be seen without downloading the background, and ''intro'' pages do not help me(especially when an intro page only contains a single link, honestly, what''s the f***ing point of it if all it does is lead me to another page?).

I feel very sorry for all you who have an attention span of less than 10 seconds and don''t care to read more than a paragraph and can''t even begin to concentrate on something that isn''t fast-moving and colorful. In fact, f*** you, you know why? Because you probably haven''t bothered to read this far down.

Tell us how you really feel, Roland.

Seriously, though, it''s important to remember that a video game is supposed to provide entertainment. If the website is a cold, sterile thing with black text on white background, and can be effectively navigated with a 14400 bps modem, then maybe the guys that made it aren''t quite in tune with what I consider to be a good time. Sure, I played Eamon Cave for two weeks straight, but that was on an Apple //c, and fifteen years ago.

Besides, if the entire page is just theory and descriptions, with no evidence of art or design, then I''m more likely to think of it as vaporware, or some kid''s wet dream about what a really cool game might be like.

You may be able to sift through thousands of webpages and discern the best and brightest develoopers by virtue of their ideas and prose, Roland, but for me, marketting is an important consideration. If you can''t sell me on the optimized, theoretical concept of the game, then by God you''ll have to e-mail me any changes you make, because I''m not coming back to your website.

That''s my $0.02.

Personally, I favour content and easily navigable layout over fancy interfaces for websites - if I can''t find a project summary and some idea as to current status and direction in a few minutes, then I''m not going to look any further.

quote:

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Original post by Iron Chef Carnage
If the website is a cold, sterile thing with black text on white background, and can be effectively navigated with a 14400 bps modem, then maybe the guys that made it aren't quite in tune with what I consider to be a good time.

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<Shameless plug>My Projectpage</Shameless plug<

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-Luctus
Codito, Ergo Sum (Courtesy of ThinkGeek)

[Mail][DreggSoft]


[edited by - Luctus on February 25, 2003 3:06:17 PM]

[edited by - Luctus on February 25, 2003 3:07:06 PM]

IMHO, the first key step to success is to chose a project that is fun to play and at the same time that you can seriously plan to finish in a week (it _will_ end up taking a couple of months, but you also _will_ get it done).

I would tend to agree with the point of view that it is the content that counts.

All a fancy web site tells me is that somebody knows how to code HTML. That''s not going to attract to me join a game development team. For that, there would need to be some ''hook'' that convinces me of the project''s viability. This may be a good demo, impressive screenshots, example(s) of the past projects of the team or leader, or maybe just a visionary or inspiring design or idea. In other words, there must be some gravitas behind the whole thing.

The web site need be nothing special to achieve this, just as long it shows that some care has been taken (not littered with spelling errors, yellow text on white backgrounds, etc).

Hoffs