Just like every other schlep out there, I have a game idea that I think is wonderful. I wonder if my idea is any different than the 6000 other game ideas out there that start up every day and go nowhere? God, I hope so... I am 29 years old. I am a software engineer by trade, but I have very little experience in the game development arena. For about 10 years I have been walking around with an idea for a game firmly lodged in my head. It is a text based thinking strategy game. Like evey Joe who dreams up a game, I think it is wonderful. Like every Joe who dreams up a game, I think it can make money. You would think that being a software engineer for 7 years, I would bump into people who would be good partners in creating a game. Alas, I have tried to get this game project off the ground with 3 or 4 differnt groups of people to no avail. It has been UNBELIEVABLY DIFFICULT for me to find people who are good co-developers on this game. I think I have realistic vision and attainable goals. I have no interest in reinventing the wheel. I have seen many "help wanted" game development posts that read: "I have a revolutionary game idea. I want to write a 3D game engine that is 10 times better than the Doom3 engine. It is gonna kick ass. I need 8 developers 6 managers 4 3D graphic artists 3 sound engineers 2 marketing directors 9 testers I need everyone to work full time and I cannot pay anyone. Let start coding tomorrow" While I admire the grand vision of such a plan, it seems a tad overzealous. By contrast, I am looking for just a few people like myself. I need 2 or 3 more people who are technology creators. I need people who can think outside the box to design and develop innovative software... not just games. I need people who are creative, motivated, and committed to the success of the project. In additional to my full time job, playing sports, having a social life, writing a novel, I want to create this game. I understand what it is like to have a life. I am not asking anyone to go overboard working on this. I just need people who really, really want to do cool things with software. I need people who dont want to work for "the man" their entire lives and want to create something of their own. In additon, when all is said and done, I hope that I have made a few dollars and learned a few things. Why is it so hard to find a team to do this? Does anyone else have this problem? Anyone have a solution?

hmmm.. a text based game is probably not too interesting to most devs here, plus there may not be a great market for it i suppose, most people prefer at least some fancy graphics.

another weak point i see in your post is that you don''t seem to
have a rough plan on when and how you will release this game, yet you say it''ll be making money.

any way you could show the design document (privately by mail or here in this thread) or at least some info about the game?

hope this helps

I''m afraid I must be very negative, but only two words describe your situation:

No chance.

It will take you several attempts, dead ends, and maybe even wasting a fair amount of time and cash before you realise the truth.

I suggest you try and do it on your own and if the idea''s that good you''ll be determined to finish it. If the alphas start looking really interesting you might get some help onboard from others. But not while it''s just an idea.

Cas

It is a text based thinking strategy game.

Could you be more specific or give an example of ''text-based thinking strategy game'' ?

I played Infocom''s Starcross back when it came out (1982?) and this is what I think would be the depth of storytelling that would be appealing. Adding graphics - even simple ones - could bring it to the level of Roberta Williams'' King Quest and Space Quest series (not to mention Leisure Suit Larry In the Land of the Lounge Lizards) in terms of looks and interaction. Add full 3D and you get something that would ressemble LucasArts'' Monkey Island series. Granted, those are not ''strategy'' games, but they are basically text-based NPC interaction & exploration games.

Forgot the link:

http://www.ifarchive.org/if-archive/info/adventure-game-systems