Hobby/No Pay. Terms for a theoretical monetary release(should it take that turn) can be hashed out. My personal objective would be to have a working prototype to showcase design, writing, etc. for a portfolio.
I'm attempting to implement a 2D pixel art "puzzler" set currently in a tropish fantasy environment that has a somewhat platform-like(scrolling) feel with a sort of old-school Sierra graphic style(a choice I more fell into than anything). Rather than to control any one character, the gameplay will center around manipulating aspects of the limited world( of maybe 50 or so screen-sized areas), causing all of the characters that cohabitate there to change their predefined behaviors. Imagine a more diverse "Lemmings" with characters who have activity trees that cycle or become interrupted or replaced based upon their list of triggers, and imagine trying to tweak the world just so and at the right time to get these characters to fulfill your prophecies, or fall prey to your mischief.
I've done a lot of work on the concept and theoretical unity and C# implementation, have coded up a working waypoint system, coded(but not implemented) a character interaction and activity system, integrated and tested my novice artwork, as well as environment and character animations, spent hours upon hours upon hours upon hours on a pixel art "style" that admittedly leaves a lot to be desired(I'm a neophyte non- artist who got a little too obsessed with improving the aesthetic quality here), set up interchangeable character templates for maximum redundancy using Spriter's bone-based animation system and then translating that into sprite sheets for clean-up and possibly more dimensional/dynamic embellishments down the road.
At this stage the project would most benefit from:
A 2d artist/pixel artist: who will either build upon and fill out my painstaking training wheel assets, or who will scrap them entirely for a more visionary, possibly more thematic(tone to be determined), higher quality product.
A programmer: I'm doing it, coming up with solutions and attempting the implementations, but its no second language to me, which means debugging is a challenge, and I can sometimes be set back by seemingly small tasks, to say nothing of the herculean ones. Thankfully this project doesn't seem to rely on any complicated algebra or geometry.
Idea people: Why not! I honestly spend little time right now on how the gameplay and mechanics are going to work because I've been so mired in learning how to animate waterfalls and create animation templates...but I love the design talk and its the coming up with a gameplay that feels like a departure that drew me to the hobby in the first place.
As a relative novice in all of these aspects myself, I'm absolutely happy to work with people who are around my skill and experience level on one side of it or the other, and it goes without saying that the project could benefit from an expert in either of the above disciplines.
Anybody who is interested in other aspects of game design/development is more than welcome to respond with interest, although this may not be conducive to those looking at adding their skill-set to a closer-to-ready project as it stands today.
Josh