IGC - What Have You Learned, Dorothy?
by Alan James · 10/12/2007 (4:44 pm) · 2 comments
Hi Everyone!
Kyle, Joshua and I have just returned from the Indie Games Con in Eugene. It was a good time. Good food, good games and lots nice people.
Lots of bright people.
Lots of motivated people.
Lots of disgustingly motivated and organized people.
Lots of people that make you say to yourself, "What have you been doing for the last couple of years?". Spending the time there was a revelation to the extend of wear and tear I have been subjecting myself to over the last few months. What were my goals? What did I plan to accomplish? Where was all of this going?
Yeah, I've done some contract work for a few folks. Yeah, I have some content in either published or soon to be published titles. Yeah we have got our content site up and running (www.monsterpacks.com - semi shameless plug, since half the people we talked to there didn't even know that we were doing this - and we thought all along we were spamming the boards!).
But what was the outcome of all of this work?
The first night there I slept for ten hours. Ten hours! On the way to IGC that morning Kyle and I were laughing about how we could see clearer and our surroundings didn't look blurred. When you think about it that's probably not something we should have been laughing about. But it is kind of funny.
It was there that this revelation matured into an epiphany. As much as I didn't want to admit it, and as much as I do believe that I have the capability to bring a AA/AAA game project to completion, there was one huge barrier that stood in the way.
That barrier was time.
I finally was grasping the idea that No man is an island...although some are peninsulas...big peninsulas...
I would be long dead by the time I finished everything that would be required to do it all by myself (and Kyle, of course). It is just too much, no matter how many hours a day I threw at it. I realized there that even though I worked on Code Name: Monster Island for hours each day, I've not been moving forward. I hadn't played a game in over a year and I was the only one who knew how to start a server with our own game!
What had I learned? It was time to take a step out and embrace what I've been avoiding. I was realizing that it might be time to give my ego a rest and admit that even though I might be capable in theory, In reality it was time to open the doors just a little. To take a step out and set a specific goal and let a few folks in.
So that is what I'm proposing here. After grasping the eventual distribution capabilities of IA and and well designed, chunked game model I'm ready to take a leap of faith with the community and bring on a few folks who might be interested in putting together a proof of concept model over the next four to six months for IA, with a full blown game somewhere around a year out.
What I am looking for specifically are one or two model/animators that can produce and rig a several monsters better than the stuff that I've slopped together, along with a main character rig of a particular model I have and have animated into a seizure like gait.
Kyle and I have decided to port over to TGEA Code Name: Monster Island and strip it down to it's barest essentials. Quick loading, sharp looking levels that play fast and mimic the fun we used to have playing head to head over our own network at home with a half a dozen of his friends.
If you think you might be interested, either email me at alanjamesATmonsterpacks.com, or leave a note here and I'll get back with you. I know there are a few of you that have expressed interest in the past, don't hesitate to remind me of your interest and together we can move ahead with this thing.
If you think you might be, but are saying to yourself, "Who the heck are these guys, and haven't I seen a million blogs like this here before looking for a team?" Hop over to www.reallyreallygoodthings.com/cpg1410/index.php and take a look at the screenshots again.
We can do this, but I think I'll need a few of you to pull it off.
See how much I've grown, a .Plan without screens!
- Alan
.
Kyle, Joshua and I have just returned from the Indie Games Con in Eugene. It was a good time. Good food, good games and lots nice people.
Lots of bright people.
Lots of motivated people.
Lots of disgustingly motivated and organized people.
Lots of people that make you say to yourself, "What have you been doing for the last couple of years?". Spending the time there was a revelation to the extend of wear and tear I have been subjecting myself to over the last few months. What were my goals? What did I plan to accomplish? Where was all of this going?
Yeah, I've done some contract work for a few folks. Yeah, I have some content in either published or soon to be published titles. Yeah we have got our content site up and running (www.monsterpacks.com - semi shameless plug, since half the people we talked to there didn't even know that we were doing this - and we thought all along we were spamming the boards!).
But what was the outcome of all of this work?
The first night there I slept for ten hours. Ten hours! On the way to IGC that morning Kyle and I were laughing about how we could see clearer and our surroundings didn't look blurred. When you think about it that's probably not something we should have been laughing about. But it is kind of funny.
It was there that this revelation matured into an epiphany. As much as I didn't want to admit it, and as much as I do believe that I have the capability to bring a AA/AAA game project to completion, there was one huge barrier that stood in the way.
That barrier was time.
I finally was grasping the idea that No man is an island...although some are peninsulas...big peninsulas...
I would be long dead by the time I finished everything that would be required to do it all by myself (and Kyle, of course). It is just too much, no matter how many hours a day I threw at it. I realized there that even though I worked on Code Name: Monster Island for hours each day, I've not been moving forward. I hadn't played a game in over a year and I was the only one who knew how to start a server with our own game!
What had I learned? It was time to take a step out and embrace what I've been avoiding. I was realizing that it might be time to give my ego a rest and admit that even though I might be capable in theory, In reality it was time to open the doors just a little. To take a step out and set a specific goal and let a few folks in.
So that is what I'm proposing here. After grasping the eventual distribution capabilities of IA and and well designed, chunked game model I'm ready to take a leap of faith with the community and bring on a few folks who might be interested in putting together a proof of concept model over the next four to six months for IA, with a full blown game somewhere around a year out.
What I am looking for specifically are one or two model/animators that can produce and rig a several monsters better than the stuff that I've slopped together, along with a main character rig of a particular model I have and have animated into a seizure like gait.
Kyle and I have decided to port over to TGEA Code Name: Monster Island and strip it down to it's barest essentials. Quick loading, sharp looking levels that play fast and mimic the fun we used to have playing head to head over our own network at home with a half a dozen of his friends.
If you think you might be interested, either email me at alanjamesATmonsterpacks.com, or leave a note here and I'll get back with you. I know there are a few of you that have expressed interest in the past, don't hesitate to remind me of your interest and together we can move ahead with this thing.
If you think you might be, but are saying to yourself, "Who the heck are these guys, and haven't I seen a million blogs like this here before looking for a team?" Hop over to www.reallyreallygoodthings.com/cpg1410/index.php and take a look at the screenshots again.
We can do this, but I think I'll need a few of you to pull it off.
See how much I've grown, a .Plan without screens!
- Alan
.
About the author
Torque 3D Owner Dave Young
Dave Young Games