Open Call: Join the Torque 3D Open Source Committee

Open Call: Join the Torque 3D Open Source Committee

On Monday, Eric and I both posted blogs announcing our upcoming release of Torque 3D under the MIT license. If you haven’t already read through those, please head over to them now before continuing:
GarageGames to Release T3D as Open Source
The Future of Torque 3D is Open Source!

After going through the comments in both blogs it is great to hear an overwhelmingly positive response to our announcement. Outside of our community we’ve also seen people getting excited about our coming launch. For example, read through the comments from the announcement on Gamasutra.

While the GitHub repositories are being put together in preparation for the launch, we would like to begin the process of recruiting members of the steering committee from the community. The steering committee has Write Access to the master branches and are responsible for managing requests and submissions from the general community (who always have Read Access to the repositories to fork as they please).

To give you a better understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the steering committee we’ve put together a draft charter. This is our first pass at it and it will be expanded and refined over time, especially by the steering committee itself.

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Torque 3D Open Source Steering Committee Charter (Draft)

1. Vision

We are dedicated to making the best core version of Torque 3D so that others can build upon a reliable foundation.

2. Mission

To build a foundation for a sustainable environment that fosters collaboration and community development of the greatest open source development platform.

3. Goals

1. To maintain the best master branch version of Torque 3D. Performance, reliability, maintainability and scalability.


2. Act as a representative on behalf of the collective community.


3. Actively communicate in a transparent manner.


4. Promote Torque 3D as an open source project.

4. Duties and Responsibilities

1. Maintain, enhance and support the Torque 3D open source product.


2. Operates under ethical and professional standards with individuals, community, and the world.


3. Create and revise the product’s roadmap.


4. Review and act appropriately on all community submitted action items.


5. Encourage growth of the Torque 3D product through community participation.


6. To ensure that all contributions are free from intellectual property encumbrances in order to maintain the integrity of the product.


7. Act in a professional manner and lead by example.


8. Periodically review the charter and composition of the membership and make changes as necessary.

5. Membership

Members of the steering committee must be willing and able to commit time and energy to fulfilling the committee’s mission. At least one (1) one of the committee members must come from GarageGames LLC or its representative, and shall act as chair of the committee. The remainder of the membership may grow as appropriate according to the committee’s duties, but the total committee size shall remain at or below six members.

To be considered as a member of the committee, the prospective member should meet the following criteria:

1. Is available for at least 8 to 20 hours a week of work on the Torque 3D open source product such as programming, documentation, administration, etc.


2. Have expert knowledge in game engine and tool development, such as documentation, C++ engine programming, operating system platform programming, etc.

If a member is unable to serve on the committee for any reason, the vacancy may be filled or left empty at the discretion of the committee. If the committee as a whole is unable to perform its duties, an employee of GarageGames LLC or its representative may step in and provide the course of action.

In addition to the steering committee, we desire two other essential members: project manager and secretary. These roles are not decision making positions; rather, they document, format, and deliver information to the community.

6. Meetings

The chair of the committee is responsible for organizing formal meetings, which should be held at least once a month. During these meetings the progress of the previous month shall be reviewed and goals shall be set for at least the next month. More frequent meetings may be held as required.

7. Removal

If a committee member commits the following acts, they could be removed from the committee:

1. Unable to fulfill their time requirements.


2. Removed by a majority vote for no longer aligning with sections 3 and 4 above.

8. Amendments

This charter is a living document and may be amended by the committee as outlined in section 4. Any amendments require the approval of the committee chair.

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As I mentioned in my previous blog, the steering committee currently consists of myself, Eric, David MB, and Scott. I will remain as the only permanent member of the committee while the others will be replaced by community members over time. The committee may also be allowed to grow according to the product’s needs.

Does being a part of the Torque 3D open source steering committee interest you? Are you ready to be a leader and organizer in the community? Have you read through the draft charter and have a feeling of awesomeness swelling inside? If so, then please get in touch by email at davew@garagegames.com and let me know. We want to hear from you!

- Dave