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Games Designer wants to let his team go nuts (Forums : Recruiting & Resumes : Games Designer wants to let his team go nuts) Locked
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Oct 19 2013 Anchor

Basically, I would like to get a group Unity and coders, come up with an idea together and create something. I will then write and direct it and allow the proficient crew to code and construct it. The team members will be allocated a particular part of the game, for instance one member can create the landscape, another can create the character and so on. And then the members will be free to draw their curtains and create the best of what they have been tasked to do. Of course the team can communicate any issues and concerns via Indiedb. Once everyone has finished we will merge everything together and have a polished game.

I'm not yet advanced enough to take on coding or anything like that. What I have experience in is writing and directing. So, until I'm any good at coding and stuff i'm leaving it firmly in your hands. Of course if there is anything I can help with, I will. I have Unity and Blender on my laptop.

We are all helping each other out here so if you feel I have missed something out here please comment.

I hope this works. All I want to do is create a decent game.

Oct 19 2013 Anchor

If you don't know how to code or make art, then what qualifies you to direct the entire game? Any portfolio?

Oct 19 2013 Anchor

Delete.

Edited by: Bunch_of_Guys

Oct 19 2013 Anchor

Hey Squared55, you commented on my last thread.

Well, valid point. I've done film production for about 7 years ow. Have a few productions on disc. But, in terms of directing a game I haven't done it yet. But, when I say games designer, I mean it in a modest way. I'm not saying that I would be the king of it and be the one shouting orders to everyone. Just the person that tries to keep an overall vision in focus.

Instead:

Uk.linkedin.com

Oct 19 2013 Anchor

Hello again. :)

Well, you certainly have more than most people. That said, people really like to work on there own ideas, meaning you gotta bring something other than ideas to the table (or be named Shigeru Miyamoto).

However, something else that could work is getting together a group of like-minded beginners and working on a small project together. You would all learn how to code, and you would have the beginnings of a team for a bigger game. :)

One more thing: it sounds like you wanna be a producer more than a designer per say. Maybe try joining another team and gaining experience? If you don't have "The One Idea To Rule Them All" in mind, your role would probably be identical to what you are proposing.

Edited by: ANumberSquared

Oct 19 2013 Anchor

Nah, it's definitely games designing that I am interested in. At the minute I want to get a team together and build a game. Right now I don't know much about coding and the technicalities of games design, but one day hope to. Which, means i have to take the producer role in order to organise and formulate a gang of fellow games designers, whilst playing the part of writer (which is my skill).

In terms of creating a team of like-minded people: well, that's my aim with this thread. I was hoping to reach out to not only beginners but also veterans. I thought that by allocating a single task to a member the work load would be less. Thus, it would be inviting for the veteran to create something the beginner like me could marvel at. Even if it was a box in the corner of a level lol.

It's an ambitious plan. But an idea is nothing if not absurd :)

Oct 19 2013 Anchor

liquidus725 wrote: Nah, it's definitely games designing that I am interested in


That's what everyone's interested in. :) I don't think a single person here came in wanting only to learn how to declare boolean variables in C# or UV unwrap models.

Someone wrote: Right now I don't know much about coding and the technicalities of games design, but one day hope to.

That was me roughly a year and a half ago. The only way you're going to learn any of that is by buckling down and actually doing it. What type of game do you want to make? I could give you some tutorials. For example, if you want to make an FPS:
Youtube.com

As for veterans only making isolated parts of a game, many of them DO do that. For a small fee, of course:
Assetstore.unity3d.com
Assetstore.unity3d.com

Edited by: ANumberSquared

Oct 20 2013 Anchor

Yeah, I can imagine everyone on here has the same career aspiration lol. But, that's why it's such a good site: people are like-minded.

Well, right now I just wanted to have play around with code. I need a basic level and a character to be able to attach script to. I have a book titled Programming in the Key of C# (excellent so far).

I just need to have an accessible level that I can play around with.

SinKing
SinKing bumps me thread
Oct 20 2013 Anchor

You know - I kinda wish the game-world would work like you propose...

I came to Moddb 10 years ago (or so), hoping to put my writing skills at work. Unfortunately nobody needed a writer. I started my project "Mech Override" anyway and we worked on it for roughly half a year and got some results. Even went into business negotiations with a movie studio and a producer (it was a cel-shaded movie, not a game). However, they saw us as a bunch of ragtag people, who don't even have their own studio adress. After the perspective of quick funding and moving on with the project vained, it quickly fell apart.

Since then, I have attended a 3 year course on everything 2D and 3D related that taught me a lot of things I will never need again. I have worked with UDK and found out how it can ruin your day in all possible ways. Finally, I have mastered drawing, 3D and compositing and UDK throws this whole world of functionality at me (Cascade, Kismet, Materials, UnrealED), which are kind of familiar, but still different systems from what I used so far.
The last half year was a constant trial-and-error about what will work in UDK and what won't. I spent so much time making models for the waste and trying out materials that it really felt like no progress at all was made, sometimes.

Yet, at the end of it, I see things to learn and things I have really understood. But this has to become inherent memory and muscle memory. When I sit down and model or work in UDK, I use shortcuts without actually knowing them. They just automatically happen now, because I have gone over this process so often. And now, now finally, I can understand and think about actual game design and know the limitations I need to set myself. The scope I had as a beginner of what is possible for a individual or small team to create in UDK has changed a lot through that. I'm actually liking the work with 3D now, which is another feat of knowing what I want to do.

It's very hard for an indivdual such as yourself, to grasp the difference between making movies and games. For one, a game can have a story, but what it needs more than that is gameplay. For 2, in order to develop a story and interesting characters, you need good animation (mo-cap), scripted dialog sequences (often using higher res models) and a screenplay; these are features that can slow down and complicate game creation.
And if you aren't thinking about directing the game in that fashion (through story and drama), you wouldn't really be much help, since a) the programmer knows the engine better, b) the modelers know their limits, c) the mappers do what they want anyway. Frankly, unless you are willing to put some years into it, nobody benefits from your service at this time. This might change, if you presented, e.g. a design document of a game you want to make with afore mentioned features fleshed out. Though - again - I think it doesn't make a lot of sense to write such a document without knowing the technology. But a game dev doc isn't fixed, so you can iterate it when you are ready.

Edited by: SinKing

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Oct 20 2013 Anchor

What you are saying is obviously based on experience. It's impressive to hear what you have done.

However, what I proposed in this thread may not have been fully described. I'm not trying to create a huge game, nor am I trying to make one so complex; my main aim was to socialize and learn the ropes by using beginner or veteran members of the site. That's it. Nothing complex. I don't fully know how this thing works. When I posted this I was merely being enthusiastic and optimistic - after all, that's what any beginner games designer is, right? I just thought "what the hell?! Let's see what happens.". But, your response conveys to me that I should just do it all myself and be anti-social. I'm sure that's not entirely what you meant. But, that's how it comes across.

I just thought people might be willing to "throw a dog a bone" as such. But, hey, I'm not having a pop. I just don't really know where to begin. I can sit here, read books, watch youtube vids (which I'm doing) or I can do both of them whilst working practically on something, with someone.

In response to your comment about me not grasping the difference between games and films: I would say I'm all too aware. What I see on TV and what I play on the console/PC are visually very similar - what goes on behind those mediums is completely different. I've done too many films now I have lost count. Not more than 3 months ago when I decided to venture into creating content for games did I think there was such a distance to travel. Now - I'm all too aware.

SinKing
SinKing bumps me thread
Oct 20 2013 Anchor

I'm not saying you need to be antisocial (like me ^^), but being alone was/is part of the whole learning experience for me. That comes from a) nobody else of my friends knows what the hell I am doing or talking about, b) this all takes longer than expected and I find myself spending more time working on my PC now than I ever did playing.

The problem is - and thanks for that - what I did may all sound impressive, but it's really not. After all those years I should be able to deliver a lot better and a lot more content and have a better grasp of 3D in its entirety. However, because I went a different way with the 3D school and methods taught there. I first had to unlearn a few things. What I was lacking then was a clear goal. I learned everything, instead - and wasted a lot of time in my confusion.

You have a goal - you don't want to learn everything and you see yourself more in a producer than an artist's role. There are careers for that and they can start anywhere and anyhow (from game tester to game designer is a rare but possible carreer). But it needs resolution! You have to set your mind on it, or otherwise you will be like me and spend ten years doing stuff that doesn't really advance you.

Nothing wrong with reading a few books on game design, but I feel the most comfortable with the hands-on work. In theory all gameplay could be prototyped on pen and paper. I think the best thing would be to have a design and a game that works on paper and then feel the need to pick up the required skills.

You could always try browsing the "jobs" section, trying to find what's needed and how you can fill in. I found that the people who try to work as producers or writers have a hard time getting into projects. That's cause developers/teams usually follow their own goals and ideas, already. Teams are often either very small, or too large and ineffective. What you seem to look for is a mentor or group of mentors. Let's be realistic - that's probably not going to happen. But you could team up with someone in-experienced and take the whole thing as a learning exercise. If you manage to motivate each other, it already means a lot for the work experience.

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Oct 21 2013 Anchor

Let's turn it this way: if I came to some semi-pro/hobbyist lounge in Hollywood shouting about how I want to gather a group of actors, editors, technicians etc together because I want to produce and direct a movie, what would people think? When asked I'd say I have experience in writing books and I'm a writer. Would you think I'm qualified to run a film production process, even a non-commercial one?

I hope you'll agree the answer should be no.

I might suggest you to participate in game jams and get to know some of the game industry, workflows and asset creation through that. These games aren't too complex or wide due to the time frame, but might need some writing and design skills so you can genuinely contribute as well.

Other than that, start playing together with people in different positions in the game industry to get to know what's their role in game development process. You can even do that through ModDB/IndieDB with participating in other people's projects.

Edited by: shadowflar3

Oct 21 2013 Anchor

Funnily enough Shadowflar3, me and my best mate organised a group of film makers in exactly the same way. Just threw ourselves out there and we built up a big crew. We are now 40 members strong. But, of course this is different. This is another industry. In the film industry people stick to their specific talent. For a long time I was a cinematographer and focused on that, then it was writing and then I became director. Now, whilst my roles were varied, each job I would keep to a specific talent. For this reason, yes, if you approached a group of film makers and asked the same as what I have proposed they probably would say yes. But, this is where games designing differs: a single member can find himself writing the story, designing the character, sorting the cameras and doing everything else. An individual is willing to design and create the whole thing. So when a guy like me enters expecting them to create something under an idea that I have, yeah, it goes - for lack of a better word - tits up! lol.

After having the responses thus far on this thread I have decided to take SinKing and do things for myself. Just going to make as much content as I can. I will publish as much stuff as I can on here and hopefully then I will have enough evidence to justify some skill. I really do think that this is the area for me.

What I will say is this: although everyone who has responded to this thread has objected to my proposal lol, I thank you for giving strong criticism. Sometimes we need brutal honesty to steer us in the right direction.

SinKing
SinKing bumps me thread
Oct 21 2013 Anchor

Isn't this just the thing for you?

Thoucurator.com

Pumping out content has one advantage: you practice. Though, what I claimed is more important is to have a goal.

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User Posted Image

Oct 21 2013 Anchor

What is it lol? Obviously it details a little bit, but what exactly is that website?

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