Skilled programmer, shader/CUDA coder, skinner, scriptwriter/designer, 2d artist (sort of), etc., looking for people. Thread

Hi,

I am Kevin, age 17, and I've got almost a year of my life to spend doing nothing in particular before resuming studies =P.  Here are my skills:

-well-versed in Graduate physics/mathematics (see my  quantum gravity publication, etc). 
-3 years' CUDA experience, 8 years' python experience, 6 years' C++ experience (with data structures + more advanced topics)
-can write gimp plugins, maybe photoshop/maya/blender plugins
-decent at texture art
-decent at 2d art
-music composition, mapping, and prop modelling not entirely out of question (but let's not get carried away)
-know blender (and that took a while, too =P)
-familiar with concepts of sound editing and synthesis
-Understand many technical concepts of game development, from scene management to advanced realtime CG to physics (!!) and collision detection, as well as AI, some networking and general game logic. 
-Well-read and experienced with writing, incl. dialogue and detailed, story-driven action. 
-Have a broad and deep knowledge of History, Economics, and Literature (for use in references, settings, game dynamics, etc).
-Fluent in English and Spanish, passably literate in German (about three high-school years' worth of knowledge, plus a little extra reading)

I'm looking currently for coders, scriptwriters, mappers, skinners, modelers, and/or concept artists interested in forming a loose coalition of modders.  The idea is not to satisfy any overreaching ambition, but merely to prototype new and interesting concepts using such tools as the recently released Unreal Development Kit, NVIDIA's developer suite, and a variety of other accessible tools, starting with a single small level and working our way up.  No pressure or hierarchy; just a sort of casual demo team of talented and interested individuals. 

Talent with some aspect of game development is crucial; experience is cool, too, but please, no need to present a full resume.  Just an informal personal introduction will do.  Some examples of the style of projects I'd be interested in working on:

>>Making a single-level multiplayer arena sports mod using UDK with some sort of unique control mechanism and premise---i.e., Inca Volleyball.

>>Crafting a single futuristic factory-style shooter level with some of complex level scripting and a grungy environment.

>>A boss battle that showcases some new AI features.

What I would rather not take on at the moment:

>>Total conversions, especially dumb/overambitious ones.

The idea behind this group, besides the immediate benefits, is twofold: 1) develop meaningful connections which may lead to one or more larger-scale mod teams, and 2) develop lots of reusable content for those teams to employ. 

Happy camping!  If you're interested, reply to this thread.  You may email me at sti** (__D0T) horse (--/AT --) GMAI* (dOT--_) com  (replace "*" with the lowercase letter "l" and then de-mung).  But I'd really prefer you posted here first, and waited until I replied to your post, and /then/ sent me mail.  Sorry, it's just that my inbox is in a rather tender state right now =(.

Cheers!

euhm...i think its better to get your own thread hherlev threadjacking is not a good thing to do xp

Sigma wrote:euhm...i think its better to get your own thread hherlev threadjacking is not a good thing to do xp

Im not threadjacking!

He is looking for a mod, im presenting him a mod!

Edited by: hherlev

hherlev, yes, you are threadjacking, whether or not you are actually aware of it.  There's no point in arguing; as you continue this futile struggle, my interest in your total conversion (which I specifically said I didn't want to do, if you had read my post---in which I was /proposing/ a series of projects, not applying for a mod position) is dropping through the floor.  Furthermore, you are wasting more serious people's time with your thread-inappropriate queries.  Please start your own thread if you want to look for contributors to another project, and please take the time to read posts before you reply to them.

Now, having established the ignominy of his recruitment methods, let's all ignore him so he doesn't waste our time further.

Makes me wish I had my mod privileges back...

I think that you might be asking for a lot, a whole team is not something that's particularly easy to get.
I would love to help you if I wasn't already working on a mod. I wish you the best of luck with this project.
If all else fails, maybe you can join another person's mod. You have a wide range of skills at an early age, and it'd be a shame to see them go to waste.

Hi Kevin.
I am Pelle, an old bearded swede.

I see myself as an ideator, often thinking of new game concepts and solutions, and, seeing the path the game industry has taken, feel I have to take positive action against conformity, sequel games and staleness.
"Call of Duty XII will feature capture the flag!" anyone?

I've dabbled in modelling, animations, skinning, several level editors, not being stuck anywhere, just to explore the possibilities of the tools. Once the boundaries of the tool is understood, I discard it.

My point is this; all the tools for innovative, groundbreaking games and genre combos is already here. What lacks is creativity and a workbench for testing concepts, rather than getting stuck in lumbering more-than-fifty-weapons mods.

I like your suggestion "to prototype new and interesting concepts using such tools". Right now I'm into a time-sharing concept with asymmetrical teams to expand the multiplayer experience (I'm deliberately fuzzy) which I believe can be used in several game modes and genres.

Stay in touch!

Edited by: cogit

Heh.  Sounds good.  I'll make sure to keep track of who is potentially interested so I know if this will materialize/what it's scope and focus can be. 

Also, just so you know, I'm getting the hang of blender (very slowly) and udk (more quickly).  so that may be added to the list of skills soon enough.