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!

Hello,

Im not sure if you would like to work on this kind of mod, as I dont think you mentioned it....

But many people seem to take interest in it!

States at War, is a mod for HL2 OB engine, and its based on the American Civil War, 1861-1865.

We are still in deep developing, so good coding skills and modelling skills would be appreciated alot!

Moddb.com

Check it out!
If you look at the pictures we have, I´d just like to say that its maybe only 30% of what we have done.

Hope to hear from you again!

Add me on Steam: hherlevdk

Or reply by mail: hherlev@hotmail.com

Regards, SaW Dev. Team

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

I would tend to agree, unless you know of a similar project. However, if you know of someone who already does the sort of casual thing I'm talking about, please do not hesitate to speak up (I don't want to reinvent the wheel)!

BTW, I am not hell-bent on being any kind of "leader" for this; if anyone else wants to be the person who manages schedules and milestones and such things, and makes certain important decisions, I'd be perfectly willing to delegate such a capacity. The idea is just to see if people are interested.

Edit: But thanks for the support, sigma, and good luck finding musicians!

Edited by: VagrantPostman

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.

May be true; however, as I've said, I'm not really looking for an entire mod team. The idea is rapid prototyping of a number of features, somehow incorporating some new tech. I've developed for content generation and generic simulation, with level and gameplay design being the mainstay. That being said, and my own skills being noted, I don't need a full set of Lead Devs; just a couple guys who are willing to help here and there. And membership is very transient.

So you can see why I'm initially not so sure about joining an existing mod. I feel as though I'd either be signing up for a large-scale endeavor with very set goals and decided milestones, without much ability to incorporate new designs and technology and such, or else I'd be trying to resurrect vaporware. That's not to say I wouldn't gladly join a team, but it would have to be in somewhat early stages of development and open to various new ideas about the general nature of the result. And with some decently skilled and dedicated LDs, so it won't die. But I'll look. And thanks for the encouragement.

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

I'm interested, I generally write fantasy fiction but I can do whatever is asked of me.
I am well versed in Norse mythology, also have some understanding Jewish and Christian lore. Particularly demon and angelology.
During some research on Lilith I did allot of reading in Greek and Mesopotamian myths. I can manage or lead at a decent rate, I am somewhat impatient tough.

I also did some research in weapons and tactics, specifically in SAS, SOCOM, and MARSOF.
As side from that I can do English and Dutch. I have read allot of literary works, including those of Danté Alighieri and Goethe.
The last book i read was a translation of a bestiary collection from the 14th century.

I can devise concepts in writing. Cant draw, nor code. My modelling skills are very poor. So aside from writing I might be useless

I am already doing a small project but I can manage multiple projects at a time.

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.

Hmm, I think I am interested in this actually, I am a level designer and I think I could benefit from this experience greatly actually. Please PM me