LFCollaboration to develop a game small game Thread

Hey everyone,

Intro:

I have been prototyping mechanics for a long time now (over a year) trying to decide on a single game idea to stick to. But I could never do that. After much thinking, I realized it is most likely because I am doing this solo and after a while I just get too skeptical about what I am doing and stop. I used to be part of a team before and never had these indecision and second guesses all the time. Despite that we didn't continue down the same road due to circumstances. So I thought perhaps it would be a good idea to get out of the rock I have been developing under and hopefully try to team up with like minded people.

The Important Stuff:

Who I am:

I primarily specialize in 2D Unity development but have worked on 3D stuff here and there. I did some UNET based multiplayer prototyping as well. I also do some level design (both 3D and 2D) as well as writing. I have been freelancing as a game developer for a few years now mostly part time but full time freelance since a year and half ago. So basically I have experience and/or worked on game design, code, level design, management, community management and writing. I am completely self taught (7+ years at it now) and took a course online on Coursera.org done by the University of Michigan.

Who am I looking for:

The total team size I am targeting (including myself) is ideally 2-3 and I don't want to go over that.

Right now I already have a musician on board. So an artist is a position out of the 1-2 that MUST be there (I just can't do art despite having OK technical knowledge about how to do it -- just can't design stuff).

What are we going to work on:

Well I have a few ideas on my mind (and have already started building prototypes for most of them), but that is the point actually. I don't like working alone and I love brainstorming when it is all constructive and going for the same end vision (listed below). That said, we don't have to work on the ideas I present. I'd love to work on an idea that we all find cool and are happy to work on. With that in mind however, the below is my vision of what I want the game to be and thus whoever wants to join needs to have the same vision, otherwise it will end up badly (believe me I have seen my share of that already):

• The game needs to be offering a substantial experience -- more than just the fun factor. A good example of what I am talking about is Journey, Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice and That Dragon, Cancer. This is an example of experience and not size or fidelity as I am sure I'll see someone commenting "But those take years and millions to make to look that good". Each of the mentioned game has specific experience and tries to do something more than just fun. In Hellblade for example it tried to put the player in a person with mental disability's shoes and how it feels like.

• The game needs to be short, this is going to be our first rodeo together so I'd like the game to be small so we can test each other and see how we work together well. That said, seeing results in short periods of time keeps motivation high.

• We are going to use Unity and the game is going to be 2D. Now I don't mind doing 3D but I just feel this is going to complicate things a bit more (specially in the art department).

• The game should be inclusive and not exclusive. This means that if we are going to work on a game I'd like the game design to end up targeting as broad an audience as possible. A good example of what I mean is how Journey could be played by a 3 year old kid or Flower. Candy Crush can be played by kids and seniors. This not me saying we need to make a casual game (since I am sure the comment will come up) or that I dislike "hardcores". I don't, I just want as many people to experience the game as possible specially if it is good.

• Target platforms should be mainly PC (Win/Mac/Lin) but we can consider mobile at a later point if the game did well financially (i.e. made enough money to warrant a mobile port).

• Little to no violence. Although I lean more towards the latter than the former. You can design any genre without violence or killing stuff.

The Catch(s):

Well the first one is that this isn't pre-funded, so this is going to be a revenue share type of model based on how much work you put in. I really wish I could fund it, but I can't. So in a nutshell, if you do 15% of the work that got the game shipped, you'll earn 15% of the revenue (after expenses) or any funding we might receive during development.

The second one is that we'll be using some sort of management. So we'll have tasks, time frames and what not. Now I am not saying this is going to be full time or you should dedicate a lot of time for this (again, the comment will come up). But what I am saying is that expect that I expect commitment from you. For example let's say you are committed to 5 hours a week. Great, then the tasks and deadline will revolve around that. If you miss a deadline for some reason out of your hand that is OK. But note that we are all working together so if you decide to not do anything (got bored, don't want to work on the game anymore, got life stuff, etc...) you are dragging the team with you. However, we are using management with tasks and deadline mainly to stay motivated, in check and be able to track what needs to be done so we are efficient about what little time is available for development.

I think this dragged for too long, sorry about the long post but if you are interested, please PM.

Good luck!