New Project

[Shaddox]

Hello everyone. I understand this is my first post here at these forums, so I will briefly introduce myself.

My name is Justin, though my preferred nick/alias is Archon (which was taken here). I have been using Ubuntu for quite a while now, and am very pleased with my newfound appreciation for all things open-source.

As such, I am using this to announce that I would like to start a full open source linux-native game, designed with Ubuntu first in mind. So far, the game does not even have a name. Despite lack of any real development skill, I am very serious about starting this project, and it's plan is to be released under the new GPL v3. I am looking for an assistant to be very close with me on all stages of this project and to help me keep things going smoothly. This includes things like legal issues. In addition, this game is still currently unnamed and still mostly unplanned. Everyone is encouraged to join in this project, even if it is to just contribute ideas. This is not planned to be an 'indie' genred game. This is planned to be a full release.

Wow. You managed to write all that and not even hint at the type of game you wish to make. Open source games are about blood sweat and tears. As much as I applaud your desire to make a game, you need more than a plan to plan a game before anybody can take you seriously.

[Edit!] My bad, I do have an idea. It's not something perfect, but it's great for starting it off. (Yeah, I dream big. But hey, someone has to!) This is only a base idea, and will definately be expanded upon (if we get some steam going before too long).

It's going to be a shooter/RPG hybrid. The universe is going to be vibrant and colorful, lots of strange yet wonderful cities ranging from all sizes. The universe is intended to be an open RPG universe, meaning you should be able to do pretty much anything. There will be all kinds of weapons ranging from a soda can you pick up from a tash can, all the way to a portable missile launcher. The weapons, characters, cities, and such will all be very original.

Deus Ex is my main inspiration, and it's still one of the best games of all time. (And somehow manages to run without problems on my half-broken laptop!)

As for a potential website, a full .org domain is planned for registration and a website is planned to be built. I have a spare license to vBulletin lying around, if this gets big enough I'll be using that and not a free alternative. However, this project needs to build up some steam before I will go and commit to a domain registration.

Unfortunately, I do not have any "real" development skill. As such, if anyone has any skill in the following list of programming languages and would like to join this project, please feel free to e-mail me! This project is open-source. Do not offer any form of paid services.

• PHP
• HTML
• Cascading Stylesheets
• C++
• Python
• Perl

I am also in need of graphics designers, ranging from website graphics to full-blown 3D models and textures for in-game.

If anyone is interested in joining this project for any reason, development or otherwise, please e-mail me at archon@ca.rr.com.

[charlieg]

Wow. You managed to write all that and not even hint at the type of game you wish to make. Open source games are about blood sweat and tears. As much as I applaud your desire to make a game, you need more than a plan to plan a game before anybody can take you seriously.

[Shaddox]

Whoops, I meant to put that in there. Had a whole thing written in Tomboy for it too. It's in the main post.

[ZylGadis]

Unfortunately, I do not have any "real" development skill. As such, if anyone has any skill in the following list of programming languages and would like to join this project, please feel free to e-mail me! This project is open-source. Do not offer any form of paid services.
...
I am also in need of graphics designers, ranging from website graphics to full-blown 3D models and textures for in-game.

Not to curb your enthusiasm, but you are not likely to attract anybody in the know. The world is full of enthusiasts with ideas larger than life. What it lacks is skilled people with spare time.

To dissect your quote:
- you have no real development skill. Why do you think you would be an attractive project leader for anyone?
- you imply that open-source is equivalent to costless. This statement is plainly false, and anybody who knows what Free software and/or open-source software is will immediately shun you. If you have no money, say so - that is not shameful, but do not insult our intelligence.

Once again, I am not out to bash you. Enthusiasm is a useful thing. Good ideas even more so (I am not saying you have them, as I have not seen them yet). Sadly, bare potential is never enough - it is the fulfillment of potential that matters. The next time you try to attract people and impose yourself upon them as a leader, put a little more planning into it, and clarify what it is exactly that you offer. Having a half-completed game already, for example, certainly would be good.