Large Mod: Looking for Co-Founders / Team-Leads

[vXr]

Hi all, I am looking for enthusiastic up and coming game developers looking to help create a unique game.

Currently, I am seeking experienced modders, to take up positions of leadership aswell as development. As a leader you will be required to not only contribute content, but also organise workflows relevant to your department.


Required:
Programming Lead
It is quite possible that only one programmer will be required for the project's entirety. Therefore, you will need strong base knowledge of OO principles, experience working with past iterations of the Unreal Engine and most importantly a strong drive and aptitude for expanding on your programming skillset.

Art Lead
You will be responsible for overseeing the work of all content developers and ensuring consistency throughout the game. You will be expected to have strong experience with 2d and 3d design applications as well as development in previous iterations of the Unreal Engine.

Sound Lead
Similar to the programmer position, this position may end up being a solo job. A strong attention to detail and experience with previous experience creating audio (both effects and music) for games/mods.


This is NOT just another "i need ppl to make my mod for me plx" post. I have extensive experience in modding in UT2003/4 and understand the entire mod creation workflow and will be contributing to multiple facets of the content aswell as overseeing the design process.


A few things before you apply:

1. This post is recruiting for lead-roles. These roles require as much previous experience in game development and modification as possible, and are not typical mod entry-level 'stick around for a couple of weeks, then disappear of the face of the earth' positions. These positions are for those who have done all that before and are looking to step up into something a bit more structured and a bit more serious.

2. A Non-Disclosure-Agreement will be signed by all parties before any information on the project is disclosed. I know it sucks, but this idea simply hasn't been done before and needs to be done properly. Besides, all you need is a scanner or a fax machine :)

3. There is a slim chance that this will be developed as a mod for another engine, however unlikely... just a heads up.

4. The game will be part of the 'Fantasy' genre, however do not let that fool you into thinking it will be an 'x' clone.


If you are interested, please post here and/or email me at 'ningamel AT fastmail DOT fm'

[Flou]

I've send you a pm. :)

[CrysAk]

seems like you know what your doing ^^

look forward to a 2nd post advertising the mod / looking for non lead possitions, im tempted to send a PM but dont have the time to be a lead and looks like you got design covered already ;)

good luck with finding the talent you need and look forwward to the mod details :)

[vXr]

Thanks for the interest and the kind words. Assuming I can find the right people for the above positions, there will definitely be a second post similar to your description in the near future :)

Its all so exciting!

[Dr.Crazyhead]

this mod sounds awesome already! of course i don't have the sense of commitment to take up a lead role but I'm pretty good with a pencil and paper, so I'm contemplating maybe applying in a while when everything gets going

[JaFO]

Newsflash ... this is exactly the kind of post that is not going to attract qualified/experienced mod-teammembers to your mod.

It lacks the most important part of all :
Why would anyone that can build a mod and lead a team want to join an anonymous mod ?
Where's the challenge ?

This reads like someone asking Bill Gates if he would please help program this great new program that does some stuff that is *eh* you know 'different' ...

Besides ... how are you going to lead such a team if you can't even explain what mod you are attempting to build.
You need quite a bit more than "it is a fantasy setting, but not a clone". That's marketing-speak for "we're doing the same thing as everyone else but we changed the names to make it sound cool".

So ...
= What is it ?
= Why should anyone join ?
= and who are you anyway ?

You may understand the workflow and how to build a mod, but you definitely lack talent when it comes to promoting it.
It is like a cook that wants to open this huge 5-star restaurant without telling the world why anyone should want to eat his food.

[vXr]

Hate to burst your bubble, but I've had several applications already, 2 of which look quite promising.

No applications for programmer though, although that was expected from the start. The fact I even included it in my recruitment thread was more 'wishful thinking' than anything else. I will most likely end up coding the first version, at which point we will attract a real programmer to reorganise (and more importantly when it comes to my code, OPTIMISE lol)

I've been around long enough to know all the 'make my mod for me' posts and there are a few subtle differences between those and mine, but if you don't see them, or aren't interested, simply don't read and don't apply :)

You see, once I have my core team and a few 'casual contributors' you will likely not hear from me, or my team, until we have a CXP.

I'll try to make something a bit more clear: I'm not after people who want to make an X genre mod for UT3. I'm after people who want to work on something, anything, in a well controlled environment, as a nice, sensibly scoped side project.

Thank you for your concern, though :)

edit:
I felt the need to adress this bit specifically -


Besides ... how are you going to lead such a team if you can't even explain what mod you are attempting to build.
I can explain exactly how almost every facet of the mod will be, but I won't. Again, I'm not looking for people that see a feature and think "ooh that might be fun, I'll help out" I'm looking for those people I mentioned above.

[JaFO]

If you have been around 'long enough' then perhaps you can give me some names of the projects you've completed, because I'd really would like to see what you've managed so far.

In my own experience it has always helped quite a bit if you actually like whatever you're creating. That is just that kind of extra focus/dedication you'll need to get through the hard times ahead (like the last 20% of a project when you're debugging/fixing stuff).

I for one am not signing any kind of NDA without even a minor hint as to what this mod is going to be like. And I'm certainly not referring to a complete design-spec and such things. Most ideas have already been done before, so hiding them is useless as you are not going to be doing anything new regardless of what you may be thinking.

I also don't see the point in recruiting a team that is going to be big enough that lead-designers are even required, before a basic design is up and running. UT3 may be more complex, but the core-design of a mod should be do-able with a 2-3 team-members depending on available skills.

[CrysAk]

O_o....

oh god this could get ugly :/ .. me votes if you dont have anything nice to say.. dont say it.

regarding the
"you are not going to be doing anything new regardless of what you may be thinking."
you cant be serious... i for one have an idea for a game thats never been done. and hopefully will be turning it into a TC mod should an Unreal based game be released with the art needed (dont want to make it myself/get a team to make it as art takes way too long to make for my liking/free time)

anywho, can see this turnin into a slaggin match sometime soon

i agree that you will probably get more itnerest (or at least more dedicated interest) should you mention what the project is, but as long as you have a professional approucha nd structure to your project, people will always be interested.

[kisk]

This is NOT just another "i need ppl to make my mod for me plx" post. I have extensive experience in modding in UT2003/4 and understand the entire mod creation workflow and will be contributing to multiple facets of the content aswell as overseeing the design process.

What mods have you worked on?

I totally agree with JaFo.. you can't just post a help wanted with absolutely no details. 'Fantasy' is the only info we got on the mod. O_o

[Caravaggio]

I had the same thought as JaFo when this thread was posted, but if I said something every time this opportunity came up, I'd get a codger reputation overnight.

That said, I'll say that talking about the mod is also about publicity. Mods in general, but UT mods specifically, have enough trouble as it is attracting players. I noticed on the BU frontpage recently there were news about updates to Killing Floor and troopers that didn't get many responses. Even during the playing prime of ut2004 mods had trouble becoming popular. Remember all the neat ideas that came out of the MSUC? The bee game, the hamster ball, the marble madness remake, the pirate mod, etc etc. A hundred that were great but didn't seem to get too far because getting the word out was hard enough as it is.

If you're working on it just for your own fun fine, best wishes. But right now you're coming off as that guy who calls me while I'm eating dinner and tells me about some great offer but doesn't plan on telling me he's selling amway for 10 minutes, after I've already hung up on him.

Good luck with whatever it is.

[vXr]

First of all, sorry for the slow reply, I have been pretty busy with unrelated work.

@Crysak, Thanks for your comments. I certainly hope this doesn't get any more off topic or turn into a slagging match. I had hoped that my original mini-disclaimer would have avoided a lot of this, as we have all seen both sides of the argument before. Again, I am not trying to garner interest from every modder and his dog, I am after specific bunch of people. Those that are not interested, need not post :)

@JaFO, Those that have pm'd/emailed me have been given slightly more info, however as I mentioned before, I am looking for people interested in modding, not people interested in doing "X for Y".



I also don't see the point in recruiting a team that is going to be big enough that lead-designers are even required, before a basic design is up and running. UT3 may be more complex, but the core-design of a mod should be do-able with a 2-3 team-members depending on available skills.


Correct, hence why I am recruiting only a few people right now, the titles are really there just to hint towards possible future requirements. Programmers in my past experience tend to like to work alone (until such time as you need to move to 3-4). Sound artists tend to work for every project they can get into, lol. So I guess Lead Artist is the only place it really matters.



@Caravaggio, I have responded quite carefully to JaFO's posts, because he is a well known and respected member of the modding community and his posts show a clear understanding of the whole scene (even if we disagree on some points :)). You on the other hand, clearly have no idea wtf you are talking about. UT2k3 destroyed the unreal playerbase, causing the terrible playercount of 2k4, meaning all those awesome mods that were entered into the MSU, simply had a piss poor playerbase to pull from. The mods didn't fail due to poor marketing.




please guys, back on topic... If you are not looking for a project to work on, move along!