Developer needed -
by Mr. Miller · in Torque Developer Network · 05/31/2009 (7:33 am) · 8 replies
Hello all,
I would first like to thank you all for taking the time to read this. I have been stuck in a situation and I am turning to GG for some help. Here is what's going on so far -
For the past year and a half, I have been trying to get a game developed. I have very little money to pay for development so the developers I have had agreed to develop the game for interest in the game and would get a percentage of income from the game once developed and online. This would help both parties and is perfect for the situation.
Excited to get this game started, I make a post (I think here) looking for a developer. After about a week or so, I get a reply. A gentleman in NY contacted me and wanted to know more about the game. After I told him about the plans he quickly became interested and wanted to start planning. We start going over some idea's and plans for the game. But, by the 5th day he started asking for money. He then said he could not develop the game without money. I told him that he agreed to not get paid for now, but he still wanted money. So by the second week, he no longer wanted to continue. This was my first developer setback.
Feeling a bit discouraged, I wanted to try something different. So I contacted Full Sail university here in Orlando Florida which is an animation/development/etc... school. I spoke to the lady in charge of graduates finding jobs . She was very nice and helped me out greatly. I told her what I needed and she quickly sent me some resumes. I contacted about 10 people but only 1 replied back. He wanted to know more about the game and quickly became interested after I told him the idea. I told him what had happened previously but he said not to worry. He agreed to not getting paid for now and we started to continue the planning portion of the game. After a week, he tells me he got fired from his job and cannot continue working for me for now unless he gets paid. Another huge setback. By this point I'm starting to think this is not going to happen. But I realized this is what happens and that this was not going to be easy. So I contact Full Sail again.
I tell the lady what happened and she apologized and sent me more resumes. Again, I contacted all of them but this time a couple reply back. I tell them what has happened so far and how they would not get paid right away but they will own percentage of the game and would get paid when it's online. One of them agrees and we start to resume planning. At this point, I was feeling good. This guy had a great resume, had several awards from Full Sail and was lead developer on the final project. I finally got the right developer, or so I thought. a couple months pass by and he is still here. By this point it didn't cross my mind that he would leave. We setup the final meeting to finish the planning aspects of the game that would get it ready for development. I waited for 2 hours and he doesn't show.
I'm getting worried that he might have been in an accident or worse so I call him but no answer. I go home and call him again. Still no answer. I e-mail him hoping maybe he just forgot and he would read my e-mail and contact me, but to no avail. This was 2 months ago. I have never heard from him again. I don't know what to think at this point. Did this guy run off with all the hard work I had done and go to another company? My wife says I should stop but I cannot. After working so hard and having long days and sleepless nights, I just can't sit here and say it's over.
The game is truly amazing. An online multiplayer drag racing game that is unlike any other. It's a great idea and a great game once it gets developed. This is why I came here today. I need your help in finally getting this game started. All the planning parts are completed (99%). All that's left now is a few touch ups and to start development.
I know times are tough and many people don't want to take on such a heavy load right now. But I beg of you to check out what I have. I need someone to have a little faith in this game and see how great its potential is.
Thank you again for taking the time out of your day to read this. I really hope it inspires someone to want to get involved with this.
Best Regards,
-Stacey
[e-mail removed at admin request]
I would first like to thank you all for taking the time to read this. I have been stuck in a situation and I am turning to GG for some help. Here is what's going on so far -
For the past year and a half, I have been trying to get a game developed. I have very little money to pay for development so the developers I have had agreed to develop the game for interest in the game and would get a percentage of income from the game once developed and online. This would help both parties and is perfect for the situation.
Excited to get this game started, I make a post (I think here) looking for a developer. After about a week or so, I get a reply. A gentleman in NY contacted me and wanted to know more about the game. After I told him about the plans he quickly became interested and wanted to start planning. We start going over some idea's and plans for the game. But, by the 5th day he started asking for money. He then said he could not develop the game without money. I told him that he agreed to not get paid for now, but he still wanted money. So by the second week, he no longer wanted to continue. This was my first developer setback.
Feeling a bit discouraged, I wanted to try something different. So I contacted Full Sail university here in Orlando Florida which is an animation/development/etc... school. I spoke to the lady in charge of graduates finding jobs . She was very nice and helped me out greatly. I told her what I needed and she quickly sent me some resumes. I contacted about 10 people but only 1 replied back. He wanted to know more about the game and quickly became interested after I told him the idea. I told him what had happened previously but he said not to worry. He agreed to not getting paid for now and we started to continue the planning portion of the game. After a week, he tells me he got fired from his job and cannot continue working for me for now unless he gets paid. Another huge setback. By this point I'm starting to think this is not going to happen. But I realized this is what happens and that this was not going to be easy. So I contact Full Sail again.
I tell the lady what happened and she apologized and sent me more resumes. Again, I contacted all of them but this time a couple reply back. I tell them what has happened so far and how they would not get paid right away but they will own percentage of the game and would get paid when it's online. One of them agrees and we start to resume planning. At this point, I was feeling good. This guy had a great resume, had several awards from Full Sail and was lead developer on the final project. I finally got the right developer, or so I thought. a couple months pass by and he is still here. By this point it didn't cross my mind that he would leave. We setup the final meeting to finish the planning aspects of the game that would get it ready for development. I waited for 2 hours and he doesn't show.
I'm getting worried that he might have been in an accident or worse so I call him but no answer. I go home and call him again. Still no answer. I e-mail him hoping maybe he just forgot and he would read my e-mail and contact me, but to no avail. This was 2 months ago. I have never heard from him again. I don't know what to think at this point. Did this guy run off with all the hard work I had done and go to another company? My wife says I should stop but I cannot. After working so hard and having long days and sleepless nights, I just can't sit here and say it's over.
The game is truly amazing. An online multiplayer drag racing game that is unlike any other. It's a great idea and a great game once it gets developed. This is why I came here today. I need your help in finally getting this game started. All the planning parts are completed (99%). All that's left now is a few touch ups and to start development.
I know times are tough and many people don't want to take on such a heavy load right now. But I beg of you to check out what I have. I need someone to have a little faith in this game and see how great its potential is.
Thank you again for taking the time out of your day to read this. I really hope it inspires someone to want to get involved with this.
Best Regards,
-Stacey
[e-mail removed at admin request]
About the author
#2
I will look into other royalties and see if that would be a better option for me.
As for me bringing stuff to the table, i am a web developer by trade but also do Graphic Development. And i am not the type to burn anyone, even if i didnt have any skills. :)
05/31/2009 (1:39 pm)
Thanks for the information Ted.I will look into other royalties and see if that would be a better option for me.
As for me bringing stuff to the table, i am a web developer by trade but also do Graphic Development. And i am not the type to burn anyone, even if i didnt have any skills. :)
#3
Hahaha. I love this statement.
10/25/2010 (1:53 am)
Quote:lots of Indies have been burned by "idea people" in the past
Hahaha. I love this statement.
#4
On a side note, I have to babble a bit;
one problem I see with these types of jobs, "work and then split profits", is that there is never a 100% fair way of splitting the profits IF the game is ever profitable.
Example:
Dev A has 10 years experience and is uber pro at all.
Dev B is on college and can't even script yet but can make simple models.
Dev C has 3 years experience yet it's worth 5 years, the work is 80% as great as Dev A's work.
So how do you track who has done what and who's time is worth what ? It's never 100% fair to everyone on the team, also to mention the game creator usually wants 90% of the money for 5% of the work.
Issue #2 that I find is when people are doing work for free, they tend to want to feel that their opinion counts..and when they find that their opinions don't count, that is quite abrasive to them.
- They gamble time from their life on your idea, you may or may not command and tweak and change and tweak and change and tweak..etc..and what do they get out of that besides frustration ..lost time..and no money ?
Those are merely 2 simple reasons why I have never done anything like this. It's never fair to the developers, on many levels. I have started games with friends where we all have input into the work & that is not so bad, but.. then you have to ask yourself if you have friends that like that idea of work and do they have the skills?.
..and my final point:
Money removes all of the written and unwritten worries.
// I am not sure if I am the dev from NY referred to in this post but I would never agree to work for a money split and then back out simply because I would never agree to work for a money split. I am not aware of any other NY devs here besides Ted & Mike C. If it was me and you thought I agreed to that without really agreeing, then I am sorry there was a misconception.
10/25/2010 (2:25 am)
Make a post here about your game, show some images, make a blog about it..I doubt anyone is here to steal indie game ideas with only 10% of the game exposed. You'll need to take chances if you have no other choices in life. No Pain No Gain.On a side note, I have to babble a bit;
one problem I see with these types of jobs, "work and then split profits", is that there is never a 100% fair way of splitting the profits IF the game is ever profitable.
Example:
Dev A has 10 years experience and is uber pro at all.
Dev B is on college and can't even script yet but can make simple models.
Dev C has 3 years experience yet it's worth 5 years, the work is 80% as great as Dev A's work.
So how do you track who has done what and who's time is worth what ? It's never 100% fair to everyone on the team, also to mention the game creator usually wants 90% of the money for 5% of the work.
Issue #2 that I find is when people are doing work for free, they tend to want to feel that their opinion counts..and when they find that their opinions don't count, that is quite abrasive to them.
- They gamble time from their life on your idea, you may or may not command and tweak and change and tweak and change and tweak..etc..and what do they get out of that besides frustration ..lost time..and no money ?
Those are merely 2 simple reasons why I have never done anything like this. It's never fair to the developers, on many levels. I have started games with friends where we all have input into the work & that is not so bad, but.. then you have to ask yourself if you have friends that like that idea of work and do they have the skills?.
..and my final point:
Money removes all of the written and unwritten worries.
// I am not sure if I am the dev from NY referred to in this post but I would never agree to work for a money split and then back out simply because I would never agree to work for a money split. I am not aware of any other NY devs here besides Ted & Mike C. If it was me and you thought I agreed to that without really agreeing, then I am sorry there was a misconception.
#5
Is it not feasible for you to start learning how to work with a Torque engine? You're a web developer, you definitely have the basics you need to get started.
Do not wait for someone to do this for you, everyone has ideas, and if a developer must choose between his or yours, rest assured that he'll pick his own idea. There's nothing wrong with that, either. The way for you to do this is to become that developer.
10/26/2010 (9:04 pm)
No money right now translates to no money at all for most people.Is it not feasible for you to start learning how to work with a Torque engine? You're a web developer, you definitely have the basics you need to get started.
Do not wait for someone to do this for you, everyone has ideas, and if a developer must choose between his or yours, rest assured that he'll pick his own idea. There's nothing wrong with that, either. The way for you to do this is to become that developer.
#6
Dev
12/14/2010 (3:01 am)
looking for 2D Torque developer/Programmer for a demo project.Need the estimation ASAP. Can you please contact me .Dev
#8
My brother has a degree in comp science from 1984, I'm still working on mine, with a few classes left to go. He worked for a few different gaming companies, and currently works for High Voltage Software and is the Lead Software Engineer http://www.linkedin.com/in/johnsanderson. I have worked with him making a few games http://www.linkedin.com/in/kennsanderson.
After many classes now complete at college, I have put out a game written using Toque script. This is my first game in a long time, and my first 3D game. I found very few will work for free, with a promise to get possible money off a game. Even one of the teachers at college tried that approach. Many wanted in, but few remained to work on the project. Most wanted to learn, very few had actual talent.
I currently have some time, but I am still new at 3D and kind of new at scripting. I'm not sure I could put in 8 hours per day on a project, unless it was something I was really into, like RPGs. The few classes I am missing at present are the multiplayer and networking. I have not done anything yet with vehicles in Torque, nor have I worked with the 2D stuff.
12/18/2010 (10:02 pm)
My brother and I started our own indie group back in the late 1980s. Though he did not have an idea, he did have contacts, who gave him people willing to pay for games being made. We got a steady payment, where the person with the money got the royalties form the game selling.My brother has a degree in comp science from 1984, I'm still working on mine, with a few classes left to go. He worked for a few different gaming companies, and currently works for High Voltage Software and is the Lead Software Engineer http://www.linkedin.com/in/johnsanderson. I have worked with him making a few games http://www.linkedin.com/in/kennsanderson.
After many classes now complete at college, I have put out a game written using Toque script. This is my first game in a long time, and my first 3D game. I found very few will work for free, with a promise to get possible money off a game. Even one of the teachers at college tried that approach. Many wanted in, but few remained to work on the project. Most wanted to learn, very few had actual talent.
I currently have some time, but I am still new at 3D and kind of new at scripting. I'm not sure I could put in 8 hours per day on a project, unless it was something I was really into, like RPGs. The few classes I am missing at present are the multiplayer and networking. I have not done anything yet with vehicles in Torque, nor have I worked with the 2D stuff.
Torque 3D Owner Ted Southard
Probably not. Ideas are worth absolutely nothing, and anyone who lacks creativity to such a degree as to steal your idea won't have the ability to finish the game, much less start it. Plus, since it's copyright you at the moment you put pen to paper, you can sue if you're so inclined.
Just so you know, all that planning is the 1%, and the "few touch ups" and game dev is the 99% ;)
Anyway, what you're running into is a fairly standard thing with Indie game development: People flake out. The problem is that since it's not paid and, as an Indie project, has a 99.999% chance of failure (not making that up), people feel like they can just come and go.
I have someone on my team that was very motivated, and then just dropped off the face of the Earth about two months ago. Signed NDAs, work for hire agreements, the whole nine. The door is open for her to return, but I have a gut feeling that she's just done.
A few tips for you is that you should opt for either bounty payments (pay-per-asset/pay-per-task), or make a deal that does not deal with royalties. Look into sweat equity, or reduced payments, or something, but royalty-based payments do not get credibility anymore.
Take your time with the posting and look through the jobs forums to see which ones get the most responses, and then emulate those. Give out information.
And most importantly, bring something to the table other than the idea. If you have no programming, art, or sound abilities, then you should go get some, because lots of Indies have been burned by "idea people" in the past and won't follow someone who doesn't have any other skills- even if your idea kicks ass.
Good luck.