This was pretty much copied and pasted from other forums… and yes, this is the second time I’ve advertised this position… retrying in case anyone missed it or for the new folk.
Alright folks, I’m going out on a limb here. I’m one of two team leaders for a single player mod for Half Life 2. I’m looking for an additional programmer to help out. OUr current programmer is currently rewriting Half Life 2’s AI and just had a kid so he’s really busy.
What’s the mod about?
Hookay… it’s a Single player squad based tactical game with a branching storyline. It’s set in a Sci-fi/Steampunk universe. That’s all you’re getting.
Fairly important notice
Basically we need a programmer that can follow instructions. Let it be known that you will get minimal input in anything. If you don’t like something - sure you speak to me, and I’ll tell you to get back to work… you want a creative role then make your own mod (I’m kind of kidding here… if you don’t like something then justify to me why and I’ll consider it). If that sounds harsh then stiff shit. Most mods die because everyone on the team has ideas of their own and the mod ends up being a mess. I really don’t want that happening.
Here’s the good bit - we’re fairly relaxed. Everyone on the team so far has a 9-5 job so you won’t need to dedicate your entire life to the project though we do expect a bit of dedication.
Ok so what are the reqs?
You need to be able to program already… or at least have a bloody good understanding of how it works.
You can work alone. Some of the team is in the states. Of course, I’m not. I’m not always online but if you need to discuss something you can use our forums or email me.
You aren’t afraid to tell me if you’re having trouble with something. Do this especially if you’re lacking time to work on stuff.
Your smart. ( lol geddit? )
You’re prepared to show me examples of work.
Great , how do I apply?
If you’re interested and don’t have questions PM me. If you have questions ask in this thread. I’ll try answer most things.
… and no… we don’t have a website. (but we have forums.)
Wonder why the programmers aren’t flocking to your project.
In all seriousness, you wouldn’t get a programmer from this place. For one thing, the average age means people who’d want to program games already are (and are getting paid to do it), while other people are pursuing other careers. You want to ask around with a younger (and, well, more naive) crowd; IRC and websites targeted to amateur game development are probably the best places. And even then, the “I’m the boss” and “You won’t have creative input” attitude will keep people (very far) away. I don’t think mod projects die as much because of a lack of a hierarchy, but because people lose interest: it’s no fun working on somebody else’s project.
Wow, who pissed in your cornflakes this morning, Svenr? As it happens the rest of the team has no problem not having much creative input into the mod. In actual fact all of them have said they like the idea because it shows we have some direction. I have no issue with people coming to me and saying “dude, look , I don’t know about this bit because blah blah blah” … what I do have issues with is when people come to me and say "Dude, you know what this game really needs? A racing section… on… spiders… with… guns 'n shit… " .
Look, we’ve got a pretty decent idea for a game here… we’ve got the design doc laid out, the plot is 98% complete. Our sound guy is working on some music, the other programmer is working on the AI… we basically need someone to help us out with some tasks that need to be done… they get their names in the credits plus some experience.
Hey, look, I just gave you some advice on where to find programmers for your project. This simply isn’t the best place. I’ve suggested better places.
As to the how: I’ve helped out in programming channels in IRC for a couple of years (because I love helping people, natch) and there would be requests such as these all the time. Some of them were enticing enough to attract a couple of hobbyist programmers: typically, these projects had a website, some concept art, a good description of what everyone’s plans were. Other times the request would just be for a chump who knows how to program, and those never got off the ground.
Two things: being secretive about your ideas will only hurt interest in your project; nobody’s going to steal your ideas unless you’re already some hotshot game designer. Also, you might want to try and be a little less volatile when dealing with people.
Sorry mate, I just get frustrated when people dismiss threads like this… The reason I’m being so secrative is because I … dare I say it… don’t want to kill it with hype. There’s some things I want to try with this game that haven’t really been explored before. I figure if people want to help out then that’d be awesome. At this stage I’m ready to throw what spare time I have at trying to learn programming again myself. In case you didn’t realise I have a lot of passion for this mod and don’t want it to die. I’ll pretty much do whatever to get it released ( hell, I’m probably going to pay for voice talent just so it’s done right - if I need to sacrafice kids so I can get a programmer on board I’d consider that too).
You said you don’t have a website… well here’s a web designer who loves taking on projects. If you need some design-related help (a website to adverts to a retail logo), you can sign me up.
Well … technically we have a website… I think… the design sucked. If you’re interested in whipping something up PM me and I’ll see if I can work something out in terms of hosting and getting you access.
… making a game better than Doom 3? You know all I’d have to do to create a game like that is add lights. bu dum tish. And no, this isn’t a joke.
As an addition…if anyone wants to view the design doc or read what we have for the plot then let me know in here. I’m more than happy to give people what they want if it helps get this game out there.
I wouldn’t expect to have much input to design as a new programmer on an existing project. I would expect the designer to listen to me if I had a suggestion. Sounds like what nutty is talking about here. Seriously if you don’t want to sign up what are you doing in this thread? Just bitching for the hell of it because that’s what we do on the Internet?
