About the rules regarding project recruitment

[Silent Darkness]

I've seen the rules having to do with project recruitment as opposed to spamming requests everywhere. And, I happen to see a pitfall that has me kind of stuck.

Suppose you have a project where the story and gameplay is mostly worked out in your head, and you could easily put out a plot synopsis. But, another requirement is screenshots, right?

Well, I don't have ANY real art talents at all with which to produce enough for the minimum 3 screenies. And I doubt that putting in basic placeholder stuff really would work.

It seems to me that this would make looking for helpers quite painful D:

What I need to get off the ground is more than could be requested normally. And I don't have enough art and stuff to legally get a project recruitment thread going.

Idk what i should do about that. Or did I read the rules wrong?

 

[Yato]

Then you should wait to start a project recruitment thread. Make a prototype using just RTP resources and make sure the concept is fun and that you won't be quitting a month or two down the road. No one wants to work with someone who is "so I have this idea for this great game." They want to see that you have put some hard work into the project first.

 

[mlogan]

Actually, using placeholder materials would be perfectly acceptable.  I think the idea of the three screenshots is to show that you've actually got something going, as opposed to "Woah, I have this amazing epic idea, everyone jump on board to do it for me."  (I'm not saying that's what you're thinking, just that that is what it is trying to avoid.)

There are plenty of free materials here and other sites that should compensate for what the RTP may be lacking, to give good maps of the world you are in progress of creating.

 

[Silent Darkness]

Then you should wait to start a project recruitment thread. Make a prototype using just RTP resources and make sure the concept is fun and that you won't be quitting a month or two down the road. No one wants to work with someone who is "so I have this idea for this great game." They want to see that you have put some hard work into the project first.

So, in other words, all placeholder stuff.

 

[Sharm]

Artists are attracted by art anyway, so it's the best solution to what is normally a catch 22.

 

[Andar]

the requirement for screenshots is to proof to people that you aren't recruiting them to a project that won't ever see the light - or in other words, to show that you already put in some work before you started to recruit.

If you can give that proof without screenshots of the game, then there is no problem with a recruitment topic - just make sure that the topic contains more than a simple wall of text.

That's a goof idea anyway, because you need to attract people for your project - and a lot of people don't bother to read a wall of text if there is nothing else to awaken their interest.

So that rule is also to make sure that your topic gets interest, not only to proof that your project is beyond the "simple idea" stage. Because ideas are cheap and available by the dozen - it's the implementation that is work and rarer.

 

[Kes]

But with careful looking it may well be that you will find resources which fit what you have in mind which will be more than mere 'placeholders'.  A lot of the resources available on this site can only be described as excellent.  There is also all the stuff that has been put out in the Staff Resources thread, new material each month. 

 

[Silent Darkness]

I do have some interesting ideas for my project. It's just that they need resources likely beyond what's here on the forums to provide the type of proof that doesn't leave my eyes bleeding at the end of the day.

I'll try, but it feels like the thinnest of thin ice.

 

[mlogan]

What type of resources are you needing?

Also, another alternative is to pay someone for some of the resources that you need so that you can start putting it together.  And if you don't have the money, well, I guess you have a choice to make.

 

[Silent Darkness]

What type of resources are you needing?

Also, another alternative is to pay someone for some of the resources that you need so that you can start putting it together.  And if you don't have the money, well, I guess you have a choice to make.

*commence choice-making*

It's all visual resources. Tilesets, character sprites(not human ones), faces, so on so forth.

 

[Andar]

if you cannot do your project without special grafic resources, then the chances of your project seeing the light are reduced unless you find an artist willing to make your those special grafics.

And that should be your first step: you don't need a project team for simple requests, so start not by recruiting but by placing resource requests for the pictures you need - and mention there that you want to know how difficult such a request is to make, because you'll need more at a later time.

That will help you to decide if your idea can be implemented with your options, and give you the basics for a later project recruitment topic

 

[mlogan]

It's all visual resources. Tilesets, character sprites(not human ones), faces, so on so forth.

I realize you need graphics.  I meant specifically what, that maybe we could help you.  Is your setting sci-fi, modern, wild west, candy land?  There's a big variety out there and if you give people a true chance to help, you might be surprised at what you can put together.

 

[Silent Darkness]

It's definitely fantasy. Turning into dark-fantasy towards the end.

Also, Andar, your idea seems reasonable, but then it's really put in a choke hold by the fact that there's a soft limit on the number of requests one should be making at any one time, according to the rules for that subforum.

 

[mlogan]

Hmmm, fantasy is a pretty broad category.  Perhaps you could start a new topic in resource requests with specific details of what you need so that people could help you find it.  Don't forget there is also Deb's List of resources.  It's a great tool to browse through, many hidden gems in there.

Best of luck with your project!

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

yeah, since your game will rely heavily on art, it would be much harder to work on it... so you might be better off working with placeholders for now, or get an artist first to work on first resources...

 

[Silent Darkness]

Well, the good news on that is, I finished one map. Too short to warrant the full three, but that's definitely 1 screenshot at the least.