>>>>> Job Positions Update <<<< We are eager to hire an experienced Lua programmer for our project and more pixel artists. Since the original posting in this thread, we have added two new C++ developers and two new pixel artists, but we still need our staff of 16 to grow. Tonight, we have release a development wiki containing nearly all the information about the kind of work you will be doing. See the following wiki links relevant to each position below. Lua Programmer Summary of work Lua C++ Interface to-do list Quick Beginner's Guide to our Game Engine Pixel Artist Artwork Design Standards List of Current Artwork Being Produced Terrain Artist Battle Terrains That Need to be Done Design Constraints on Battle Terrains Again, to apply to any of these positions please send e-mail to jobs_AT@allacrost_DOT.org and include the following information - A little infomation about yourself and who you are - Background knowledge and experience - Your availability (even if only a few hours a week, we will still consider you) - Demonstration/proof of your skills (links to past projects, sample code/art you've done, etc.) - Why you want to work for the Allacrost project (The original post follows below.) Hero of Allacrost Team Name The Allacrost Project Project Name Hero of Allacrost Brief Description Hero of Allacrost is a single-player, 2D RPG. The game is modeled after SNES-era RPGs like Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger, but we have implemented our own flair of modern features and graphics. We are a well-established project and have been around for over 18 months now. Target Aim Allacrost is cross-platform and will be available on all flavors of Linux, BSD, Windows, Mac OSX, and whatever else we can compile it on. It is also designed to support multiple languages, from English to Portugese to Japanese. Additionally, the game is not-for-profit and open-source, licensed under the GPL. We are aiming for as broad of a target audience as possible, and hope that people from all walks can enjoy this game. This game will be of special interest to those who favor gameplay and story more than state-of-the-art 3D graphics. Compensation Because we will not collect any revenue for this game, we cannot offer you financial compensation. However, all of the current staff are quite content with putting forth their efforts into what we believe will someday be a great game to share. [smile] About the Team and Current State of the Game Staffing Our current staff count, although some are currently on hiatus > Programmers: 5 > Artists: 6 > Composers: 2 > Web Designer: 1 Art: I won't lie, we are hurting for artwork as several of our artists are on very tight schedules right now. I've even been starting to make place-holder art myself. I suck, but I'm getting better at it. [lol] Programming: In the programming department, we are coming along quite nicely (our code base increased 6x from August to December last year). However we are still in need of additional help to lighten the burden on our existing development team. Music: The music department is well-staffed and has been producing numerous quality sample tracks for months, so no help is needed there. [smile] General Team Information Communication and feedback are a big thing on our team and everyone is encouraged to comment on any work or ideas that are shared. We are very flexible with our work schedules and loads. All that we ask for is for people to give up what time that they can afford to. If a staff member becomes disinterested in what they are currently doing, I'm willing to assign them something new that they wish to work on. Current State of the Game The game is currently playable, but you can't do much yet (the focus up until now has been on the engine, and now we are finally able to begin focusing more on the game). We missed a goal a few months ago to release new screenshots because the artwork simply wasn't available. Currently the programming team is working towards releasing a playable demo, artists are working toward providing the artwork for the new screenshots, and composers are preparing for our first release. We're also working on a new design for our website, which I admit has been neglected lately. Technology We don't have any requirements for artists, musicians, or developers to use any specific tools, as long as it gets the job done. Allacrost uses the following languages and APIs: Programming Language: C++ Data/Scripting Lanuguage: Lua Low-level general access API: SDL Graphics API: OpenGL Image library: DevIL Audio API: OpenAL Text rendering: SDL_ttf GUI for map editor: QT3 Our programming staff concurrently develop on Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X and Hero of Allacrost presently runs on all three of these platforms. Talent Seeking 1. C++ Programmers (as many as three) We have been writing our own engine from scratch and have completed the majority of it. What we now require are additional programmers to help in the following areas: > Audio Engine Re-design (using OpenAL) > Map Editor / Design Tools (uses QT3) > Data and Scripting Engine Advanced Features (you should be experience with C++ and Lua interaction for this one) > General game code that uses the engine, which includes: - Boot menu, credits loading, etc. - Main in-game menu for character management - Assisting with map processing, dialogues, map AI - Assisting with battle processing, effects generation, etc. Our code is very well-structured and the team is very communicative about our design ideas. As a programmer, it is important that you can communicate with the team (we don't want any "lone-wolves" on our team, sorry). You are expected to comment your code well and, eventually perhaps, write documentation on how to use it as well. Code and Documentation Examples Hero of Allacrost - Developer's Quick Start Guide This gem teaches all of the fundamental information a programmer needs to know to use the Allacrost engine and how the engine operates. This includes: singleton classes, game modes, main game loop operation, processing user input, and basic usage for the audio, video, and data/scripting engine components. I highly recommend you check this documentation out if you are interested at all in working with us. Hero of Allacrost - Code Standard This is our official code standard. It may look rather restrictive at first, but we are actually rather flexible as long as your code is consistent (braces can go wherever, indentation can be as long or short as you like, etc). Hero of Allacrost - Technical Documentation This documentation was generated by Doxygen (which we use in our code commenting) and covers the entire code base head to toe. It also includes UML graphs, inheritence diagrams, and the latest snap-shot of our entire code base. 2. 2D Artists (no limit) We need as much help as we can get with creating 2D artwork. Specifically, the art you create would fit into one of the following categories: > Map tiles (32x32 pixels) > Map sprites and animation (32x64 pixels) and other map objects (trees, creatures, etc.) > Character battle sprites and animations (64x128 pixels) > Enemy battle sprites (64x64 pixels and up) > Other battle art like visual effects (fire, etc.) > Misc. art such as GUI art We maintain a high level of quality for our artwork and you can expect that the first draft of a piece you submit for review will be met with some criticism (typically, the third draft or so becomes the final, approved version). We use the PNG format for all of the artwork categories listed above. Sample Battle Artwork Sample Map Tile Artwork Sample Map Sprite Artwork Website Main site: http://www.allacrost.org NEW: Development Wiki: http://allacrost.sourceforge.net/wiki/ FAQ: http://www.allacrost.org/index.php?faq Story: http://www.allacrost.org/index.php?story Artwork: http://www.allacrost.org/index.php?multimedia-art Screenshots (these are very outdated): http://www.allacrost.org/index.php?multimedia-screen Music: http://www.allacrost.org/index.php?multimedia-music Forum: http://www.allacrost.org/forum/ Contact Information Please send e-mail to jobs_AT@allacrost_DOT.org to apply for a position. Please also include the following information in your e-mail: - A little infomation about yourself and who you are - Background knowledge and experience - Your availability (even if only a few hours a week, we will still consider you) - Demonstration/proof of your skills (links to past projects, sample code/art you've done, etc.) - Why you want to work for the Allacrost project Feedback All forms of feedback are welcome and encouraged, including negative feedback as long as it's constructive. [wink] [Edited by - Roots on January 22, 2006 8:55:16 PM]

OpenGL? I've just started on Direct3D for C++, darn you! lol!

If you need a tools programmer, I could probably do something like that. It would be best if we could do it for C#, but I see you are trying to get it portable across systems, which I have little experience for.

I could probably make a tiled map editor... I don't know if I could do it in C++. I'm very good with LUA as a language, but when it comes with the interaction between LUA and C++ I'm not so good.

Anyway I wish you luck on this project. I wish I could help out in some way, but I lack experience. Good luck, again!

~David

Quote:Original post by d000hg
I'm afraid I can't help out but I just wanted to say what a great post this is - possibly the best-writtena nd most professional I've seen.

And I like your artwork samples too!

Thanks, it took me like a whole friggin' hour to make! [lol]



Too bad our skill sets didn't match up David. [sad] I wish you luck in whatever projects you pursue as well.

Quote:Original post by Shukitty
Hi, I'm a recently graduated artist, looking to build up my portfolio with a greater variety of peices. I haven't made sprites before, but I am willing to give it a try. Before I firmly commit to the idea, I wanted to try it out a bit on my own first, just to see if I can do it. I was wondering if you had any color restrictions,such as number of colors I can use and maybe a list of some specific things you might want, so I could do a little demo and see if my talents suit your needs. Thanks a lot,
Sheri

Kuro is correct, there are no color restrictions. A good thread on our forums that goes into detail about how to make artwork for Allacrost can be read here. Although the section on map sprites is outdated, because we have since upgraded our sprite models which require less frames and animate better. [smile] If you're thinking about doing a map sprite, PM me and I can give you further details and an example if you'd like.


Doing some sample art is a great idea. In fact, almost always we require artist applicants to prove to us that they can make art in "Allacrost-style" and not just their own individual style (because game artwork needs to be consistent). Depending on what you'd like to do (tiles/sprites/map art/battle art), I could suggest topics if you'd like, or if you just want to surprise us that's perfectly fine too. [smile]

Quote:Original post by Kuro
Just so everyone knows, knowledge of OpenGL isn't required since we've already written a graphics engine. For that matter, although OpenAL, QT3, and Lua would be huge pluses, please don't let that stop you from applying. It's not that hard to pick up new things "on the job", and we will try to match the kind of things you work on to your skillset and interests.

That is definitely true and I should have stated that in my original post. I myself knew practically nothing about game programming when I started (I had only a few years of general programming experience) and have taught myself how to use SDL, OpenAL, and Lua among other things that I hadn't even heard of before I started this project. Learning is one of the important goals of this game for the staff; We're not only making this game for enjoyment, but in the process using it to learn new skills and better existing ones.

As always, I'd strongly recommend this project. These guys have been working hard and making some great progress, and are dedicated to providing a quality product. If you've got the neccesary skills, please do check this one out; this is a great project, and your help certainly wouldn't go to waste on it.