(Ok, I'm posting this here to get ahold of Warsong. He doesn't have his email address up here. This isn't a "Help Wanted" post, but is just something directed primarily at Warsong.) Ok, Warsong, you say you know what it takes to design a great game. I like your zeal and confidence, so I would like to give you a chance to prove that you are as good as you say you are. I have a majority of my game engine completed, and I'm moving on to the next phase of the game. I want this to be perfect, and I need someone who is going to spend as much time on the design as I do the programming. Besides some core features and elements that I want to introduce, the design will be up to you if you are interested. So far, I have completed the sound, music, input, graphics, collision detection, and resource management parts of the engine. The next part I need to focus on now is gameplay mechanics. Hopefully, you can understand why I might want a designer to help out. I need someone who can look at some basic ideas objectively and develop them into well-designed game elements. Also, I need someone who will be able to flesh out the story-line. They will need to ellaborate on a basic idea, and introduce new elements that will keep the player interested in what is happening. I want to focus largely on creating fun, rewarding gameplay and story and character interactions that draw the player into the mindset of the world. The game would need some interesting puzzles too. The type of game I am creating is a 2d action RPG. I have created the engine to be something similar to Zelda: A Link to the Past and The Secret of Mana. Basically, it allows free roaming in a psuedo isometric tile-based environment. Though, my implementation allows for an endless world, and there is no need to jump from one tile map to another. It allows multiple tiles per tile location and multiple layered tile maps. It runs fast too. I don't plan on this game being cute like those previously mentioned games. Its' going to be dark. Though, it isn't as dark in an action-orientated way as it is dark in an emotional way. I want to provide a stimulus to the player that will effect them emotionally. I want the game to be a tragedy. So what do you say Warsong? Are you interested? If so then just send me an email to Ultamos@msn.com, and I will give you some more information. [edited by - Zefrieg on November 30, 2003 8:10:33 AM]

Not to hijack your thread, but many of the ambitions and objectives you describe will depend as much, if not more, on writing than on game design elements. Even if Warsong is the designer that his attitude suggests ;P , his skills alone may not be enough to get you what you want.

You don''t say anything about the story, and I won''t ask you for spoilers, but I advise you to repeat this request in the game writing forum, perhaps directed toward one or more of the resident blowhards over there. Many of the GD members with a firm grasp of writing and storytelling principles can be found there.

From your brief description, your project sounds very interesting and, more importantly, seems to be very close to realization. Congratulations.

Well, I don''t like working specifically with more than one person at a time. The story is an important aspect, but right now I only need how it will progress. After that is figured out, then I will focus on each individual story aspect and finish them out with dialog and actions. That is where I might ask for the help of a good writer to bring it all together. Anyway, I would rather have to tools in place that allows the writer to get instant feedback from his work from the game. Until then, I would rather just focus primarily on getting the game mechanics created and perfected.

Like I stated previously, Warsong, just email me at Ultamos@msn.com.

I understand the many pitfalls associated with creating a game as a group effort, and that is why I have chosen not to work that way. Instead, I work on a game as a step-by-step progression. I only bring people on for help when I get to the point where I need help. This way, I don''t waste people''s time, and I can maintain a one-to-one relationship with whomever is helping out.

As far as the game design goes, you will certainly be doing a good amount of work. Though, this is because you are the only designer. There will be nobody else hanging around not doing anything. I will most likely spend quite a bit of time with you in the beginning through a chat program like MSN, and also through some fairly large emails. We will take some general ideas and form them into a gameplay system. This will be the core system that the game will sit on. This will include things such as battles, interactions with the world, and inventory and equipment systems.

I will take the gameplay system, and implement it into the game engine. I will make it so a person can essentially create a game using the system with the use of text files. It is pretty easy to implement something like that.

While I work on implementing the gameplay system, you can spend time on characters, a beastiary, game world, locations, puzzles, side-quests, and game items. The story will be merely objective at that point. It will basically give a general overview of the story progression from location to location. Nothing real specific.

After the gameplay system has been implemented, then we will begin work on creating the game in its'' entirety. This is when I might bring on some other people. Though, I would rather work one-on-one with another person through the majority of it. We will be taking the largest amount of credit for the game.

This is just the logistics of how everything will progress. Just send me an email to get a description of how the game will play.