Original Post
Project name: Ascension Brief description: Ascension is the "working title" for my personal hobby project which I've been working on for a couple years now in my spare time. At its heart the game would be classified as an RPG in the sense that it entails character and world progression over the course of the play-through, however, my primary focus with this project is to create a set of compelling gameplay mechanics such that the role playing aspect can be layered on top of an already sound basis. In other words, the major goal is have the primary game mechanic, that being combat, be satisfying in and of itself whether or not the player has an ulterior motive (complete this quest, gather this, etc) -- the game should be fun to play at a primal level even when one isn't advancing the storyline. As things stand now, I've just recently reached the point where the "engine" (although I'm loathe to use the word) is functionally viable to prototype the various game-play mechanics that I have in mind, only, I'm lacking an animator to develop the character models and animation sets that I can work with. Keep in mind that what I'm looking for here isn't "finished" quality art-work, rather, I merely need some basic models that approximate the volumes which will be in use for the actual models to be used in-game. Think flat-textured low-poly artwork. The key here is that these models have the various animation sets that I can then use in development and prototyping. If you feel like you might be interested in contributing to this project, please feel free to contact me either via a PM here or through the email address listed below in the contacts section, and kindly include your age and location in any correspondance. I'd be happy to go into more detail on what I need and what is involved in this request for help with anyone who is interested or thinks they might fit the bill. Target aim: Since this is a hobby project, I don't have any projected goal as such; As it stands now, should I complete the project to a state I consider finished or releasable, I will be releasing it for free to any and all. Compensation: Monetary compensation is exceedingly unlikely as I don't plan on making any money off of this myself. Any contributors will how-ever be referenced in the credits along with a list of their contributions, even if they are not part of the final release. Technology: Ascension is being developed for Windows on the PC, entirely in C++ at this point, utilizing Direct3D for graphics and FMod for audio. The tool of choice for graphical asset production would be 3ds Max, although it might be possible for me to work with other artists using a different tool, but it will make life more difficult since the mesh file exporter plugin I'm developing is 3DS Max only. Talent needed: Basically, I need someone capable of making simple low poly human models and supplying them with animation sets, ala reloading, taking cover, getting shot, jumping, etc; which I can then use to prototype the gameplay I have in mind, to see what's fun and what's not, and then refine the mixture after the slag has been removed. Team structure: There is no team as such, only myself working on this project. Thus far I've done all the design and programming (project is approx. 23K lines of code at the moment, including engine, game, game editor and export plugin), and everything else, which is comprised of creating a bunch of (ugly) placeholder art to test basic functionality with, interfaces, etc. Contacts: Email: SirLuthor@gmail.com Previous Work: Outside of this project there isn't really a whole lot to mention, aside from an (exceedingly) simple software renderer which I developed along side writing a paper as a project for school. Ascension has pretty much been my only brainchild of the last few years, and all my creative energy is relentlessly channeled into it. :P Additional Info: In terms of the gameplay mechanics that I will be testing out, here's a basic overview of what I'm trying to achieve. Interactive ranged (gun) combat, not merely aim & click, but more engaging, similar to the way Gears of War leverages its cover system to produce ranged combat which requires a good amount of user interaction. This is then to be balanced out against a form of melee or close-quarters combat, which serves to provide another avenue of player choice in terms of charcter development, e.g. whether the player wishes to specialize a character as a marksman sort of individual, or a stealthy shanker, who might go around creeping up behind people and then executing them with a single powerful melee combo. Close-Quarters combat is intended to follow a sort of action -> reaction type mechanic, where the player is not merely mashing his most lethal skill over and over until the enemy falls down, rather, he is skillfully unleashing timed combos or counter-attacks, taking advantage of the enemy's action, to defeat him. As a means of balancing a game in which a CQC oriented character might find himself down-range from the previously mentioned marksman, there are various stealthy means of navigation and evasion in existance, such as wall climbing, and dodges. I am aiming for a decent amount of player-world interaction, in a similar vein to the prince of persia series, but without the platforming feel -- merely that the environment around you can provide alternate means of approaching the situation. This, when brought together with the rapid rate at which one can go from zero to dead (as little as a single headshot or powerful CQ ability) is meant to stimulate the player to both evolve his character (as the game goes on) in a direction that suits his style of gameplay, be it long range setups and ambushes, or a sneaky infiltration summed up in an orgy of neck-breaking, or anything in between, as well as forcing him to, in any given "situation" think about the best means of action. Through environment design I hope to provide a game such that in any given situation, there will be more than one way to approach its solving, and which one of these is best would be dependant on both how one is equipped and how one has developed one's character, providing the RPG aspect of the game with a tie-in into the actual game-play, rather than just setting a framework for it to take place in. But.. I can't really test out any of this to see what isn't actually fun without some animated goodness! Feedback: Any feedback is good feedback!