[WANTED] Java developer (paid contract)

Hi Adam,

...just a couple of remarks:

An independent game studio is seeking a Java developer for a short-term (1-2 man-weeks) contract to be completed in early 2012.

Duties will include:

• Implementing the following per design document:
  • Match-making lobby
  • Additional UI and menus as necessary
  • Client/server implementation
  • Gameplay mechanics
  • Animations and “polish” (i.e. particle FX)
  • Audio assets
  • Providing support as necessary to deliver a RELEASE-READY product by the established and agreed upon end date[/quote]
    
    To me, this looks like more than 40h of work ...actually, when reading gameplay, animations, networking etc, it looks more like a complete game than anything else.
    
    

    
    Job requirements:
    

    • Minimum 3 years of industry experience as a Java developer
    • ...[/quote]
      
      I think people like this are hard to find here. Moreover, are you ready to spend a few thousands of dollars for such pro developers? (because that's what they cost)
      What about a "cheap student" instead?
      
      I recommend you to take some time to:
      - explain in more details all that has to be done
      - state your budget
      
      Cheers

To me, this looks like more than 40h of work ...actually, when reading gameplay, animations, networking etc, it looks more like a complete game than anything else.

A lot of the groundwork is already laid, so it's not a "start from scratch" scenario - there is a working prototype of the core gameplay mechanic with audio, physics and initial artwork; there is a prototype match-making lobby with working chat, but no ability to initiate a match; etc. Admittedly it's the client/server stuff that's going to be the biggest undertaking here.

A week is probably a bit conservative but then it'll depend a lot on the skill level of the candidate and their familiarity with the techs involved. I may also be pitching in and we have a couple potential volunteers lined up, but the expectation is that the paid developer would be producing the most amount of code.

I think people like this are hard to find here. Moreover, are you ready to spend a few thousands of dollars for such pro developers? (because that's what they cost)
What about a "cheap student" instead?

Simply put, yes. There is flexibility on the "Job requirements", however, but since there's money involved we want to be extra careful. There are no doubt "superstar" student programmers out there who would be more than capable, and they will receive serious consideration if they apply with a strong portfolio and code samples, even if their resume is lacking.

I recommend you to take some time to:
- explain in more details all that has to be done
- state your budget

I appreciate your POV but I feel that the post is already fairly lengthy so I'm reluctant to add even more detail. Suffice to say, all of this will be documented (in JIRA) prior to anyone signing a thing - I wouldn't expect somebody to go into a commitment like this blind.

I will mention that the lower end of our budget is $2k, but ultimately this will be negotiated based on several factors.

Thanks for the feedback! I hope I've addressed everything

Sure, that sounds fine
Bumping this!

Also, in case you don't find someone here, but I hope you do, other alternative which would be viable is perhaps sites like
eLance.com, oDesk.com, etc...
Of course, the same care has to be applied, etc..

Good luck!

[quote name='fuzzy fizz' timestamp='1324375042' post='4895648']
To me, this looks like more than 40h of work ...actually, when reading gameplay, animations, networking etc, it looks more like a complete game than anything else.

A lot of the groundwork is already laid, so it's not a "start from scratch" scenario - there is a working prototype of the core gameplay mechanic with audio, physics and initial artwork; there is a prototype match-making lobby with working chat, but no ability to initiate a match; etc. Admittedly it's the client/server stuff that's going to be the biggest undertaking here.

A week is probably a bit conservative but then it'll depend a lot on the skill level of the candidate and their familiarity with the techs involved. I may also be pitching in and we have a couple potential volunteers lined up, but the expectation is that the paid developer would be producing the most amount of code.
[/quote]
Continuing the work of an other developer is like finishing a painting of an other artist and 95% of the development time is invested in the last 5% of the product. 5-10 man days is really not much.

[quote name='fuzzy fizz' timestamp='1324375042' post='4895648']
I think people like this are hard to find here. Moreover, are you ready to spend a few thousands of dollars for such pro developers? (because that's what they cost)
What about a "cheap student" instead?

Simply put, yes. There is flexibility on the "Job requirements", however, but since there's money involved we want to be extra careful. There are no doubt "superstar" student programmers out there who would be more than capable, and they will receive serious consideration if they apply with a strong portfolio and code samples, even if their resume is lacking.
[/quote]
I'm a java developer for around 13 years now. As this is not an employment, as freelancer I could earn around 800€[~1300$] (depends on your experiences etc.) per man day where I live. Even when you strip it down to 400$/day (less experienced, doing it for fun and living in a cheaper countery), you will pay a lot for a professional developer. And this for digging through (hacked?) code someone else has written. When a professional java developer will do it for below 200$/day, he either want to marry you, loves your product and wants to marry it or is just not really that good...

The student must do the same, and yes, he's less experienced, but paying him around 20$/h could be much cheaper and comprised lesser risks (pulling the safety line after two weeks is 4000$ vs 1600$)

Actually I'm really appraising that someone is willing to pay for a developer and I understand your concerns. But I know students which have better development skills than your average java developer. Nevertheless I wish you luck

Continuing the work of an other developer is like finishing a painting of an other artist and 95% of the development time is invested in the last 5% of the product. 5-10 man days is really not much.

Working on other developer's code is a fact of life in the software industry, albeit one that most developers grumble at ;) I mean if I were to mod an off-the-shelf engine I would need to dig through somebody else's code too.

Note that we will be doing everything possible, ahead of time, to make it as painless as possible for somebody else to work on the code base, including preparing architecture diagrams and other types of documentation. We can provide these materials before anything is signed.

I'm a java developer for around 13 years now. As this is not an employment, as freelancer I could earn around 800€[~1300$] (depends on your experiences etc.) per man day where I live. Even when you strip it down to 400$/day (less experienced, doing it for fun and living in a cheaper countery), you will pay a lot for a professional developer. And this for digging through (hacked?) code someone else has written. When a professional java developer will do it for below 200$/day, he either want to marry you, loves your product and wants to marry it or is just not really that good...

The student must do the same, and yes, he's less experienced, but paying him around 20$/h could be much cheaper and comprised lesser risks (pulling the safety line after two weeks is 4000$ vs 1600$)

Actually I'm really appraising that someone is willing to pay for a developer and I understand your concerns. But I know students which have better development skills than your average java developer. Nevertheless I wish you luck

I wish we could offer more, but the budget is what it is. Again $2k is the lower end and there is some flexibility on the upper range.

As I mentioned before we are quite open to working with a student, if they can demonstrate their ability to work with these technologies effectively. I will rejig the posting a bit to make this more clear.

Note that it's also important to us to define realistic terms in the statement of work, to ensure it's not completely open-ended and biased in our favour. And as I mentioned above we also plan to provide the candidate with whatever they need to work efficiently, so that they don't blow through the entire budget simply learning the code.

Thanks for the feedback

...as freelancer I could earn around 800€[~1300$] (depends on your experiences etc.) per man day where I live.[/quote]

Could you tell me where to apply? ...I have experience, I'm currently looking for a new job, and I'd curious to know where they pay that good.

To come back to the OP though, I think this is feasible. I mean, for a student, and there are good ones out there, it'd be perfect. It provides pocket money and perhaps something to put on his resume. Also, there are a lot of programmers living in the other side of the world which work for way cheaper. Of course, it's important to check competence and reliability first, but that's like everywhere.

...anyway, we should leave this thread to interested candidates instead of trolling around.
cheers

...as freelancer I could earn around 800€[~1300$] (depends on your experiences etc.) per man day where I live.

Could you tell me where to apply? ...I have experience, I'm currently looking for a new job, and I'd curious to know where they pay that good.
[/quote]
Take a look here and look for a profile which suits your requirements. A freelancer costs around 450-550€ + taxes (19% = 530 - 650€), so I've correct me, it is just around 600€. To make it even more embarrassing, I used a rate of change of >1.6 (I was in a hurry ...), the current one is just 1.3, so its around 650€/845$. My bad