Anyone from Cambridgeshire? - possible team

Hi all,

is anyone else from Cambridgeshire here? I'm finishing up a couple of simple games right now, but wanting to start working on my Action RPG title soon. It's a project that will need a small team.

Look up a game called Arkadian warriors, that's the type of game I'm looking to do, or Baulders gate dark alliance on PS2 is another one to look at.

I know this sounds like a very newbie post, but I just need to know who's from where in the UK so I have an idea of who's about.

I'm working in Blitz3D right now, but am fine to change if needed. Obviously there's no reason we can't use multiple languages to cover the tools and main game.

Does it need to be Cambridgeshire? I'm from Outside Glasgow, Scotland

I'm in Norfolk which isn't a million miles away, but the likelihood is I won't want to work with you anyway!

I just don't like people very much!!

And I'm seriously considering dropping out of the BB scene anyway.

I'm in PeeWee, United States of Brazil.

Norfolk!!! You can keep yer tractors to yourself mate! You and you low lying fields full of peat....

(I'm joking really)

About the BB scene, after reading a few other indie developer's diaries, I'm looking at developing a new title in C++ from the ground up, using something like OGRA for the graphics, or maybe a different engine. I'm not daft enough to try to code my own graphics library from scratch.

Sounds like a cool game (I know the genre well). I'm in Dorset, but teams can be virtual no problems. What sort of people do you want in the team? I can't do any programming (too busy), but would love to co-design it on the macro and micro levels and play test it and polish it (these are actually my core strengths). I can offer my framework for free to the programmer to give them a head start. Contact me if you are interested and we can discuss it more.

Smilertoo throws a deep fried pizza at Ross_C

Yes, Norwich, that backward place that is the only city in the UK to have free open wifi across the whole area. :)
Rather you than me!

im in cambridge but as i work too many hours for the good old nhs (just in the catering dept not health care itself) im never with enough time to re aquaint myself with blitz (12 hours a day till they work out a dual shift system)

12 hours a day? Surely you only work three or four days a week then?

I work in cambridge too normally, but go away on projects quite a lot, such as now I'm near zurich during the week.

@GreyAlien:
I didn't really state any design plans for the game, just that I want to write an action RPG, the reason for this is simple: simple quests, no complicated NPC's to worry about, yu can have lots of almost identical enemies and randomly generate your dungeons, so it should be a lot simpler and easier than writing a serious RPG like Oblivion. I think it's called "hack and slash" anyone that's played gauntlet will know what I mean. No stroyline yet, so it could be traditional RPG set in castles and such, ro have it modern or even futuristic in an alien breed style (actually that'd be cool). so anyone with good art and game design skills would be cool.

I say I want to do it in C++, that's really just to say I want to move into a more widely accepted language for the industry, it's a skill I've been wantingto work on for ages. But there's no reason this type of game couldn't be done in Blitz3D with good results.

I should have said cool game genre, because I've played that sort before and like them. I love RPGs and action, so action RPGs are cool in my books.

Ah yes, I was going to post back that I guess you'd need to do it in 3D and thus BMax without a 3D library wouldn't be suitable unless you felt like making a retro-style 2D overhead (or zelda angle) action RPG more like Gauntlet.

its always been 06:00 - job done (brief bit of 07:00 starts)
but we got a new run going across east anglia that leaves ours at 06:00 so i have to finish it before home time which is sometimes 18:00 (on a good day)

i work 7 days straight mon-sun
tue wed off
7 days thur-tue
wed thur off
work friday
off sat sun
back to mon-sun

when i get home all i want to do is sleep
and im a 10 min walk from cambridge lesure and cineworld so ive slept through most of my unlimited card usage and a few good junction gigs too :(

all this in 3 deg c too
so my brain didnt even thaw out intime for my japanese evening class at hills road that i was always late for
(could have taken polish as 90% of our work force is but ive always wanted to get my head around japanese ever since akira came out)
i decided not to resit in april or take the digital photography one they had going
not till they got a shift system going or a propper working week for 12 hour days eg 4 on 4 off

I liked Norwich for the two weeks I was there....., the Norfolk north coast is great. Am not from Cambridgeshire, did it for about 3 years... moved on.

I'm learning japanese too mate. Mainly due to wanting to watch anime without subtitles.

you didnt just do the 'absolute beginers' feb course at hills road did you?

someone was in the gaming field iir

thats kinda why i was trying and failing over the last 15? years ... akira i blame you ;)
dont watch anime much nowadays though
not unless you count falling asleep at 8pm during a dvd 'watching'

having said that im glad i took bsl level 1 when i did in 04 (at crc) as i was finishing no later than 4 on average iir so i could cycle all the way to kings hedges campus and not be late unlike now ... i worked it out not working days off notwithstanding i should do 80 hours over time this month so come may pay day i should be minted :) and too tired to spend it on booze

nah, using a dodgy rosetta stone dis I got on ebay.

Anyway, to keep this on topic.....

The way I picture a small team working is one person working on design and making levels. Another person writing the game tools, such as character design tools and map editor and doing graphics. Then a third person writing the code. Ideally I want to use some kind of scripting for the game levels, so the coder doesn't have to know what ewach level is, only how to implement what could appear in the level. that's how I wrote "Grenade" (a cannon fodder clone a few years ago, long story, involved kooldog, anyway). Yeah, and ust share the task of getting sound effects and music, play testing can be done by a few members of this wonderful blitz community.

why does it involve cambridgeshire though (aside from project meetings in a pub ;) )
i do some long distance vocal work for a mate in manchester (post cd's of wavs cos my connection is pants slow and is capped at 3gb traffic pcm)
brother mapps for his jedi clan that is mostly american and some other guy skins it

i can see how localising it can work but long distance enables you to find the right fish in the bigger pond
and msn/yahoo im's and this forum help co-ordinate projects

I guess I just have these crazy ideas of long development sessions where you work in the same room just throwing ideas around. I'll work with people over distance if need be. And I guess there's always screensharing and skype.

Anyway, back to my casual game, it's coming along nicely, time to add a title screen and main menu I think. Oh god this'll be boring.

I totally agree Andy, I'm a big fan of being in the same room and thrashing out ideas... unfortunately that's rarely possible unless you do literally live round the corner from someone or you have an office.