I need a collaborator (or two) for a professional project
Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2011 6:40 am
Two years ago, I started a project to allow people to play card-games online. I was specifically targeting Shadowfist, a CCG I've loved for about 15 years. At the time the best solution for playing online Shadowfist had just died, and I thought providing a high-quality free alternative would be awesome.
I made lots of progress, got all of the card data converted into tables and wrote a pretty sweet card rendering routine, along with an infinite tabletop with a camera that could zoom/pan/rotate with customizable views for each player. Each player had their own view of the table - as though they were sitting around a physical space (my opponent's cards were upside-down if they were "across" from me.) I never finished the project, but it's something I've always meant to come back to.
Skip ahead to today - Shadowfist has changed owners, and the new folks in charge are very interested in helping me get this project finished and into the hands of the players. I don't want any money from them, but I'm sure we could negotiate a stipend for a few people. My biggest hurdle is the networking element - figuring out how to best break the computation into client and server-side programs, distinguishing between moves made by multiple players, and packing/unpacking the data tables needed for updates. I'm also not sure how to handle the fact that when the project goes live dozens or potentially hundreds of games would be played simultaneously - networking is not my specialty.
If this sounds appealing to you - if you like a good challenge, need to build your resume with a released product, or maybe you're another Shadowfist veteran (or you just need the $$) - please get in touch with me. I'm projecting a timeline that starts in early October and ends in December/January.
About Me:
My name is Simon Strange, and I've been a professional Game Designer for 13 years. I've shipped 15 console titles, including Tony Hawk, Tomb Raider, Prince of Persia, Rampage, Godzilla, Hellboy, Army of Two, and others. I've recently founded my own company - Sunstone Games - which is developing mobile-platform games using Corona (another lua-based engine). I've been using love for a little over 3 years, mostly as an engine to prototype gameplay concepts.
About Shadowfist:
Shadowfist was introduced in 1995 during the first rush of CCG games following the release of Magic:TG. Shadowfist distinguished itself for a focus on 4-player action, massive comeback, great mechanics, and awesome Hong-Kong cinema theme. Shadowfist has been in continuous production and development for more than 15 years, with tens of millions of cards printed. Check it out at www.shadowfist.com
I made lots of progress, got all of the card data converted into tables and wrote a pretty sweet card rendering routine, along with an infinite tabletop with a camera that could zoom/pan/rotate with customizable views for each player. Each player had their own view of the table - as though they were sitting around a physical space (my opponent's cards were upside-down if they were "across" from me.) I never finished the project, but it's something I've always meant to come back to.
Skip ahead to today - Shadowfist has changed owners, and the new folks in charge are very interested in helping me get this project finished and into the hands of the players. I don't want any money from them, but I'm sure we could negotiate a stipend for a few people. My biggest hurdle is the networking element - figuring out how to best break the computation into client and server-side programs, distinguishing between moves made by multiple players, and packing/unpacking the data tables needed for updates. I'm also not sure how to handle the fact that when the project goes live dozens or potentially hundreds of games would be played simultaneously - networking is not my specialty.
If this sounds appealing to you - if you like a good challenge, need to build your resume with a released product, or maybe you're another Shadowfist veteran (or you just need the $$) - please get in touch with me. I'm projecting a timeline that starts in early October and ends in December/January.
About Me:
My name is Simon Strange, and I've been a professional Game Designer for 13 years. I've shipped 15 console titles, including Tony Hawk, Tomb Raider, Prince of Persia, Rampage, Godzilla, Hellboy, Army of Two, and others. I've recently founded my own company - Sunstone Games - which is developing mobile-platform games using Corona (another lua-based engine). I've been using love for a little over 3 years, mostly as an engine to prototype gameplay concepts.
About Shadowfist:
Shadowfist was introduced in 1995 during the first rush of CCG games following the release of Magic:TG. Shadowfist distinguished itself for a focus on 4-player action, massive comeback, great mechanics, and awesome Hong-Kong cinema theme. Shadowfist has been in continuous production and development for more than 15 years, with tens of millions of cards printed. Check it out at www.shadowfist.com