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[GlyphGryph]

Yeah, I'm not the greatest programmer, though, so I do appreciate useful advice.
There are javascript games out there:
http://html5games.com/
http://www.webresourcesdepot.com/25-amazing-javascript-games-some-fun-and-inspiration/
http://www.p01.org/releases/DEFENDER_of_the_favicon/
http://www.javascriptgaming.com/

Though most of them are fairly simple endeavors. Games of the quality we're seeking have traditionally been done in Flash, and maybe that is a better idea. I'm just hoping the limited amount of impressive stuff is due to it being new rather than inherently inferior, but if you have experience otherwise, I'd appreciate knowing.

I know you said you're behind it now, but other people might have the same concerns

[RF]

I'd be willing to jump in and do some writing.

It depends on what you need doing, though, and how procedural stuff needs to be. Just chuck me a specification on what you want me to write and I'll be capable of doing it.

[ILikePie]

I haven't read through the whole thread yet, but I'd love to do some spriting (unless someone has already taken the "spriter" position, of course). It's been a few years since I drew any bit of pixel art, so I may be a bit rusty. I did a lot of work for some Cortex Command mods a year or two ago.

I'll try and find some of that stuff later, I don't have much time now.

I also do some "fine" (fine is an overstatement, but yeah...) C and Java programming.

[Virex]

Still, we're not committed to it. It IS important its web based, but beyond that there are plenty of acceptable technologies. Heck, there's been arguments on the team that maybe we should limit the scope, adopt a different business model and release it as a tablet app, which I think are Java and Objective C predominantly, though I'm not sure.

I think web is the better choice for now, but we'll see once we've got a good handle on who we've got willing to program. There's definitely a lot of fun things that could be done with something like this on a Tablet, that's for sure.

Note that most web browsers have a built-in Java engine. It's up to the programmers to indicate what they're most comfortable with. On that note, if you do go with Java, I could brush off my Java skills (I should be able to pick up the other languages with some effort but that means I'll be learning on the job, which may not be what you need), but the first thing that needs to be done is the writing of a design document, with the following important points:

• Technical details: What language(s) is it written in? Are there any other requirements, like databases, servers et cetera.
• The deployment concept: a website or an app, or something entirely different?
• Financial part: Some investment will be needed, either to get the site hosted or to get the app into the stores. It's also important to know how these costs are going to be covered.
• Gameplay: seems like it's largely pinned down, but a good description of all things players can do and encounter is needed. It's especially important to get a feeling for how the game is to progress and develop beforehand and to map out in general lines all actions that can be taken.
• Story: You mentioned a story. A general story direction for the story writers will be needed, as well as world building data. Later on a full story document tracking all this information could be created, if needed.
• Art direction: Same as the story bullet. A general art direction has to be decided on and some guidelines need to be laid down.
• Code guidelines: Indentation style, commenting style and everything else that's going to make the life of the coders easier goes here. Prevents the code from becomming a mish-mash of different styles and techniques.
• Data exchange and synchronization: Those working on a certain topic need to access the files relevant to that topic. Something like a subversion or git project would be useful, as would be an IRC-channel and/or a mailing list.
• Schedule: A summary of what has to be ready when, always useful to have.

Of course it's not possible to pin all these things down from the start, so in many cases a general description will suffice, leaving place to fill in the details as things become clearer. The document is basically a reference for the team so everyone can see what's the current state of the project, what needs to be done and what he or she needs to take into account while doing that.

[Nadaka]

We're looking at web-based, so possibly Flash or JavaScriptJava.

Fix'd. No really, I know JS has come a long way, but it's primary focus as a language is to do some data handling, maybe some regex checking if your lazy, and then send a form to a server. It isn't a powerful language, and doesn't have the same support that either Java or Flash have.

Also, thanks. I like that cloud.

Java script is a fully featured (if different) language. No, its not very fast, but it is fine for something like this. What it lacks is a good IDE and a consistent cross browser implementation, so you either need an expert or just hack and try repeatedly. I am not saying you should use javascript, but you shouldn't rule it out so easily. Note that flash isn't free do develop in and while it does have some good IDE's, they are expensive.

Note that most web browsers have a built-in Java engine...

What browsers have a built in Java engine? Both firefox and IE rely on an external JRE and that is ~90% of the browser market.

[olemars]

Java script is a fully featured (if different) language. No, its not very fast, but it is fine for something like this. What it lacks is a good IDE and a consistent cross browser implementation, so you either need an expert or just hack and try repeatedly. I am not saying you should use javascript, but you shouldn't rule it out so easily. Note that flash isn't free do develop in and while it does have some good IDE's, they are expensive.

For free flash development there is always haXe, which remains surprisingly unknown considering its versatility.

And javascript is indeed better than its reputation. At work we script most of our UI through QML and javascript, and it has lots of graphical and animated components. It's not good at number crunching though.

Note that most web browsers have a built-in Java engine...

What browsers have a built in Java engine? Both firefox and IE rely on an external JRE and that is ~90% of the browser market.

I'm going to assume he meant Javascript.

[Max White]

Do you guys even check your emails...?

[forsaken1111]

Do you guys even check your emails...?

Yes, I'm actually writing back right now. Sorry about that.

[Max White]

That's ok, just making sure we are active. Good to get a feel for these things. Would hate to think were all doing stuff, just not talking to each other.

[Aqizzar]

So... what's the haps, guys?  How are things going?

[forsaken1111]

We have a dev meeting scheduled for Sunday where we'll hash out a lot of our plans moving forward. You haven't been forgotten, we just have a lot of groundwork to do before we can move on to anything concrete.

[lordnincompoop]

GlyphGryph, I've sent you a PM for my application.

[forsaken1111]

Just a short update on our progress.

We have a name: Zapgun Games

We have done quite a bit of theoretical work on the game, hammering out mechanics and mission variety.

We still need writers, for mission briefings, lore entries, race details and other minutiae.
We still need artists, for art assets and sprite sheets as well as UI work.
We still need coders, to code... things. That is Glyph's department.

That is all.

[Aqizzar]

We have done quite a bit of theoretical work on the game, hammering out mechanics and mission variety.

I guess the necessary question, although it's more a question for Glyph, is how much of a functional game is there at the moment?  I'd hate to think that "hammering out" means "we're looking for someone who can code this".  I mean, it looks like you guys actually know what you're doing and have a program of some kind, however experimental and super-duper pre-alpha, but actual coded stuff at any rate.

[forsaken1111]

I understand the sentiment Aqizzar. Rest assured we're not looking for someone to offload the hard work onto or anything like that. I'll let Glyph answer you more specifically though.

Edit: And in case he doesn't see this before then, we have a dev meeting on Sunday so I'll bring it up then so he can let you know where we stand. I can tell you that we do have several prototype super-alpha sets of code but the ground work is there. When I said 'hammering out mechanics' I meant the meta-level stuff for how the larger game will work. How you will move across the galaxy, how the map will zoom and function, how resources are collected, etc.

Also, those interested in doing some part-time writing for us: We'll be going over writing submissions on Sunday so you should see a result soon if you sent one in.