18 replies to this topic

[gamerman98]

Hi im starting a team to make a MMORPG. For now its just for those who want to make a game and see how it goes from there. The games name is Dark Sun Online and it blends both the fantasy and Sci-Fi realms into one. Im looking for ppl who just want something to do right now, and like i said, see where it goes from there. If interested please pm me or go to our forums at: http://s3.invisionfr...eamts/index.php

thank you.

gamerman98

[Ed Mack]

What's the team like so far? Do you have design docs, many programmers, commercial backing?

The eternal optimist
Ed Mack :P

[gamerman98]

well right now its just like any other group of friends that get together to do something fun. nothing too big.

[Ed Mack]

Is there any website of what you've done so far?

(BTW, a MMORPG does not count as 'nothing too big' :D )

[gamerman98]

not at present since we are in the planning stage of it. we do have a forum for those who wish to help out in anyway they can which is on the top of this topic.

P.S. To me a game is just a game, is said its not too big cause its not the one thing that my life revolves around. my game is just a hobby.

[anubis]

dude... you really shouldn't ask for help if you have no idea what you are actually looking for. do you need people to help you with the story ? do you have a story but lack programmers or artists ? do you even know how many people you will need in total ? you should consider that there are 5 requests for help on a mmorpg per week. so what is it that makes yours so special that anybody would consider looking at it instead of the 5 other ones from this week or the 50 from last month ? at a bare minimum you would need to tell people about your vision, if that is all you have. "dude, we are makeing a game that mixes fantasy and sci-fi" isn't going to cut it. sentences like : "For now its just for those who want to make a game and see how it goes from there" will make people think that you have no eperience, which may or may not be true. the bottom line is that you need to sell yourself better if you want to get people to believe in your project, simply because the ratio of failed mmo's to ones that made it is still one gillion to 6

[gamerman98]

holy crap ppl WERE right when they told me NOT to come here. I know i havent explained much cause i wasnt done writing the story. Geez, u guys sure know how to make someone feel like they are lower class to u just because they dont know EVERY single bit of programming like u.

[Limb]

It will all be ok gamerman, it'll all be ok..

-Limb

[anubis]

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I know i havent explained much cause i wasnt done writing the story

who exactly are you planning to hire then ?

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Geez, u guys sure know how to make someone feel like they are lower class to u just because they dont know EVERY single bit of programming like u.

please give me quote where i mentioned your or my programming skills. i just told you that, when there are a dozen mmo threads per weak on this board, it's unlikely that anybody will go for vague desciptions. stop behaving like a child, get your idea straight and then come back

[anubis]

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holy crap ppl WERE right when they told me NOT to come here

who told you ?

[Ed Mack]

Although what we've said may be disheartening, it is unfortunately the reality of it, and it's better to start out with realistic expectations (for example make a small bomberman clone) than to never get anywhere.

Through time we've become a bit hardened to MMORPG requests, as they come through so often, most with little planning or real plans to ensure they get anywhere, and I don't really try to put a happy face on it all; I am sorry if you consider me tactless.

Have a look over these articles:

http://www.devmaster...uilding-mmorpg/
http://www.devmaster.net/articles/mmorpg-p...ortem/part1.php

[Mihail121]

Honestly - i don't care if you geeks post here or not! I also don't care what is beeing discussed at GameDev in respect to DevMaster. And i definetely don't care about the next big supreme MMORPG project that will be finished somewhere in time ahead!

[Ed Mack]

Chill :)

[Steven Hansen]

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Geez, u guys sure know how to make someone feel like they are lower class to u just because they dont know EVERY single bit of programming like u

C'mon... let him in on the truth.

*The Truth*
Of course we're superior to you. Instead of sitting in our basement wishing we could talk intelligent people into making games for us, most of us have spent years learning what actually goes into making games. Some of us are at the beginning of that road, while others are enjoying the fruits of success - but we're at least learning / researching / exploring / doing. You could too... but until you write the story and actually investigate how to make your dream a reality, all you will be doing is wishing you could talk intelligent people into making your game for you.

Nothing prevents intelligent people from following their own dreams. Show some initiative - go to college, read a programming book or two, write a couple programs on your own, etc. Become intelligent enough that other intelligent people *want* to be on your team.

I still remember being asked by a "friend" to program his game for $6.25 an hour with no royalties and no creative input (payable upon receipt of the millions he would inevitably get). He was certain that the story was the hardest thing to write and that I should be honored to put it to code. Laughable. Of course I'm superior to that.

So in summary, anyone who knows that they should do their homework before soliciting programming assistance, anyone who realizes that they need to work *hard* for their dreams, anyone who has spent any time in front of a computer programming anything - is superior to you in every respect (at least as far as making a game is concerned).

[gamerman98]

lmao!!! ok that sounded nice but it really was a waste of words with some so called intelligence. 1: does the word "Volunteer" make any sense at all to you.....didnt think so....get a dictionary. 2: since my last post i have gained the services from many ppl who are actually nice about it and can HANDLE a challenge like the game im making. They dont just sit there and tell other ppl they suck just because they can make a little program that can tell time and make your toaster pop up at the same time. I didnt come on here to say that "im better just cause i dont bash ppl every 5 minutes and everyone on here sucks cause they are wanna be programmers" I came here for some assistance. get a life, move outta grandmas basement, actually get a gf, or bf whatever u like better, get a job, and move on.

[Dookie]

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Hi im starting a team to make a MMORPG...

...To me a game is just a game, is said its not too big cause its not the one thing that my life revolves around. my game is just a hobby.

Uh oh, I dunno if you know what you're getting into... Writing a mmorpg WILL become something that your life will revolve around.

Oh, and 'Hi' I'm Dookie. I call myself that because I hardly consider myself 'leet'. I really am a hobby programmer, and I'm married and don't live in a basement (unless you count that time when I rented that dilapidated adobe - yeesh!), and I own a profitable contract with a top-10 medical industry company. I've never written a program that can make toast; heck, I don't even know how to write multiplayer code yet! I'm a self-taught C++ programmer that's been coding games for about a year, and I'm almost done with my first game engine.

You're prolly wondering where I'm going with this... Well, my first game engine has been the emphasis of that entire YEAR of hobby coding time. And I spend a lot of time on it, just ask my wife ('When are you going to get off that friggin' computer!? It's two in the morning!'). Granted, I'm not the fastest coder in the world but I may be the most nit-picky (EVERY bug found WILL be fixed). However, my game engine is only a basic DirectX quad renderer that receives basic input from the mouse and keyboard, and the sound system is a simple DirectMusic interface. I imagine I have another six months or so before I figure out WinSock enough to get some network or online multiplayer code working, and probably a couple more years before I can get it to make toast. As far as my experience goes, you're going to be hitting the books and surfing the forums for a looong time while you get your mmorpg going... You're suggesting taking on a much bigger project than I think you realize - your life WILL revolve around this project. Are you really ready for it?

As far as getting a team together, what I'd do in your case is this:
- Line out your mmorpg basics. You may have a tough time getting a team together if you don't know roughly what you want your game to do. What basic story do you want players to follow? Is it going to be a persistent world for everyone, or is each player going to be playing an 'instanced' game? Is it going to be a fantasy (magic and monsters) game, or a sci-fi (robots and spaceships) game, or a superhero game? Write out some storyboards, and play around with design ideas until you get a general idea of how you want your game world / game characters / character abilities to be.
- Figure out what roles your teammates will fill. You can't be expected to do everything, so figure out what each of your teammates will do while you fulfill your own role in this project. Who's going to do art? Who'll do modelling? How about a coder? Or a few coders? Who's going to finalize the storyline? Who will continue the story after the persistent world is set up? Who will host game servers? Who will provide or have the bandwidth to support a mmorpg game server? Who will administer the network hardware while lamers try to hack or crash your servers?
Teamwork and communication are paramount when it comes to keeping a team together, so try to choose a team that is in a timezone that's compatible with everyone else (so you all can share ideas at the same time). How will you communicate with all of your teammates? How will you share assets and ideas with your team?
- Experiment with the code. If you're going to be the head programmer, you need to play around with basic code (not the BASIC language, 'the basics' of your game code in C++ or your language of choice). Have you written anything that resembles how you visualize your mmorpg game to look? Is your game going to be in 3D? Or is it going to be 2D? Have you ever gotten something to communicate over your home network (a simple game or a home-made chat program)? How about the internet? If you have, how many people could use that program successfully at the same time? Did your 'net bandwidth support that many people without lagging too much?
- Assume you're going to be the first and last person on your team. I tried the whole 'team' thing on a mod I wrote a couple of years ago... I can't tell you how much trouble I had keeping that thing together! One person tried to steal too much credit for the mod (by taking my name off it and replacing it with his own), and when I told him to stop it he left the team and spread as much slander as possible to turn people away from my modding project. The rest of the team eventually lost interest in the project, because the initial coding is interesting and exciting (new things to do in the game) but the debugging is BORING (playing the same thing over and over and over again). Because of the slander and lack of interest, I dropped a three year project... Over eight gigs of code and mod assets are on a couple of DVD's in my closet.
If I'd assumed from the start that I was going to be the only one working on the project all the way through, then I probably would have finished that mod. Since I didn't, though, I let myself get depressed by the waning interest in the project by the rest of the team and I let that lamer get to me a little too much.
Arm yourself with the knowledge that you most likely will be the only one starting and the only one finishing your game (unless you put some teammates on a payroll, I suppose :wink: ).

You've got a rough, long road ahead of you... It'll be tough at times, but if you know what to expect then it will be both a fun and satisfying journey. Arm yourself with the right expectations and you will end up with an awesome mmorpg! Good luck getting your team together, I really hope you can find a group of buddies that will stick it out to the end. And I wish you the best of luck on your game! :)

[anubis]

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get a job

i have one

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actually get a gf

i have one

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move outta grandmas basement

i life under the roof in the apartment i pay all by myself

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They dont just sit there and tell other ppl they suck

i didn't

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just because they can make a little program that can tell time and make your toaster pop up at the same time

huh... never done that but it sounds like a cool idea for my apartment... especially in the mornings... maybe i'll add a coffee machine controler

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since my last post i have gained the services from many ppl who are actually nice about it and can HANDLE a challenge like the game im making

really ? good for you ! i told you from the beginning that you just needed to sell your idea differently. let me know when your project actually gets anywhere (we have a screenshot section for game projects) or post the url once you have one.

but seriously ? is there an interesting person behind your childish blabla accusations ? you know what... if you think you can get this, done fine ! i wish you the best ! but then be a productive member of this community and write a few pages about every stage of your project as it progresses and publish it as an article on this site and let others draw from your experience

[JoshEvensen]

this thread prompts quite a lot of laughter.

[anubis]

yeah... we all had our share of laughter. i wonder if he will ever come back with the right amount of "in your faceness" to show us how wrong we were all the time. if it should happen once day i will have no choice but to admit that i was wrong all along about clueless people posting on this board, asking for help on their mmorpg, without providing the faintest bit of information