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Team Name
The Allacrost Project
Project Name
Hero of Allacrost
Brief Description
Hero of Allacrost is a single-player, 2D RPG. The game is modeled after SNES-era RPGs like Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger, but we have implemented our own flair of modern features and graphics. We are a well-established project and have been around since June 2004.
Target Aim
Allacrost is cross-platform and will be available on all flavors of Linux, Windows, Mac OSX, and whatever else we can compile it on. It is also designed to support multiple languages, from English to Portugese to Japanese. We are aiming for as broad of a target audience as possible, and hope that people from all walks can enjoy this game. This game will be of special interest to those who favor a strong gameplay and story more than realistic 3D graphics and physics. Additionally, the game is not-for-profit and open-source, licensed under the GPL.
Compensation
Because we will not collect any revenue for this game, we cannot offer you financial compensation. However, all of the current staff are quite content with putting forth their efforts into what we believe will someday be a great game to share. :) Your full name will appear in the game credits.
Technology
We don't have any requirements for artists, musicians, or developers to use any specific tools, as long as it gets the job done. Our programming staff concurrently develop on Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X and Hero of Allacrost presently runs on all three of these platforms. Allacrost currently uses the following languages, libraries, and APIs:
Programming Language: C++
Scripting Lanuguage: Lua
Low-level system library: SDL
Graphics rendering library: OpenGL
Image library: DevIL
Audio library: SDL_mixer
Text rendering library: SDL_ttf
GUI library (for map editor only): QT3
Talent Needed
Audio Engine Programmer
The programming team is currently looking to completely rehaul the audio engine. We have tried both SDL_mixer and OpenAL, and found that neither library suited our needs. If you are interested in filling this position, be wary that it will require you to to not only convince the team of a library to use, but also implement it, as well as possibly extend it to suit our needs.
Scripting Engine Programmer
Anyone looking to fill this position would be responsible for almost completely rewriting our current scripting system. We currently are able to read and write files from/to Lua, as well as execute Lua functions from C++, but are looking to take the scripting engine to the next level. Please note that this job will heavily rely on both C++ and Lua programming, so only apply if you have extensive experience with both, and preferably only if you have implemented some sort of scripting engine before.
Besides the implementation, you would be crucial in the discussion of how the engine will be designed.
Video Engine Programmer
While our current video engine suits our needs in many fashions, it is a bit out of date and needs a cleanup, both for efficiency and features.
One of the first things that would be required of anyone filling this position would be to completely rewrite our current font rendering routines to make them more efficient.
As well, we are looking to switch from DevIL to ImageMagik, because we find DevIL has been such a hassle for the team. Please only apply if you have experience with ImageMagik, or could recommend another high end cross platform image library.
Finally, HoA has its own custom GUI system that you will have to become comfortable with so that you can extend and modify its current features, and hopefully make it more flexible for us.
Artists
We are looking for artists of all sorts. While most of the game is done in the 'pixel-art' style, we have needs for a lot of other styles of art as well. If you are an artist and are looking for a game to work on, fill out a form! Even if you have NO pixel-art experience, as long as you are willing to learn, we would love to have you.
Other Programmers
We are also looking for several general programmers. If you think you are a great programmer but don't fit the bill above, send in an application! We are always looking for new members who bring experience to the table and can help us boost our productivity.
Contributors
If you are a MacOSX programmer with .app building experience, we are looking for you! Even if you cannot contribute to the code base, if you are able to manage the MacOSX build and keep it up to date, contact us!
Finally, we are looking for as many contributing artists as we can get. These artists would not be full time members of the team, and could help us whenever they had the chance. The purpose of these artists would be to look at the current list of 'art needed' on our task tracker, choose a task, do the art, and submit it to the team. The team would either then reject it, request changes, take it and change it, or take it flat out. We are looking for a core group of these artists to help boost our productivity -- so if you do not feel you are suited to take on the commitment of a full time artist but still want to contribute, this might be the position for you!
Team Structure
Our team is composed of both "staff" and "contributors". The staff are the core group that drives development, coordinate efforts, and take responsibility for getting things done. Contributors, on the other hand, are people who simply help out with small tasks when they have the bandwidth and interest. Because we are an indie project that does not compensate financially, some staff may be on extended periods of down-time when they get busy with real-life. Thus, it is quite difficult to gauge how structured our team truly is, but as far as our staff goes we have about 20 members. See the list of game credits and also the peopled invovled page on our wiki for more information.
I founded the Allacrost Project and have been the design lead since its inception. Other than leading the team, I've also written the code for the majority of the game's core engine, audio engine, scripting engine, and map exploration code. Additionally, I am the sole writer for the game's story and I dabble in artwork from time to time as well. :cool:
Contact Information
Please post any questions or inquiries that you have regarding these positions (or anything about the project/game in genernal) in this thread.
To apply for any position in our team, go here and fill out the application form. We will get back with you shortly once we receive it.
Additional Information
Links
Website - http://www.allacrost.org/
Wiki - http://wiki.allacrost.org/
Forums - http://www.allacrost.org/forum
IRC channel - #allacrost at irc.freenode.net
Bug Tracker - http://bugs.allacrost.org/ (we also use this for task management)
Sourceforge Project Page - http://sourceforge.n...jects/allacrost
Subversion Repository (web-browsable) - http://svn.sourcefor...ewvc/allacrost/
Screenshots
Artwork
Map Artwork
http://www.allacrost...ce_claudius.png http://www.allacrost..._face_laila.png http://www.allacrost...face_marcus.png http://www.allacrost...face_vanica.png
Battle Artwork
http://www.allacrost...um-drakueli.png
http://www.allacrost...le_nagaruda.png
http://www.allacrost...le_skeleton.png
http://www.allacrost...attle_snake.png
http://www.allacrost...le_claudius.png
Scene Artwork
http://www.allacrost...rvah_aflame.jpg
http://www.allacrost...rvah_castle.jpg
http://www.allacrost...desert_cave.png
Music
Confrontation, one of our many battle themes
Latest release
A playable demo is on the way! We need some help in our programming and art departments before we're ready to release it though, hence this post. :)
