BRAINSTORM: What's sort of collaborative projects could we do as a community?
polycounter lvl 19
I know we have unofficial collab project, and some other group activities going on, but I've often wondered if we could do a mod as an art community.
This wouldn't be design by committee, either. Design-by-committee or "too many cooks in the kitchen syndrome" is what kills a lot of the group projects.
A few people - myself and more senior artists/developers - would take ownership of the project and come up with a compelling idea for a mod, post what that is, and see what would be involved.
From there we'd create an art test, based on the mod idea, to see who would fill the rest of the team out. Once the entire team is established, we - as an entire community - would build this mod.
"Adam, this is stupid. You just said the team would be small but that the entire community would build the mod. Explain yourself, you drunk!"
What I mean is, everyone who would like to be involved can help drive the project forward. Offer ideas, criticism, modeling adjustments and so on. Think of it as if a mod team joined PC and posted progress shots of their mod. What would you do? You'd post comments and critiques along the way. This would be no different.
TL;DR:
-Can we do a mod as a community of artists?
-The core team would consist of established/senior game artists.
-The rest of the team is established via needs and art tests.
-Entire PC community is welcome to comment, critique, name-call, praise, and so on.
BTW: I doubt I would ever do this. I'd have to pass the buck of admining the site in order to focus on such a thing which I am not so sure I am comfortable with at the moment. I am more or less trying to gauge what you guys would think of such a controlled attempt to making a mod in an otherwise open community.
This wouldn't be design by committee, either. Design-by-committee or "too many cooks in the kitchen syndrome" is what kills a lot of the group projects.
A few people - myself and more senior artists/developers - would take ownership of the project and come up with a compelling idea for a mod, post what that is, and see what would be involved.
From there we'd create an art test, based on the mod idea, to see who would fill the rest of the team out. Once the entire team is established, we - as an entire community - would build this mod.
"Adam, this is stupid. You just said the team would be small but that the entire community would build the mod. Explain yourself, you drunk!"
What I mean is, everyone who would like to be involved can help drive the project forward. Offer ideas, criticism, modeling adjustments and so on. Think of it as if a mod team joined PC and posted progress shots of their mod. What would you do? You'd post comments and critiques along the way. This would be no different.
TL;DR:
-Can we do a mod as a community of artists?
-The core team would consist of established/senior game artists.
-The rest of the team is established via needs and art tests.
-Entire PC community is welcome to comment, critique, name-call, praise, and so on.
BTW: I doubt I would ever do this. I'd have to pass the buck of admining the site in order to focus on such a thing which I am not so sure I am comfortable with at the moment. I am more or less trying to gauge what you guys would think of such a controlled attempt to making a mod in an otherwise open community.
Replies
Crappy brainstorm is crappy! Explain yo'self!
Anything in mind?
FYI speaking as an artist.
also what metal said: of what would be a big factor.
Beyond that, my experience with mod teams are that there's always a dedicated and motivated core that pushes forward. The rise or fall of the mod depends on those people being present and active. When they are, shit gets done. When they're not, the people on the periphery disappear, the mod changes hands and gets rewritten, etc, etc, eventually leading to deadsville. Find that core group to organize and set things in motion and I think you'll find a willing army of recruits to join up.
so
- a game where content can come in seperate interchangable pieces at varying levels of size (or work requirement)
- mismatched style *is the style*. No heavy handed enforcement of one perfect style
to give an example: Polycount tetris.
Large scale tasks: 'setting design' (the outer area which holds the game, score, etc. this could be done as an environment.
Medium scale task: 'piece set design' - design a whole set of tetris shapes
small scale tasks: 'single piece design' - create any model you want as long as its silhouette conforms to one of the basic tetris shapes. These could include characters, random tech greebles, hand-painted looking wood pieces etc. This can contribute to a mode where any of the created pieces may be used for the game, in a big mashup of models.
so here an artist can create an entire scene and piece theme to go with it, or just one single piece, and the whole thing still holds together. this is the kind of thinking it'll need imo
(naturally in this example, you'd also need to seperate the model into bits for when lines are removed. some guidelines will be unavoidable, but keep them as loose as possible)
What about a community project instead? Like what if we did a huge content pack that we released, for free, royalty free.
For instance: the Polycount Crate package. A plethora of different crates, resolutions, and sizes, and so on. All source material is sent with it, everything. Old, modern, scifi, alien, etc. etc.
To make things potentially more productive I would just like to ask a question:
What this project is going to do for the community that polycount in it's current form with p&p and contests doesn't?
(talking about the mod)
edit:
Community project is a nice idea but the theme would have to be really awesome to make it better then just another contest.
A collective goal that a large group would collaborate on. Contests & P&P do not offer that. When collaborating on that scale, the personal buy-in from the individual is much greater. Similar to how collaborating at work is fucking awesome
Alright now my brain is going crazy with POLYCOUNT TOWER thoughts.
UDK pros: What would be required to do this successfully? yes a template for people to abide by but what about when its time to compile the end result? Would it be best to have each 'floor' come in as a group of assets/1 large asset and bring in the UDK package as well?
If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for vast and endless sea.
I sent this idea to adam a while ago, but they were busy building the new Polycount. I'll copy and paste the message here to see what you guys think.
ORIGINAL MESSAGE
Hey Adam, I had an idea earlier for a Polycount group UDK project that I thought might be interesting. I wanted to run it by you first to see if it would even be possible.
I was inspired by the Polycount Stall thread, where everyone signs their name to the wall. What if, using UDK, we collectively built a virtual "Polycount Office". Everyone who wishes to participate will receive a 15x15 foot (or whatever size) office space that belongs to them. They can do whatever they would like within their office, whether it be build their dream office or just make it ridiculous. They could fill it with models they have previously done, or make all new models. Outside of each office will be a plaque on the wall with the members username. There could be separate floors for different levels of members. Members with 1-299 posts could be floor 1, 300-999 could be floor 2, 1000 posts and up could be floor 3, and admins could have their own floor.
The more skilled PC members could also be in charge of the hallways, stairs, and other layout features of the office. Every so often, a build of the level would be available for download, for members to run through.
Like I said, I don't know if this would be possible or not. Whoever organizes the project would have to put rules and regulations regarding the specs of each room and such. I'm also not sure how we would go about integrating all the work that everyone does into one single environment. That's why I'm running this by you before posting the idea, to see if this is even logically possible.
I just think it would be very entertaining to run through what you would envision the Polycount Office building to look like, and be able to view each member's personal office. It would also give members a chance to produce models, learn some of the engine, and show off their models in-game.
Let me know what you think, if it doesn't make any sense, feel free to shoot it down as well, haha.
Thoughts?
otoh, take a look at the polycount mc server. this is probably about the closest polycount will ever get to doing a mod as a community and the hints for something successful are there.
1. it needs to be multiplayer
2. easy way to import models and do fancy things like turn them into entities or simply static meshes (all the while being in multiplayer still)
3. coop multiplayer world editing ala minecraft,
currently there is no engine i know of that can pull this off, the closest that i know of is the sauerbraten engine ( http://sauerbraten.org/ ) you can actually do ingame coop editing of levels and add entities that already exist, although you cant for instance browse to a folder and add in some arbitrary models ingame if i can recall.
while sauerbraten is no UDK in terms of graphics you can do a lot to make it pretty, and its ingame level editor, while limited is FAR more flexible and powerfull then world building in minecraft.
also the main engine coder is a friend of mine, could probably convince him to work on something assuming some really great art from polycount actually could make its way into his engine
now with that all said i dont think it would ever happen
It doesn't need to be. What inhabits a tower? Characters!
Eh?
http://www.mrwong.de/myhouse/
edit: low poly sounds good! especially if it's to be viewable in real time, since the model could get high-poly fast if you pile up enough floors hehe
EDIT: holy shit this thread moved fast.
One problem I foresee, however, is how the designated level builder would get everyone's assets placed correctly. Although it shouldn't be too hard if each participant assembles their space in their 3d app and exports each asset with the correct world space coordinates.
edit: yeah true the walkthrough aspect is appealing. does that mean creating collision geometry etc tho? I'm wary about any requirements which could either put people off or reduce the chance the work gets finished
I thought that was dead? :poly141:
In terms of assets, just have all the assets with the prefab included in one package and throw them all in the test packages folder of the udk build. Makes it much easier to import content into a new scene.
If your going with the tower idea, I think it would also be nice to standardize lighting and post processing effects (if any) so people can build assets knowing that they'll all fit together in some regards.
All in all I like this idea. Hope it evolves into the next polycount competition.
edit. This reminds me of animal crossings house interiors.
Either way, it's an exciting idea
Haha, the irony in this statement made me chuckle.
@Dado: You thinking of like super mario galaxy? Would be awesome haha.
so you spin it around and look at it from the outside. maybe peer through some windows , or cutaway section to the interior (if someone made an interior)
I'd likely just build the tower and do some helicopter style videos of it.
Gonna brain storm this idea more tonight once I get home and can open max!
EDIT: Rooster - exactly!
EDIT: I guess the only concern I have about keeping the viewer outside is that you wouldn't be able to see people's work as well, or be able to get up close and see little personal touches on their desks and what not. Or maybe I'm just picturing this all wrong, haha.
Polycount HQ
Check out the link I posted up there^
Each floor could include an elevator in the center and still be constrained to some bounds.
Edit: Just read adam's post about no collision data. This thread moves too fast
PC Orbital HQ? One long space station where everyone designs a section. Might give more flexibility than a down-to-earth office building...
The advantage in making cinematics is that this can be done purely by artists, since the plot, til the final animation. And it covers everything on the process, plot, concept of chars, enviros, modeling, texturing, animation, effects, etc. I think this would be really good for general learning.
That is an awesome idea. Would vertical circulation be handled by some kind of teleporter or elevator or stairs? Also, you could kick out some Doctor Who TARDIS/Hank Pym Infinite Mansion shenanigans with a closet door that houses some impossibly huge room.
that's pretty much the idea.
The space station comment has me thinkin' now too..
THIS IS PORTAL!!
What if we had a simple setup of rooms/hallways. Probably modular pieces so it can be added too, then a person(or a team) could "register" a room, then build a mini environment in it.
So basically, you have something similar to exhibits in an art gallery.
Would be simple, easy to organize in udk (one .upk per room or something).
Really makes me wish you could do browser builds with UDK (like Unity) as I'm sure the vast majority of people will want to use UDK.
Edit: Damnit realized somebody already mentioned a similar idea. Haha this thread IS moving fast.
I'd be more pumped for that as opposed to a tower (no offence).