I've been curious for a long time on what makes FLOSS games fail in the areas of User Experience/Interface (UX, UI) and graphics, visual coherency, why they push second hand gfx next to ace grade gfx. In my search for an answer I decided to start a project of my own to gather some first hand experience.

The aim for this project will be to collect as much content as possible for a small and simple game, at the same time; avoid neglection of any UI or UX related issue. No need for ace grade gfx just visual coherency. To be able to finish this project in a reasonable time frame, I first decided on what type of game and which kind of theme it would have. My decision is based on personal preferences what kind of "simple" game would I enjoy? It feel down to a Tactical Role-Playing Game in a fantasy setting, like Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis, Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced. Mind you, I'm only gathering content for it no code what so ever, that is for a willing developer to do if he or she find the time and will to do so.

I here give to you the mockup game;

Realp - Book of Tiny Bits

In my own estimation I already got enough game content to be able to make a game mechanics test. And this in a very short timespan. The question now is what do lead developers and project leaders miss when they do the same job. My answers at this moment would be; Time to communicate (beside the obvious; connections)  here are some questions I find important:

• How does your contributor work?
• What does he or she need, to do the things you want to be done?
• Are the contributor able to work independently or does he/she need continuous guidance?
  • If so how could you remedy that?

Don't mind the 2D, it will be in 3D as might be seen in the SVN. The 2D images everywhere, is my way of communication with contributors, in this case tidbit the 3D modeller.

How did/do I go about this project?

Well to know what content you need you must decide on a couple of things, some of them I already told you about (What kind of game). To list some of these decisions, here are some of the features I have in mind;

• Procedural map generation
• Movement by points of interest
• In-game scripting of unit behaviours

These help me understand what is needed; Without them I would miss much of the small things. So I actually think of this 'media pack' as a full game, that way I hope it will be much easier to adopt the media to other projects too.

For those who want a preview you can head over to the SVN and look at some odds and oddities pasted there. In short I'm going for a "full" media pack, doing all content that would be needed for a game

More to come soon.

We don't even make it easy to create the spark of a jaded plastic toy either. No, we make bad choices over and over again, cramping out the life-force of contributors. Forcing the entry level of contribution sky high just due to one of the contributors being very good and the rest just 'willing to help'. The problem here is not that the general Joe can't accomplish the level of skilled contributions as that of the sole contributor-god. No the problem is that we don't harness the creativity of that sole good contributor, and help him help the others to do great contributions.

I was browsing a forum the other day and noticed a "graphics needed" thread, being me I was drawn to it like a moth to light. But reading the thread got me just annoyed and irritated.

figure 1 - Example of a photo, a illustation and a 3D render, all are objects.

In this particular case they needed images for objects that was in the inventory of a container/vessel, call it inventory. Immediately I think RPG style icons, ok size, easy to eye and place for other elements to use needed space. But no here we got full 512x512 px images, all in different forms; 3D renders, photos, Illustrations (see figure 1) - you might now be thinking "good they accept any kind, many contributors" which might be true. Now think of the 'quantity or quality' question; is it better to have a 'sea of shit' or a 'pond of gold'? To me the answer is easy: I want a lake of brass.

For being a graphic designer it's not really the flashy elements that makes me accept a product, I can well settle with a not so super designed thing, as long as the style is coherent.

Regulations is good for all

How would a smart graphic project manager go about asking the community for this? Well I got a couple of ideas to solve this kind of issue. First, decide on what kind of images you accept - the more who are able to contribute to this the merrier, but don't go overboard. Second, decide on a size for the images - in this case i would go for a max size of 128x128 px as that is a standard large icon size, could go down to 22x22px to you then just need a bit more skill to make it look good. Third, do a template, make them all fit together on some way, be it background, shape or another but for the love of milk don't let them be all and every kind.