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.

It's currently in the planning stage and that is fine by me, I like to see how new projects grow and fall. Not saying this will fail, I have all confidence in Barra's ability to make this float. What I really want to say is: "Now is the time to jump in!" as in this stage your thoughts will have a chance of greater impact, as when this is in a move it will be a lot harder to make changes.

Skills I think would be really useful  at the moment are:

• Drawing - concept art and doodles
• Pen and Paper RPG experience - Creating a good gaming world (rule-set)
• Simple 3D artists - Fast models for rendering 2D graphic

So if you are interested you should jump in the IRC channel #parpg at freenode or the forum and write an introduction.