Forums! The Musical

No, not like that! Like this...

Because we're not a full-time, multi-million-dollar games development corporation, the Paradox! Dev Team is working hard to balance holding down full-time jobs, raising families and doing all kinds of other things, with trying to provide you, the players, with the very best game we can. We do our best, but we can always use help, and there are many opportunities for talented, creative people to become involved in the development of the game.

What do we need help with?

The short answer is - pretty much anything and everything. There are only 6 of us on the Dev Team, all juggling multiple responsibilities, and we have a list about a kajillion bazillion miles long of things to do. Things like (in no particular order):

-Backend code (PHP/MySQL)
-Frontend code (HTML/CSS/AJAX)
-Content Writing (including Opponents, Items, Weapons, Effects etc.)
-Graphics
-Documentation/Wiki
-Mechanics/Spading
-Publicity
-Suggesting Improvements

There really is a lot of stuff required to be done for a game as intricate and complex as Paradox! and any help is always gladly appreciated.

Will I be paid?

I need to make it absolutely clear that we are not offering paid positions. We can't. Paradox! is currently funded out of my pocket, and is being supplemented by very, very modest donations. Put it this way, so far we've received enough money in donations to cover ONE MONTH of "proper" hosting (ie. dedicated server), and we have a long way to go before anything changes there. With that in mind, if you want to be involved, don't do it for financial reasons. Instead, do it because it's something fun and different, or because it's an outlet for your pent-up creativity, or even because it gives you an opportunity to hone your skills (or learn new ones) or whatever. That's why we do it

EDIT: Donations have increased to the point where we've been able to pay for another year's hosting at the current level. It's not as good as the hosting we really NEED but it'll have to do. We're still not paying ourselves and we still can't pay anyone else.

OK, so will I be made a Dev Team member then?

Not necessarily. In fact, probably not unless you're REALLY dedicated and capable. Becoming part of the official Dev Team has pros and cons. On the "pro" side, you get access to ALL the information, you can create stuff out of thin air (items/moolah etc.) and so on. On the "con" side, being part of the Dev Team is a huge responsibility, requiring a massive commitment of both time, effort and accountability etc. Additionally, the Dev Team can't really play the game properly due to inside information. Which is a bit.. sucky.

In any case, we will not be creating additional Dev Team positions until and unless there is a very real need for an official Dev Team position. When and if that happens, we would be approaching people who have already demonstrated the ability, commitment and desire to effectively operate as a Dev Team member.

So what's in it for me then?

Working on a game like this can be a rich and rewarding experience. It can also be incredibly frustrating at times, but in general it's rewarding. You get to make something and then you get to enjoy watching people using what you've made and, generally, being positive about it. You can sit back and look at what you've made and say to yourself "I made that, and people are enjoying it" and that's a fantastic feeling.

Additionally, as mentioned earlier, it's an opportunity to hone your skills, or learn new ones. You may be at school or university, and considering a career in computer game development, graphic design, technical writing, fiction writing etc. and this is most definitely an arena where you can practice the skills you need to further that career.

OK, so what do I do now?

Getting started is simple. If you feel that you have, or would like to get, talent and experience in ANY of the above fields, take a look around. Find something that you think needs work and that you can help with, and then either contact someone on the dev team (most likely me) in-game or post about it in the Suggestions forum. It's probably best not to just start work without talking to someone, because it may be that we're already working on whatever it is, and there's no point duplicating work.

Chances are that, if you have an idea for something, we'll ask you to provide some details. For example, if you want to make maps for the game (and boy do we really need THOSE), then we may ask for a proof-of-concept image. It might be an idea to have something ready to go when you initially contact us, although keep in mind what I said earlier about duplicating work.

Something you should definitely NOT do is to say you're going to do something and then fail to deliver. I don't like to be negative, but I can't begin to tell you how frustrating and disappointing it is for me when someone says they are definitely going to do something, and then they just don't. No explanation, no apologies, it just doesn't happen and then everyone else is left to scramble at the last minute to pick up the slack. Yes, it's happened in Paradox. More than once. No, I'm not going into detail.

Suffice it to say that, if you want to try something, then by all means go ahead and give it a go. You can do that at any time without necessarily making a commitment, but please don't give a commitment to doing something without being absolutely certain you can follow through on it. If, after you start, it turns out that something changes and you can't follow through, that's OK - it happens, but please let me know as soon as you can so that we can make alternative arrangements.

Alrighty then, go crazy!

I can actually be good at 4 or more in a distant future on those categories :p

Without going into too much detail, we currently REALLY need some ideas/input regarding a map system for the game. Anyone with any thoughts, please contact me directly in game.

Is the Carnival map required too?

In the short term, we need maps for:

-Paradox City (Main Map)
--Town Centre
---The Mall
--Suburbs
---Paradox University*
--The Outskirts of Town
---The Carnival
---The Zweit-Childer Mining Site

I think that's about it. Obviously each parent map should show its immediate children, whether it be a link to another map or an adventure zone.

*At the moment, "Your Room" and "Paradox University" are separate, but since "Your Room" is in fact part of the University, it should actually be included in that map, rather than on the Suburbs map. So what's the point of the Suburbs, since the only thing there is the University? Trust me, there'll be more stuff coming.

I'd love to. As a University Creative Writing student, I'd be happy to help. Just say when, what, where and how. And probably why, too.

~Reenix

Oh, and a suggestion for you: class system!

Brawn - Brains - Bravado

If you want some ideas of the class name, what's the theme of the game? The plot, as it were.

The theme of the game is a time travel and a never ending paradox at least thats what i see from the little hints. As for classes i seem to remember some talk of this a while back not sure if it went on hold but it should be addressed when more skills and things that could be class specific get implemented

Edit: Spelling mistake >.<

Heh, the class thing has been mentioned several times. Paradox will NOT have character classes in the traditional sense, rather we are looking at a system whereby what you do in-game will determine what you can subsequently do. Without going into too much spoilery detail, it's pretty flexible and more like real life than "choose a class, you're stuck with it" system.

And yep, Stroby, the game is/will be/was about time travel and paradoxes etc. we just haven't got that far yet. It IS in development (as is everything) and when it all happens, you guys will be like "ohhhh so *that's* what that <insert random thing> was all about, I get it now".. And then hopefully you'll add "that's so cool" rather than "how freakin' lame"

Hi,I would like to volunteer to help in any way I can. I'm afraid that I'm not a computer buff and I don't know and code stuff but if there is something that I can do then just let me know.

Thanks

Awesome ShadowWolf. Basically, feel free to jump in wherever you see something that needs work And you'll see it everywhere

You don't have to be a C++ expert to help an MMORPG - it's made for the people, we are the people. *gets my arse back to script-writing*

If you need a bit of writing here and there it is my strong point, just send me occasional things you need writing for.

I am willing to help in any writings whatsoever. Whether its descriptions, enemy descriptions, adventure stuff, anything I will be happy to help.

Also, you feel free when to use my Photoshop skillz.

Thanks guys, very much appreciated. At the moment, things have... well, not stagnated, but there've been a lot of real-life distractions for Elljae and myself, and any time we've been able to get has been spent either going through all the great stuff on the forums and in chat, and working on outstanding bugs (yes, THAT stupid chat issue which took almost 3 full days out of my schedule) and tweaks here and there.

I'm hoping to get back on track over the next few days, and hopefully get some decent new (storyline-related) content out, and then start moving on to Christmas content (oooh-aahhh), and then the next bit of storyline content, all the while continuing to chip away at my ridiculously large to-do list.

In the meantime, any ideas/suggestions/feedback you might have is definitely being noted, and at some point we may just take you up on it, so please keep it coming.

I will help. I'm good in writing.
Kill the boredom.

LG

I could maybe come up with some suggestions

Every little helps, as they (Tesco) say. You don't have to be studying a degree in Creative Writing and English Literature (ahem) to write good, like what I do

Heh. *chimes in to offer help anywhere she can*

I can write stuff, and I can draw(badly) and edit graphics(gimp is what I use currently, it's freeware). I'm not terribly techy, but I really want to learn coding stuff, so if there's a way I could start learning and help at the same time that would be rad, however I wouldn't want it to turn into more trouble than it's worth b/c you guys have to explain every little thing. And any suggestions of ways I could help promote the game are welcome too. I'll come back to this and probably bug you guys for specifics on whatever I figure I can do, or feel free to just chat me up anytime if there's a way I can be useful. I'm kind of out of it today though, so that's it for this post for now.

I can do item descriptions or stuff like the auto sell buyers.

I will write whatever little blurbs or, indeed, whole pages of content you don't have time for or feel like writing yourselves. I thirst for an outlet for all the creative energy my factory job refuses to allow me to release in any 'sensical' manner.

-jB

I would like to join in on volunteering to help write things. I'm not sure how good I am at this stuff, on account of I've never done it before, but I would really enjoy the chance to write combat characters/Items, and I think I'd be able to think up bonuses and effects that would be balanced.

To all who've replied recently, it'd be awesome to see some examples of the kind of thing you're capable of. Perhaps think of a zone or an encounter (whatever you like) and write something up, or pick anything in the area you'd like to take part in, and send it over to me for us to take a look.

My email address is pretty obvious (gobberwart_at_paradoxthemusical_dot_com) so just send something across and we can see where we end up.

If you're not sure, talk to me (or one of the other devs) in-game.

I had a dream about the 'publicity part':

Paradoxthemusical in 4chan. I dreamt of Britney Spears afterwards.

What are you looking for exactly in the maps.

I made a few rough main maps a while back and still have all the files. Is it still going in the same direction?

Heh, we've been around in massive circles with the maps, with the result that we STILL don't have anything resolved. If you've still got those rough ones, please email them to me

Though I don't have the skills to truly help as a development team member, I will be heavily editing the Paradox Wiki in the not so distant future, and doing some spading work for everyone's benefit. Stay tuned!

I can do things. Scary things. Dare I say, unspeakable things. Can this skill set be used to help work on the game?

Probably, yes. So long as you never speak about them

Since people have been asking, here's where we are at the moment: We're in alpha still (obviously) and our plan is to get the game to beta by end of june 2010. Yes, that's over 6 months away, but we want to make sure we cover off a TON of stuff we've talked about over the last year or so, we want to do it properly, and we want to make sure you guys have plenty of time to test it before we go to beta.

A lot of what we're talking about involves some fundamental and complicated mechanics (ie. classes, skills, quests, clans etc.) so there are going to be periods of time when actual content development is quiet while we nut all the intricacies out. Yes, I said "nut"... Fnarr Fnarr! Stop it.

We do in fact have a plan, and it's quite complicated and a little bit scary, but we're working on it as fast and as hard (I said stop it) as we can.

In the meantime, anyone who has anything of any substance to offer remains more than welcome to identify an area where they can help out and pretty much just jump in and do it. Whether it's the wiki, chat, games, forums or writing actual content, go right ahead and share it and we'll go from there.

If you want to have a go at writing content, we have some templates available that can help (basically, you just fill in the blanks) so talk to the dev team and see what we can do. Bear in mind, though, that we are NOT in need of vague ideas (we have hundreds of those already), so if you want to give it a go, be prepared to put in the time and effort to follow it through to completion, otherwise it probably won't happen.

All i can do is sit in chat with my bangos without any drum sticks. ;(

You know what mack? Chat contribution is equally valid. People need other people to talk to while they wait for us to get this stuff done so don't be too sad, what you can offer is awesome

It's true Mack, just hanging in chat is a community involvement all of it's own.

im sad cus i dont have any drum st... hey is that a unicorn?

On a random unrelated note.



Here's a graphic that I think fits the Paradox style.

Nice bluebird.

thats what she said

Back on track folks. Thanks.

Paradox Wants You!




had to put this here somewhere, as it's somewhat relevent

edit that to be a picture of von noob pointing at you!

I can try helping with some Graphics and quest ideas...