Looking to build team for Educational Game
chadylakkis
Member Posts: 5
Hello everyone,
I recently interviewed for an educational art director position for a fairly large educational company and while I did not end up landing the job the process of creating concepts specifically for that interview made me realize just how much I want to be creating these types of games.
I have spent the last month or so working on my concepts, illustrations, interface designs and researching common core math standards. In addition I have registered for Udemy classes and I have been watching multiple training videos on YouTube and Lynda.com. Trying to learn all aspects of game development is a bit overwhelming however I am not going to stop until this game is complete.
Right now I am looking to see if anyone is interested in helping as a member of a team that will give us all something we can put on our resume for future work etc. If you partner with me you will be partnering with a motivated self starter with a 20 year background in interface design and character illustration. In the past I have been hired by start-ups that are looking to create something from nothing and I have been told that I am good at creating initial concepts.
I am looking for anything from advice on how to go about making this myself to a programmer that is willing to partner with me. I will do art, storyboards, animation, sound design, heck...I will even roll my sleeves up and code along side you if this is what is needed.
I will pay if that is what is needed as I have some money set aside to try and make this work, but I am by no means rich so if you are looking for steady income from this project out of the gate this is probably not for you. I am willing to share more information if needed, including sketches, concept foundation, etc.
Cheers,
Chady
Comments
There are plenty here who are willing to help. Many here (including myself) are very interested in putting out high quality educational / instructional games. GameSalad is pretty easy to get started with -- so before you start paying for help, I would suggest that you dig right in and start asking questions about the mechanics of GameSalad. I bet you will have a working prototype up and running pretty quickly.
The easiest way to get some quick help is to state a specific idea or concept you are trying to achieve. (A quick illustration never hurts.) Then describe what you have done so far and why it isn't quite right. Then ask how others might achieve that particular game mechanic. The more detailed the question, the more focused the answer!
Hey there Thurman,
Alright. I will do that. What I am doing now is trying to put what I need done into structured form and I will post that here. I've got sketches and interface concepts as well. I will post the overall idea tonight though. Cheers!
Careful though!
Some have felt that others took their ideas (or even graphics) and made the game before they could finish their own.
Just show rough graphics, crude diagrams and such.
But with game mechanics -- well, its very hard to come up with a novel idea. So its usually safe to talk about them in full. In fact, in just about every case, all you need to do is say something like, "I want it do the same thing that xxxx does in yyyyy game" and someone will know what you mean.
[copyrights 'YyyyyGame™'©]
Good point. I thought about this last night. So I guess the best place for me to start off with is the functionality that is giving me a hard time trying to research.
Here are some of the things I need the app/game to do that I am unable to find tutorials on. All of these are fairly common pieces of functionality.
1) Capture email during account creation
2) Generate email with auto generated password
3) Generate notifications/reminders
4) Gated feature for blocking access to parental settings
5) In-game customization options via virtual currency
6) Random equation generation
7) Tiered levels of completion
8) Stored data so game can be resumed at later date
9) Generated email progress reports
10) Ability to monetize if needed
11) Unlocked achievements
@chadylakkis, most of the functionality you mention requires a comprehensive backend system and is non trivial.
If you follow the services in my signature below, you will see that we specialise in this area. Our most recent project was a research project in association with a University and can be seen here:
http://forums.gamesalad.com/discussion/86696/cell-mates-prologue-now-free-on-ios-android-kindle
It analyses and adjusts gameplay according to the player's skill level through a backend.
You can PM me and we could look into a possible cooperation.
Alternatively, you can look into setting up your own backend server as described by @jonmulcahy here:
http://forums.gamesalad.com/discussion/63636/sending-and-receiving-data-using-your-own-sql-server-php-file-and-testproject-included/p1
Regards,
Roland
MESSAGING, X-PLATFORM LEADERBOARDS, OFFLINE-TIMER, ANALYTICS and BACK-END CONTROL for your GameSalad projects
www.APPFORMATIVE.com
@Hopscotch Hey there Roland,
That makes complete sense. I have worked with programmers all my life as an interface designer and this is the first time I have tried to embark on a "do-it-yourself" from start to finish type journey with software of this kind.
I do have a lifelong friend that has offered to help as well. He has experience building database driven apps but he has never built a game before. At the moment I am wrapping up my AppCooker app flow from page to page. I will PM you shortly.
Thank you for all the great feedback everyone.
Regards,
Chady
Hi Chady
My name is Troy. I am from the Island of Guam. I have soooo much to discuss with you :-) May I get your # so I can call you on my dime or email me at troyaguon@gmail.com
I am veeery interested in discussing more of your request.
Troy
Hi Chady
My name is Troy. I am from the Island of Guam. I have soooo much to discuss with you :-) May I get your # so I can call you on my dime or email me at troyaguon@gmail.com
I am veeery interested in discussing more of your request.
Troy