Looking for a newby partner(s)

[Rimdeker]

[REDACTED]

[eXpl0it3r]

I thought of a method of collaboration that should work fine for a small group of people (this won't work for bigger groups, then you would need an actual CVS and what-not).

DropBox (or something else if you can prove the others and me that what you're suggesting is better/easier/faster/friendlier/sexier)

You know DropBox is also already some kind of version control system, just that's not usefull for coding. I myself am getting more into git and it's actually really simple and unbelievable powerfull! Also you could then open a GitHub or similar repository where you can share your work even more.

(I was thinking of some IM messenger, IRC or even a Facebook group).

I can suggest to use IRC since it's very easy and you can quickly connect to other networks to get help (e.g. #sfml or ##c++ etc.), but since development needs also good communication it's often good to have some voice chat, for the mumble is really the best way to go.

Good luck!

[StevenC]

I'm interested, PM sent.

[TheCake]

Hey,

This is interesting. I'll keep an eye on this thread to see where it goes. Feel free to PM me as well.

[Xenir]

Hmm... maybe... I'll think about it and then I'll send you PM or write post here

[StevenC]

I think a version control system like git or whatever is a must for exchanging files. They really make life easier. Whatever you want to use for collaboration other than major meetings shouldn't depend on all team members being online at the same time. (Email, forums, etc.) Mumble could work if you want to have a meeting, but I would expect such things to be rare especially if the team is geographically diverse.

I think a small project is perfect to begin with. You mentioned something along the lines of space invaders. I can see a team of 4-5 breaking down such a project into manageable chunks. Ultimately, the most important aspect of working on a team is having effective leadership. While it may seem fun to try work democratically it is rarely productive.

[aBallofWin]

I'm interested Got free time on my hands and was looking to make a game, something like a side scroller shooter (metal slug for instance)

[Andrei15193]

the most important aspect of working on a team is having effective leadership. While it may seem fun to try work democratically it is rarely productive.

I can vouch for that. Last year I wanted to participate at ImagineCup contest and I went the democratic way "let's discus, let's see what's best for everyone etc.". This costs insane amount of time just making the meeting possible. It is best to decide who is the team head (usually the one with the idea or the one making the team) and let him/her decide who does what.

Like it was said, use E-Mail, Forums or something where messages stick and you don't have to be actually online to read and write messages. Facebook groups is a good alternative, easy to setup and has basic file share. For sharing larger files or to have better file management, Microsoft SkyDrive can do that. If you make a Windows Live group you get like 5 gigs for the groups SkyDrive. Or just use a git repo.

It is better to avoid installing multiple applications (last year I was using Microsoft Groove and other apps to share files and it sucked hard). If possible, make it an all online thing, use a link to get to your files or talk with team members.

As a bit of off-topic to anyone who cares, the ImagineCup entry got as far as round 2 in GameDesign because all we needed was some sort of documentation, however when it came to actual coding the team management idea didn't work and we got disqualified.

[Andrei15193]

Well, communication is indeed important in a team, however when it comes to coding you can't put two guys to do the same thing. You can make some design sketches with the team, every member sees the design process and adds to it. Also before the design there are the features, the team decided what game they do and what the game can offer to the user.

You can use an iteration plan model, members come and take iterations, make what they can of it and posts the iteration back with notes (something like "I only managed to make the add method" or "I tried something, however it doesn't work" etc.) then someone else comes and takes an iteration (maybe one that's half way done, and adds to it). This way you got constant communication between members (even a dedicated section for discussing how an iteration was done would be at the benefit of everyone).

I can't promise the idea above will work, however it uses part of a software development (bottom-top implementation) model I currently experiment with my project, so far it works as expected. I would like to participate however soon I'm gonna start a team projects with some of my class mates and I fear time will run short from there. Will you be accepting guests that just watch how the project is being developed?

[StevenC]

The whole point of this is not to introduce people to version controlling  or some sort of standardized methods of working in a team or even being extra-ordinarily efficient, it's a rather experimental method and I got the idea from the Super Meat Boy team. The only experience I got in working like this is with my friend and it went pretty well, this time it might go down the drain lol I do not know, but I think it is worth a try.

Yeah some developers might like not having to learn a version control system to work with their team. Me I'm sort of the opposite. I have got to have at minimum a certain set of tools. A good version control system that doesn't annoy me is one of them.

What I like about version control system is that they generally:

1. Provide a process for documenting high level changes made to the program
2. Allow one to quickly view changes made by other developers.
3. Automatically merge changes together with little risk of clobbering someone else's modifications.
4. Selectively control what changes get committed on a per file basis and the ability to quickly review all changes prior to commit.

There are a lot of advanced features too but surprisingly the ones I use the most are the most basic. Commit changes, revert changes, view log, and update (pull).

The learning curve of a VCS is typically much lower than that of your average programming language especially when using intuitive GUI tools like TortoiseSVN for Windows. So in my opinion the difficulty of using a VCS is being exaggerated. It sounds to me like the reason you don't think its worth it is because you don't want to use a VCS.. That's an okay by me, but really you are missing out

[Rexou]

Hi there,

I've got to say that it's kinda a great idea, if the opportunity is still available i'd like to join you guys.
You talked about several tools im currently using on my spare time/work :

- Github / git
- Irc

I started learning C++ about 2 years ago so i'm not a rookie but there are so many things to learn and joining a team will help me in my future projects' management.

Little Question : Is there a motivation/project idea behind this team ? I mean we could think about a bigger project if things keep going well.

I went on the irc channel but there were nobody on it, anyway, Please drop me a pm if it's possible
Regards, Rexou.

[NekoFuu]

To help keep others up to date (since I never did post here in the thread) I'd be interested in helping. I already added Rimdeker on skype, and have talked to him a little bit. For anyone with skype that wants to add me, my skype is: nekofuu
I have, I'd say, basic-intermediate knowledge of C++ as a language, and basic knowledge of the SFML library. On top of any help I could throw in as a programmer, I use to fiddle around with pixels a few years back (meaning I use to do pixel art). So until we started a more serious project that wasn't meant for purely learning purposes, I could suffice as a pixel artist until a better one would be able to take over or help out.

[StevenC]

What my plan was is basically like you have a big group of people in a room but only one computer, one person works on the code for at least an hour and then the next person goes at it with a given task from the previous coder. Everybody can watch as people code and communication is a must, naturally.
(I liked this analogy so much, I had to write it in bold letters lol)

It is a good idea. I myself have found some game development tasks really hard to figure out. For example, I've been trying to figure out how to create a simple 2d lighting engine that integrates with a physics engine. I would definitely love to sit down at watch someone who knows how to do it go through the process step-by-step.

The space invaders idea sounds really good. It is a simple enough game to where there isn't any doubt that it could be completed, but I can see where there is plenty of room for creativity and learning.

-Steven

[Grimshaw]

Why more people? I advice that you have a project adequate to the team size. If its too short, you can't really make it a learning experience for everyone in my opinion...
Unless perhaps that you record all the process with commentaries for the others to see..

Pick something a little bigger perhaps, which can be modular, so each task is well defined and can be assigned to a person, who will have leadership over the task.

It is not easy to get right, but if you had a well defined protocol between you, on how things fit together, each could work in a part of the game, under defined constraints.

[Acrobat]

i can suggest to look at terraria http://www.terraria.org/