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Looking for a programmer & composer for my game.
8 months ago
General
So I am accepting that it may be in my best interest to delegate the programming of my game to someone with more knowledge/experience.
I have never programmed before and I am not very confident in being able to make something of the quality I am looking for. I may not be aiming for the best game ever, but I am wanting something that functions better than I am likely to make.
First and foremost this will NOT be a pornographic game. The characters will be wide hipped:
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/56889440/
However nothing greater than that. The characters will not have Ophira's proportions, the males will not have the proportions of my hyper male art either.
The game will not be super violent, will likely not have blood, and IF any blood very minor.
There will not be much swearing if any, and if there IS any swearing it will just be damn and hell.
Basically I am aiming for an "E10+" or "T For Teen" level game here.
So onto the details.
***[Programmer needs]***
The game will be a top down Legend of Zelda styled game, so that is the primary game type I am going for. Something similar to Legend of Zelda Link to the Past, Link's Awakening, Oracle of Seasons, Oracle of Ages, Minish Cap, Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks and Link Between worlds.
It will also have a 2D sprite style to it. I of course will be handling making all the sprites and visual assets for the game.
[General work load]
Some of this will go without saying but I will still mention these things so as to be thorough.
1: Logos
Obviously there will be the "studio" logo, the game engine logo and the publisher logo.
2: Title screen
It will likely just be a still image with the game's title "Tale of Syraidia" on it.
There will be no need to have any special thing that happens if you wait on the title screen.
There will be "New Game," "Load Game," "Options" and "Exit Game."
New Game I am thinking there won't be need for any more than 3-4 files.
3: Options
The obvious audio options. So music volume, sound effects volume and master volume.
Controller options are a must. Especially if the game gets finished, released, and maybe we could port it to consoles.
Other options:
Some side options I would like, but may or may not be required.
(A: I would like to have characters make a sound/tone for their dialogue. Not full voice acting, but something similar to the way Celeste handles it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJhiINCdFDs&ab_channel=TeDeMos
So if this does become part of the game giving the player the option to turn off the dialogue sound would be nice to have since some may not like it.
(B: I am considering a low health sound, tone, beep or whatever. Once more giving the option to turn off this low health sound would be desired if we do include such a feature.
(C: Ability to control dialogue speed. Either just speeding it up, or making it instant. This will effect the voice sounds spoken of in "A" above, so keep that in mind as well.
3: Starting a new game.
I do NOT want variable difficulties. I understand why people include them, but I would rather not have you spend more time programming a difficulty when I personally don't feel the need to include it. If the game is too easy oh well, if some people cannot beat it oh well.
Upon starting a new game a cutscene will play. Said cutscene will be still images and text talking about the events decades before the start of the game will appear. This will introduce how the world has changed in all that time, as well as introduce the antagonist whom we do not know is the antagonist yet. How the text appears on screen will be something we can discuss. Be it "getting typed out" all fade in and then fade out for each scene, or whatever.
4-A: Controlling the protagonist Valarie
Valarie will control much like Link in the aforementioned Legend of Zelda games.
At a minimum I require 8 directional movement. So down, left, right, up and the diagonals.
HOWEVER, if it is doable having omnidirectional would be highly desired. So if using a controller with a control stick whatever direction you are tilting the controller Valarie will move in that exact direction.
Examples of this type of movement include Ittle Dew 2 or Hyperlight Drifter.
One thing worth mentioning I will only be making sprites for left, right, up and down facing. So you won't need to stress having a unique sprite for several angles. I have a diagram for what I am thinking for what sprites would go where:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/lakhatug6plvi9l6vnpd5/Valarie-Movement.png?rlkey=3ib2cz2o4ncxjcsandi9b8lqo&st=rmlushjx&dl=0
So all of the up facing sprites will be in the upper quadrant. So if the control stick is tilted between North-East and North-West the sprites used would be any of the up facing sprites. Same for the remaining quadrants.
Again I mentioned Hyperlight Drifter, and it has this same feature as well. In said game there are only up, left, right and down facing sprites despite having omnidirectional movement.
Something worth mentioning, I do wish to keep Valarie left handed. So for any sword swinging or item usage she will have a unique left and right facing sprite to keep her left handed. This is something I have a STRONG preference for keeping part of the character.
4-B: Combat
I want to keep things simple. You push the attack button and Valarie swings her sword. I do NOT want attack combos. I do NOT want a charge attack or spin attack. I ONLY want a simple single button attack that can be as fast as the player can push the button, or very fast depending upon how the programming goes. Once more like some of the aforementioned Legend of Zelda games.
4-C: Dodge rolling
I would like to have a dodge roll mechanic as part of the game.
If you have ever played "Ittle Dew 2" it is an indie Zelda like game with a dodge roll as well. In fact the main character in "Ittle Dew 2" controls EXACTLY how I wish Valarie to control. A single button attack with no combos, omnidirectional movement, and a dodge roll.
So if you wanted to know exactly how I would want Valarie to control, play Ittle Dew 2.
The dodgeroll will have invincibility frames tied to it. So this is something we will need to figure out how far the roll goes, will there be any way to control the roll once it starts, and how long the I-frames last for the roll.
5: Game progression and flow
The game will start in Valarie's house and upon exiting you will have the freedom to choose between 3 available dungeons/levels.
There will be an intended order of difficulty to the levels, however I would like to give the player the freedom to choose between any of these 3 levels.
Artificial roadblocks.
I know these are annoying however given that I wish to also tell a story roadblocks may be required.
Only once you beat the 3 available levels will you then gain access to the 4th dungeon.
The reason for the roadblocks will be to prevent the player from simply using the dungeon items gained from the first three levels and simply skip to the 4th level. I understand not many people would do this, but some people MIGHT do it so I will require roadblocks to prevent this.
After beating the 4th level you will then gain access to 3 more levels with the same intended order in terms of difficulty but they can be done in any order the player wants.
Upon beating these 3 levels you will then gain access to the final level which will also be roadblocked until the player has beaten those previously mentioned 3 levels.
6: The game world above ground, below ground, fast travel, pause menu and map.
For the game's overworld map it will be made up of a grid of screens. I am unsure on the final dimensions so these will just be examples. The game's map will be 5x5 screens, each screen being around 2,048x2,048 pixels.
I want an underground cave system that is fully interconnected. So once you have all of the dungeon items you can enter the underground, travel through the underground and exit in any of the cave exits. Basically the cave system will be the same 5x5 screens each being 2,048x2,048 pixels.
I know this is extra work, but I would like diagonal collision for the overworld and caves. I just don't want everything to be squared and right angles as it's not visually appealing to me. I will say I will limit diagonal surfaces to the overworld and caves. Inside dungeons and houses will all be right angles as those places will have other things to worry about in terms of designing and programming.
I would like an underground subway as a fast travel. So once you find a subway station it will be added as a fast travel location that can be selected when you access a subway terminal.
The pause screen will function like the aforementioned Legend of Zelda games, you pause and are able to equip whatever dungeon item you need for a given situation. I will be sure to design the game in a way to lessen how often you need to switch items to avoid annoyance.
You will also be able to look at the collection of upgrade items that will be spoken of in a moment.
In the pause menu I would like the ability to push the shoulder/trigger buttons (R1, R2, L1, L2) to scroll to the next screen.
One of the screens will be the item menu, one of the screens will be for options as well as saving and quitting the game, and the last screen will be for the map.
For the map itself I am considering having it work where once you enter a new screen, that screen will be entirely added to the map. This isn't a definite thing and can be discussed how the map could be handled.
Having map markers would be nice if possible, but not required.
7: Upgrades
A: Health
I am wanting to keep these simple as well. There will be the standard health upgrades gained from defeating the seven dungeons/levels. So with the health starting at 3 hearts those will give Valarie 10 hearts. To round out to 16 hearts some heart pieces for the remaining 6 hearts will be needed. I am undecided on the amount per heart the pieces should be, 24 isn't that much to have the typical 4 pieces per full heart, but again this can be discussed.
B: Defense upgrade
I am thinking either 1 or 2 defense upgrades. Basically you need to find 2 of a specific item, then take it to a shop to have your defense upgrades.
You get 1 defense upgrade and damage taken is reduced by 25-50%. You find a second one and damage taken is reduced by an extra 25-50%.
C: Attack upgrade
Like defense the same general principle as defense upgrades.
Find 2 items, take them to an upgrade shop, one upgrade doubles they sword attack strength, and one more upgrade doubles it again.
Or even as simple as you start out doing 1 damage, one upgrade you do 2 damage, the final upgrade you do 3 damage. This again can be discussed.
D: Dodge roll invicibility frame extender
Not sure if this is something I want or not, but I am tossing this here as something to consider.
8: Enemies and bosses
Obviously there will be bosses and enemies which I will need to design, figure out attacks, attack patterns and then obviously you will need to program these bosses and enemies.
In grand total there will be 8 bosses which does include the final boss in that number. As for enemies that is up in the air as to how many I will design. I do not know what a final count will be, but likely more than 10 and less than 50. I do want SOME variety after all.
9: Dialogue:
Aside from the aforementioned sounds for the dialogue, the way dialogue will be handled is like any Legend of Zelda game. You speak to an NPC or a boss and a text box will appear. I would like the text to be typed out along with their speaking sounds. The dialogue boxes I would like to have a face for each box. Again similar to how Celeste handled it in the above example. The faces will not be animated and will be still images, but there will be different faces for different dialogue boxes given the situation.
Also having the ability to skip dialogue would be nice. The story may matter to me, but I know not everyone will be interested. So even if I do want to keep the dialogue brief I do still want to give the player the option to skip it if they want to simply play the game. (This will be nice for subsequent playthroughs as well.)
10: Ending and Credits
For the ending I am wanting to have a short animated cutscene. It will be pixel based as well and the same resolution as the game. The entire ending may or may NOT be animated, but there is a specific event that I DO want to try and animate.
Credits go without explanation.
***[Composer needs]***
Like with programming I am not seeking perfection here.
I am not seeking full orchestra obviously, but I do NOT want to go entirely 8 bit.
I am fine with midi music as I am wanting something alluding to classical music maybe with some artificial music/instrument sounds with it. This will depend on the theme but that gives a general idea.
So a list of tracks I will need.
*Title screen music (This track could be remixed as an overworld theme.)
*Intro music (I am thinking this will also be the antagonists main them.)
*Valarie's theme/ Valarie's house music
*NPC house music
*Shop music
*Overworld music (Again can be a remix of the title screen music.)
*Mountain area music
*Underground cave music
*"Sad" version of Valarie's theme.
*8 unique dungeon music tracks (7 primary dungeons and the final dungeon)
*3 unique boss fight music tracks
(One track being for bosses fully loyal to the antagonist.)
(One track for those who are more so enslaved to the antagonist, so the antagonist's leitmotif could be present in the track.
(The final boss music track.)
*Final cutscene music
*Credits music
*Post credits/epilogue scene music
There may be need for more than these 13 tracks, but it shouldn't climb to 50 unique tracks. Again I want to keep things simple.
There will also be the need for sound effects. In the programmer section I mentioned that I want to have the characters have a sound effect tied to their speaking in dialogue boxes. This can be limited to the important characters in the game, but if we can have a default voice sound for certain character types that can cut down on some work. Male voice, female voice, male child voice, female child voice, and the like.
Obviously the main character Valarie, the enemies, and bosses will make sound effects for their attacks and all that. So like with programming it's just all the basic stuff you would expect in a game.
I am sure there is more in terms of programming and composing I am not thinking of, but that is the bulk of what is needed.
I am not aiming to have this done by the end of the year, certainly not. However I don't want this to take 10 years to make either.
So if ANYONE is interested in helping me make this dream of mine into a reality I would greatly appreciate it.
I have never programmed before and I am not very confident in being able to make something of the quality I am looking for. I may not be aiming for the best game ever, but I am wanting something that functions better than I am likely to make.
First and foremost this will NOT be a pornographic game. The characters will be wide hipped:
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/56889440/
However nothing greater than that. The characters will not have Ophira's proportions, the males will not have the proportions of my hyper male art either.
The game will not be super violent, will likely not have blood, and IF any blood very minor.
There will not be much swearing if any, and if there IS any swearing it will just be damn and hell.
Basically I am aiming for an "E10+" or "T For Teen" level game here.
So onto the details.
***[Programmer needs]***
The game will be a top down Legend of Zelda styled game, so that is the primary game type I am going for. Something similar to Legend of Zelda Link to the Past, Link's Awakening, Oracle of Seasons, Oracle of Ages, Minish Cap, Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks and Link Between worlds.
It will also have a 2D sprite style to it. I of course will be handling making all the sprites and visual assets for the game.
[General work load]
Some of this will go without saying but I will still mention these things so as to be thorough.
1: Logos
Obviously there will be the "studio" logo, the game engine logo and the publisher logo.
2: Title screen
It will likely just be a still image with the game's title "Tale of Syraidia" on it.
There will be no need to have any special thing that happens if you wait on the title screen.
There will be "New Game," "Load Game," "Options" and "Exit Game."
New Game I am thinking there won't be need for any more than 3-4 files.
3: Options
The obvious audio options. So music volume, sound effects volume and master volume.
Controller options are a must. Especially if the game gets finished, released, and maybe we could port it to consoles.
Other options:
Some side options I would like, but may or may not be required.
(A: I would like to have characters make a sound/tone for their dialogue. Not full voice acting, but something similar to the way Celeste handles it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJhiINCdFDs&ab_channel=TeDeMos
So if this does become part of the game giving the player the option to turn off the dialogue sound would be nice to have since some may not like it.
(B: I am considering a low health sound, tone, beep or whatever. Once more giving the option to turn off this low health sound would be desired if we do include such a feature.
(C: Ability to control dialogue speed. Either just speeding it up, or making it instant. This will effect the voice sounds spoken of in "A" above, so keep that in mind as well.
3: Starting a new game.
I do NOT want variable difficulties. I understand why people include them, but I would rather not have you spend more time programming a difficulty when I personally don't feel the need to include it. If the game is too easy oh well, if some people cannot beat it oh well.
Upon starting a new game a cutscene will play. Said cutscene will be still images and text talking about the events decades before the start of the game will appear. This will introduce how the world has changed in all that time, as well as introduce the antagonist whom we do not know is the antagonist yet. How the text appears on screen will be something we can discuss. Be it "getting typed out" all fade in and then fade out for each scene, or whatever.
4-A: Controlling the protagonist Valarie
Valarie will control much like Link in the aforementioned Legend of Zelda games.
At a minimum I require 8 directional movement. So down, left, right, up and the diagonals.
HOWEVER, if it is doable having omnidirectional would be highly desired. So if using a controller with a control stick whatever direction you are tilting the controller Valarie will move in that exact direction.
Examples of this type of movement include Ittle Dew 2 or Hyperlight Drifter.
One thing worth mentioning I will only be making sprites for left, right, up and down facing. So you won't need to stress having a unique sprite for several angles. I have a diagram for what I am thinking for what sprites would go where:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/lakhatug6plvi9l6vnpd5/Valarie-Movement.png?rlkey=3ib2cz2o4ncxjcsandi9b8lqo&st=rmlushjx&dl=0
So all of the up facing sprites will be in the upper quadrant. So if the control stick is tilted between North-East and North-West the sprites used would be any of the up facing sprites. Same for the remaining quadrants.
Again I mentioned Hyperlight Drifter, and it has this same feature as well. In said game there are only up, left, right and down facing sprites despite having omnidirectional movement.
Something worth mentioning, I do wish to keep Valarie left handed. So for any sword swinging or item usage she will have a unique left and right facing sprite to keep her left handed. This is something I have a STRONG preference for keeping part of the character.
4-B: Combat
I want to keep things simple. You push the attack button and Valarie swings her sword. I do NOT want attack combos. I do NOT want a charge attack or spin attack. I ONLY want a simple single button attack that can be as fast as the player can push the button, or very fast depending upon how the programming goes. Once more like some of the aforementioned Legend of Zelda games.
4-C: Dodge rolling
I would like to have a dodge roll mechanic as part of the game.
If you have ever played "Ittle Dew 2" it is an indie Zelda like game with a dodge roll as well. In fact the main character in "Ittle Dew 2" controls EXACTLY how I wish Valarie to control. A single button attack with no combos, omnidirectional movement, and a dodge roll.
So if you wanted to know exactly how I would want Valarie to control, play Ittle Dew 2.
The dodgeroll will have invincibility frames tied to it. So this is something we will need to figure out how far the roll goes, will there be any way to control the roll once it starts, and how long the I-frames last for the roll.
5: Game progression and flow
The game will start in Valarie's house and upon exiting you will have the freedom to choose between 3 available dungeons/levels.
There will be an intended order of difficulty to the levels, however I would like to give the player the freedom to choose between any of these 3 levels.
Artificial roadblocks.
I know these are annoying however given that I wish to also tell a story roadblocks may be required.
Only once you beat the 3 available levels will you then gain access to the 4th dungeon.
The reason for the roadblocks will be to prevent the player from simply using the dungeon items gained from the first three levels and simply skip to the 4th level. I understand not many people would do this, but some people MIGHT do it so I will require roadblocks to prevent this.
After beating the 4th level you will then gain access to 3 more levels with the same intended order in terms of difficulty but they can be done in any order the player wants.
Upon beating these 3 levels you will then gain access to the final level which will also be roadblocked until the player has beaten those previously mentioned 3 levels.
6: The game world above ground, below ground, fast travel, pause menu and map.
For the game's overworld map it will be made up of a grid of screens. I am unsure on the final dimensions so these will just be examples. The game's map will be 5x5 screens, each screen being around 2,048x2,048 pixels.
I want an underground cave system that is fully interconnected. So once you have all of the dungeon items you can enter the underground, travel through the underground and exit in any of the cave exits. Basically the cave system will be the same 5x5 screens each being 2,048x2,048 pixels.
I know this is extra work, but I would like diagonal collision for the overworld and caves. I just don't want everything to be squared and right angles as it's not visually appealing to me. I will say I will limit diagonal surfaces to the overworld and caves. Inside dungeons and houses will all be right angles as those places will have other things to worry about in terms of designing and programming.
I would like an underground subway as a fast travel. So once you find a subway station it will be added as a fast travel location that can be selected when you access a subway terminal.
The pause screen will function like the aforementioned Legend of Zelda games, you pause and are able to equip whatever dungeon item you need for a given situation. I will be sure to design the game in a way to lessen how often you need to switch items to avoid annoyance.
You will also be able to look at the collection of upgrade items that will be spoken of in a moment.
In the pause menu I would like the ability to push the shoulder/trigger buttons (R1, R2, L1, L2) to scroll to the next screen.
One of the screens will be the item menu, one of the screens will be for options as well as saving and quitting the game, and the last screen will be for the map.
For the map itself I am considering having it work where once you enter a new screen, that screen will be entirely added to the map. This isn't a definite thing and can be discussed how the map could be handled.
Having map markers would be nice if possible, but not required.
7: Upgrades
A: Health
I am wanting to keep these simple as well. There will be the standard health upgrades gained from defeating the seven dungeons/levels. So with the health starting at 3 hearts those will give Valarie 10 hearts. To round out to 16 hearts some heart pieces for the remaining 6 hearts will be needed. I am undecided on the amount per heart the pieces should be, 24 isn't that much to have the typical 4 pieces per full heart, but again this can be discussed.
B: Defense upgrade
I am thinking either 1 or 2 defense upgrades. Basically you need to find 2 of a specific item, then take it to a shop to have your defense upgrades.
You get 1 defense upgrade and damage taken is reduced by 25-50%. You find a second one and damage taken is reduced by an extra 25-50%.
C: Attack upgrade
Like defense the same general principle as defense upgrades.
Find 2 items, take them to an upgrade shop, one upgrade doubles they sword attack strength, and one more upgrade doubles it again.
Or even as simple as you start out doing 1 damage, one upgrade you do 2 damage, the final upgrade you do 3 damage. This again can be discussed.
D: Dodge roll invicibility frame extender
Not sure if this is something I want or not, but I am tossing this here as something to consider.
8: Enemies and bosses
Obviously there will be bosses and enemies which I will need to design, figure out attacks, attack patterns and then obviously you will need to program these bosses and enemies.
In grand total there will be 8 bosses which does include the final boss in that number. As for enemies that is up in the air as to how many I will design. I do not know what a final count will be, but likely more than 10 and less than 50. I do want SOME variety after all.
9: Dialogue:
Aside from the aforementioned sounds for the dialogue, the way dialogue will be handled is like any Legend of Zelda game. You speak to an NPC or a boss and a text box will appear. I would like the text to be typed out along with their speaking sounds. The dialogue boxes I would like to have a face for each box. Again similar to how Celeste handled it in the above example. The faces will not be animated and will be still images, but there will be different faces for different dialogue boxes given the situation.
Also having the ability to skip dialogue would be nice. The story may matter to me, but I know not everyone will be interested. So even if I do want to keep the dialogue brief I do still want to give the player the option to skip it if they want to simply play the game. (This will be nice for subsequent playthroughs as well.)
10: Ending and Credits
For the ending I am wanting to have a short animated cutscene. It will be pixel based as well and the same resolution as the game. The entire ending may or may NOT be animated, but there is a specific event that I DO want to try and animate.
Credits go without explanation.
***[Composer needs]***
Like with programming I am not seeking perfection here.
I am not seeking full orchestra obviously, but I do NOT want to go entirely 8 bit.
I am fine with midi music as I am wanting something alluding to classical music maybe with some artificial music/instrument sounds with it. This will depend on the theme but that gives a general idea.
So a list of tracks I will need.
*Title screen music (This track could be remixed as an overworld theme.)
*Intro music (I am thinking this will also be the antagonists main them.)
*Valarie's theme/ Valarie's house music
*NPC house music
*Shop music
*Overworld music (Again can be a remix of the title screen music.)
*Mountain area music
*Underground cave music
*"Sad" version of Valarie's theme.
*8 unique dungeon music tracks (7 primary dungeons and the final dungeon)
*3 unique boss fight music tracks
(One track being for bosses fully loyal to the antagonist.)
(One track for those who are more so enslaved to the antagonist, so the antagonist's leitmotif could be present in the track.
(The final boss music track.)
*Final cutscene music
*Credits music
*Post credits/epilogue scene music
There may be need for more than these 13 tracks, but it shouldn't climb to 50 unique tracks. Again I want to keep things simple.
There will also be the need for sound effects. In the programmer section I mentioned that I want to have the characters have a sound effect tied to their speaking in dialogue boxes. This can be limited to the important characters in the game, but if we can have a default voice sound for certain character types that can cut down on some work. Male voice, female voice, male child voice, female child voice, and the like.
Obviously the main character Valarie, the enemies, and bosses will make sound effects for their attacks and all that. So like with programming it's just all the basic stuff you would expect in a game.
I am sure there is more in terms of programming and composing I am not thinking of, but that is the bulk of what is needed.
I am not aiming to have this done by the end of the year, certainly not. However I don't want this to take 10 years to make either.
So if ANYONE is interested in helping me make this dream of mine into a reality I would greatly appreciate it.
That would be the programmer's choice. Though with how Unity had some drama around it I would may request that get avoided. But outside of that I am fine with whatever.
IF I had to program this I may have chosen GameMakerStudio.
I do, however, have a day job to tend to. So my time spent on such a project wouldn't be for more than 3-4 hours a day, give or take. Depending on the scale of the game, it might take some time on my end to get things done without conflict.
If this sounds alright with you, I hope you'll take me into consideration. Though given my inexperience and limited free time throughout the day, I would understand if you'd prefer taking on someone with more experience and/or has more time to spare for such a project.
I can't program, I need someone to program.
If I cannot program how I am I supposed to make a playable proof of concept?
I have a little experience tinkering with rpgmaker engines, and while that engine may not necessarily what you might be looking for and while I've never been keen on script or code, I've managed to do a lot with clever event programming to solve problems I couldn't code my way around while I experimented with it, so I could potentially be able to help with synthesis of solutions in that regard, depending on the engine it ultimately becomes.
I intend to start college in the fall, but I'd be interested in learning more about this and discussing with you if any of that suits your fancy.