Daemonion Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 I have hopes to create, in short, a detailed quest/story mod for Skyrim once the SDK comes out, perhaps in the style of classical Viking lore. I'd like to guage any community interest, as I would need to put a team together to accomplish this. My goal is for the team and myself to create something that is short (to keep things manageable; this will not be an overhaul), but of considerable quality. I would handle project oversight as well as audio engineering (dialogue recording and editing, foley, music, etc), but would need help from those skilled in other areas, including script/dialogue/story writers, modelers, texture artists and programmers, to name a few. If anyone is curious for more information, or would otherwise like to express interest, I can contanct individuals as the situation develops (as it is still quite early). Please drop me a PM if you think you'd like to be a part of this project. At this point, nothing is really set in stone, so please feel free. [edit] Changed description in OP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antonkr Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 Planning a mod before even the release of the game usually ends up in the team falling apart and disagreeing on something before the game even begins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Povuholo Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 (edited) Agreed. With the remarkable exception of Morrowind's Tamriel Rebuilt. :D Also, it's better to do some work on a mod yourself and showing that, before asking all sorts of people for help. That way you can show you're serious about it, and that you have the skills to contribute to actually pull it off. Few people are going to be interested in joining some random guy's team who for all they know might not even have any modding experience. And look at the number of animation mods for Oblivion. Very very small. You're going to have a hard time finding an animator. Besides, you haven't said what you need one for, why does the mod require custom animations? The more you use resources that are already in the original game, the better. Edited September 13, 2011 by Povuholo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daemonion Posted September 13, 2011 Author Share Posted September 13, 2011 Appreciate the responses and the advice. I have success with planning what I can in advance, and this early post is my attempt to honor that process. I'm hoping to collect a roster of talent to contribute as needed, and to get going right when the SDK is released. Is this not normal methodology in the modding world? I can't really create anything until a strong draft of the script and story are in place, as this will be the foundation for the mod. The script will dictate the characters and thus the voice acting I'll need to record (I mostly work with music and audio), if any special items needs to be modeled/textured, if there need to be any special animations, if any locations (homes, dungeons, etc) need to be created, and if anything needs to be scripted (coded). In other words, I want to structure what I can before work begins, so I can create and lead a team more efficiently (though I know I will at least need a texturer, modeler, coder, and some male and female voice actors). On the team front, I'm waiting to hear back from an animator who has worked on a handful of motion pictures (good friend of mine), and the candidate for the lead writer (again, a good friend of mine) who is based out of LA right now. I have about half-a-dozen semi-pro voice actors close to me (so they can use my equipment to record) and a story board artist who are all willing to volunteer their time. What I'm most anxious for at this point is someone who has some experience writing scripts/screen plays, honestly. I'm still looking through some Nordic lore for inspiration, but could definately use some creative help on that front, as I'm no writer. I can always be reached via PM if you guys have some questions or comments, and I'm open to whatever advice you'd care to share. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghogiel Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 Appreciate the responses and the advice. I have success with planning what I can in advance, and this early post is my attempt to honor that process. I'm hoping to collect a roster of talent to contribute as needed, and to get going right when the SDK is released. Is this not normal methodology in the modding world?In rare cases. But anyone actually in the mod game for any length of time sees this sort of thing a lot, and we don't see completed past projects or any work on your behalf, we just wait for some work to be done. The job description for Mod leader is: The most experienced and dedicated modder on any team, faster than a speeding bullet, can leap tall buildings in a single bound, And is willing to do all the aspects required to complete by themselves if need be. As an artist and animator, I wouldn't join, by the sounds of it, right now you don't actually need any artists. when you do you will know. The ask, and maybe you will have something to show by then to add to you hook as bait. :biggrin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daemonion Posted September 13, 2011 Author Share Posted September 13, 2011 But anyone actually in the mod game for any length of time sees this sort of thing a lot, and we don't see completed past projects or any work on your behalf, we just wait for some work to be done. The job description for Mod leader is: The most experienced and dedicated modder on any team, faster than a speeding bullet, can leap tall buildings in a single bound, And is willing to do all the aspects required to complete by themselves if need be.Ah, that makes sense. New talent would need to see some work/progress before signing on. So far, everyone who has (though they are quite talented) are friends of mine from my personal life, so they just take my word for it since we have an established relationship. This would be my first forray into an online community to gather talent, and thus that history is not there. Makes sense. I will be sure to get a ModDB page up and running when I have more content so I can link to it for you and other talent :) Would you like me to keep you in the loop, Ghogiel? [EDIT] About being project lead ...I agree with the sentiment of dedication, and have every intention of fulfilling that role. However, I interpret "willing to do all aspects required to complete by themselves" as taking on say, some of the texture or animation work if needed. I don't agree with that principle, if that is what you meant. To elaborate, I feel it would be a waste of my time (and to the detriment of the overall quality of the mod) if I decided to pick up, say, texturing an item myself. I don't have the software, technical skill, or vocabulary to complete or even ask for help on a task in that realm. I feel it would be best for me to spend my energy instead on what I know and am good at, as well as searching for and bringing people on board who could lend their expertise when needed. If everyone was totally stumped, I would do what I could to find a solution, even if that comes in the form of bringing on a specialist with more experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Povuholo Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Basically the main problem is that tons of people come here asking for modding talent for their ambitious projects, especially soon after a new game release, but many of those ideas are just a spur of the moment thing that the leader quickly loses interest in, or he has no modding skills at all and expects other people to do all the work while he only brings ideas, or the project turned out to be way too ambitious (I remember a thread here earlier about a guy who wanted to create the whole of Tamriel) , etc. so the project fails. Which makes people hesitant to join up, because it would be a shame to put effort in a project if there's a good chance that it is never completed. On the other hand it does sound like you know what you're getting into, you have the experience to make it work and you're not making it too big so I hope it works out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatalmasterpiece Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Best way to get a group project rolling is start it yourself, even if it's just a detailed write up. Then others can see you are dedicated and judge how they like your ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghogiel Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 [quote name='Daemonion' timestamp='1315944268' post='3588967' [EDIT] About being project lead ...I agree with the sentiment of dedication, and have every intention of fulfilling that role. However, I interpret "willing to do all aspects required to complete by themselves" as taking on say, some of the texture or animation work if needed. I don't agree with that principle, if that is what you meant. To elaborate, I feel it would be a waste of my time (and to the detriment of the overall quality of the mod) if I decided to pick up, say, texturing an item myself. I don't have the software, technical skill, or vocabulary to complete or even ask for help on a task in that realm. I feel it would be best for me to spend my energy instead on what I know and am good at, as well as searching for and bringing people on board who could lend their expertise when needed. If everyone was totally stumped, I would do what I could to find a solution, even if that comes in the form of bringing on a specialist with more experience.My point, if you can't get the animation work done for some reason, will your mod basically fail? As mod lead you have to accept the fact that it might be a real possibility that you may not get an animator to do any extensive work on your mod. You have to weigh up that and decide how to best proceed. As in work around it, or learn yourself. Basically you might have to face that you either cutback on that feature or cutback in working in other areas and animate yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daemonion Posted September 15, 2011 Author Share Posted September 15, 2011 Thanks for the responses, everybody. It was helpful for me to read all of that. I'm going to start working on what I can while I'm waiting for the writer to get back to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts