FreeOrion

Would anybody be interested in doing a one-day or a weekend FreeOrion Game Jam?

Basically, we'd set a date to all be online, or meeting various cities, and try to resolve development issues, design issues, concept issues or topics that need discussing, etc. and share what we're all working on independently.

Most game jams go for 24-48 hours, since they're meant to be inspirational, learning experiences that reconnecting a community.
They usually occur once every month, to every six months, to once a year.

Some examples include Ludum Dare, Global Game Jam (http://globalgamejam.org/), etc.

I've been in such a coding hole that it's been difficult for me to contribute because of a lack of focus and juggling everything else in life. But I do want to participate and it seems so are many others. And who knows what can get done with a dedicated amount of time.

I'm assuming requirements would be to find a space that could host in the various cities / places / etc. and then deciding on a time, and setting up topics, invites, etc. But there may be more?

Is that something that contributors would find interesting, useful, or possible and if so, could this thread be helpful in discussing it?

This would be an excellent idea if we had a lot more potential contributors than we do... With the few we do have, and the busy schedules / level of commitment they have, unfortunately I don't think any sort of organized get together is practical. I rather regret having to shoot down such an interesting suggestion, though...

That said, if anyone else reading the forums and wanting to contribute thinks that having a scheduled period of several hours in which to work together would motivate you to contribute, then please indicate this.

I totally understand, especially if the amount of people who'd show up and contribute would be low.



How active is the user-base? Does anyone have an idea roughly of the 'active-members'?



Maybe we can tailor the FreeOrion Jam Day to :

• 2x12-hour periods, that's open for people to come in and out, but also "timeboxed" to stay within people's schedules - say a weekend from 9 to 9 (EST? or other).
• completely virtual access, with chat and skype/phone - i.e. we're coordinated to meet on designated #freeorion IRC channels, grouped by discussion - design, programming, core, etc.
• a loose schedule with "topic-based" discussions - i.e. a large skype call with a moderator to discuss specific issues, or a large screenshare using mikago or some such screenshare app to review programming or topics

That way it's as accessible as possible to everyone interested.

I'd definitely be more productive if I knew I could pair-program with someone. But what does the community think? If no one is interested, I understand.

I could easily make it, but I don't think I have much to contribute.

Btw, this has to be virtual, because the main devs are spread out over North America, Australia and Europe.

I'm game to participate. I might also be able to provide a conference bridge and/or gotomeeting for it (especially if we're talking about time between 22:30 and 00:00 UTC (6:30pm - 8am EST)

Since the last dozen or so builds don't compile for me (Mac OS X), I'm hoping to get that resolved beforehand so I can participate meaningfully. I'll post something in the compile forum.

Virtual FreeOrion Game Jam works pretty well, that can span 2 days.

• Would it be possible to do a small poll to all members on the board / forum to see how many would be interested, and what month? I'd be thinking mid-July 2011 (one month from this post date give or take).
• What criteria would need to be met to be considered a reason to do this? i.e. at LEAST 10 people on board?
• What preferred communication tools could we all use? i.e. IRQ for chatting, Skype / GoogleVoice for communication, GoToMeeting or Mikago or some other for screensharing?

Making a post is contributing. Logically, if you're here and willing to participate, then you're adding value. There's a new adage I learned from agile development methodology (and I could be butchering it here) that everyone on the team is a smart, creative, helpful person.

You can contribute in areas of concepts, design, programming, or enthusiasm about the project.



Awesome. So we have 2-3 people on-board.