Re: [Adonthell-general] Getting contributors (was Re: Kudos on [Adonthell-Devel])

[Alexandre Courbot]

> Here's the problem :-). It's not as easy as it sounds. Although I have
> to admit that I haven't invested too much energy into actively
> advertising open positions. Most time was spent on making sure that
> stuff is documented, on the road map and task descriptions.
>
> So far, we have job-offerings up on Savannah, BerliOS and the Linux Game Tome:
> http://savannah.nongnu.org/people/?group_id=702
> http://devcounter.berlios.de/req_show.php?reqid=88
> http://happypenguin.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2473
> Also, most news items on our website also state that help is most
> welcome, as does the Wiki.
>
> All of those have in common though, that they are not really visible
> unless you go out and search for them. At least on our website and the
> Wiki, we could make them more prominent. Put up a big colored box on
> the front page or something.
>
>
> > Compared to a couple of years ago, it seems obvious to me that there
> > are more potential contributors wandering on the internet, the only
> > thing we need is to get them to see the project. That is, give the
> > project more visibility. We have a complete demo of our past work,
> > Waste's Edge, and some experimental bits of the new version. The
> > source code is clean. Docs are written, more than we never had. It
> > should be easier for newcomers to join the project
>
> One should think so, but perhaps it has grown to a size where it's no
> longer easy to just start contributing. It takes some time and effort
> to read the docs, look at API and code, etc.
>
> Maybe there are other factors too, like the age of the project, the
> seemingly large number of project members (15!) registered at
> Savannah, my arrogance, you name it ...

... my stupid jokes, ... :p

I don't think the age of the project is a problem, as long as it looks
active. 15 developers registered, however, is clearly wrong. I suggest
to simply remove those that are not active (errr... don't remove me,
though ;)). If they manifest again later, we can still add them again.

> Heh! Sure :-). That would be exactly what we need. Any suggestions how
> to attract them?

I don't know exactly *where* we should look for them (maybe we should
get "hype" and advertize on facebook or shit) , but I think the
project has nice properties we should put in evidence:
- Sucessfully released a full game already,
- Has some old guys who have been there for more than 10 years (thus
newcomers would get directions from more experienced coders)
- Basically free to leave your touch to the game

Of course, a couple of hot babes would probably be better than
anything, but we have to do with what we have.

Maybe, part of the answer can be obtained by asking: how do other
similar projects that are more active than us?

Also, since our target is not what people may expect from a game today
(I mean, 2D and everything...), maybe that makes it less attractive.

> There are two things on my mind right now:
>
> * The Linux Game Tome game of the month:
>   http://happypenguin.org/forums/viewforum.php?f=21
> * Google Summer of Code (although I'm not sure if they do something
> like that in 08):
>   http://code.google.com/soc/2007/

I'm pretty sure about the activity of the LGT (I haven't been there
for ages), but it looks more like a place for gamers than developers
to me. As for SoC... It's probably worth it, and would be a boost if
we succeed (or at least we will have some exposure). Don't know what
are our chances however.

Alex.