Project Team applications now open

[Dorganath]

It's that time again!
  Project Team applications are now open. Now is your chance to contribute to the world of Layonara in a very cool way.
  Requirements: Primarily creativity, ability, desire, and the ability to work collaboratively as a team. You don't need to be an expert at all things NWN or Layonara. At least some prior experience working with NWN or custom content is helpful.  
  If you are interested in joining the Project Team, please indicate below along with a description of your qualifications and what you can bring to the project team. Applications will remain open until Friday May 5, 2006 at midnight CDT/10:00PM PDT/5:00AM GMT Saturday.
  Please note: At this time, I will only be accepting 2-4 new members, and I will be looking for certain skill sets. However, within the next few months as we begin our migration to NWN2, we will be taking on more Team members to assist with the migration, and I would like to get a feel for the talent base.
  If anyone has questions about the Project Team or the applicaton process, please feel free to PM me. If you wish to submit a sample of work as part of your application, you may e-mail it to me at dorganath@layonara.com.

[miltonyorkcastle]

Milty here, dropping in my application.

I have creative experience with world building in PnP, and I am very familiar with NWN game mechanics.  However, I'm only a tiny bit familiar with the toolset or anything to do with the actual implementation of designs in NWN.  I'm not a scripter, and though I'm a quick learner, and understand the basics of scripting, there would be a significant learning curve if I was asked to do any implementation.  Naturally, I'm willing to learn, despite the effort.

I consider myself a novice writer. However, my credentials include a B.A. in Theatre Arts, as well as eighteen credit hours of college English (six hours short of an English minor). Also, six of those English hours were in Fictional Creative Writing.  If all goes well, I'll be starting into a Masters in Humanities very soon as well.

I am active on the forums and have plenty of time to spend to help out.  Come the end of May, I will have entire weeks free to do nothing but help Layonara grow.

I'm a member of the LORE team so you can reference Talan, Kagekeeper, Boxcar, or Leanthar for my work there, and my ability to work with a team.

I think that's everything.  If you have any questions, you know where to find me.

[Blackguy]

Application for the Project Team!
  Im not sure how im gonna write this, so I'll just write it like a straigh forward talk.
    Hello, my name is Blackguy, thats not my real name but that will do for now. Back in the days before Layo v2 came out I helped out building alot of the dungeons and underground areas in the new world. I thought it was a nice way to pay my debt back to the community this way. It was hard and tedious work and at points it seemed like a endless challenge. But the reward, as you all know, was Layo v2, which is a huge upgrade from Layo v1, for those that can remember that. But also when I see some of the dungeons I buildt, there is so much I mould have changed and many things I regret doing a certain way. And thats perhaps is the strongest reason why I want to join, I want to show that I can be better than what you see now.
  I'd also like to point out that Im a fast learner and that the toolset is no stranger to me, regarding almost every aspects of it. And the ones I dont, I can teach myself. Scripting is perhaps the only thing I do not master, but I could think of no better place to lend my aid and my dedication to this world.
  I know I kinda left without a word for 2½ years, being a part of the buildteam back then. I cannot defend my actions as I know they were wrong, but I can tell you that alot have happent in those 2½ years, alot of me have matured during that period, and its feels nice to actually being able to focus on the game instead of the occ problems occuring. Its all about me coming to accept that this world is based on the help of others, the teamwork that stands out from everyone involded in maintaining this world.
  I'd like to close off by saying, that I'd be honored if I could help out with adding to this world, or the new one, if that time came.
  Respectfully yours
  Blackguy

[Chuckles_McChuck]

well, its been a long time, but I've finally decided I want to join the content team.  I consider myself rather creative, I've made quite an elaborate story for my character, as well as GM'd myself in PnP campeigns that I make, and for awhile now I too have been creating my own world for my PnP campeigns.  I've learned scripting in high school (C++ and turbo pascal before they replaced learning that script with learning C++), but haven't touched the stuff since then and forgot alot of it, though I'm sure my memory could be easily refreshed if required.  I've played around with the toolset a bit as well, an example would be the arcane alliance tower for Layonara, with D_Blazes and IceDragonDuvessa's help, and that is what I would mostly want to do, area building for NWN 2 when the time comes.  Finally of course, I am a team player, that is what I'm trained to be, I tend to be very organized and am very hard working.

If I do get accepted of course time playing my character will be cut short, though I plan to give her to the world as an NPC once I complete my ECDQ (pass or fail it doesn't matter, she will still be handed over).  For in September I will be going to the gulf and there is no way I will be able to play online while out there for 6 to 7 months.  However, just because I cant play my character online does not mean that I cant script and area build, and through e-mails, I can give progress reports and send my work over still.  I hope to join the project team for this long trip for it will allow me to keep in touch with Layonara while I'm gone as well as give me a hobby while I sail, for everyone who were on those trips before say that they will drive you insane if all you do is eat, sleep and in my case, excersise.

P.S. one thing I forgot to mention that might help, I've been on the server for almost 4 years now being one of Layonara's oldest members, I know the world and how it works quite well.

[Deacon]

Hello Layonara Project Team!

I am very interested in becoming a part of the Layonara Project team for a number of reasons, and I feel that I am qualified to help the team with whatever needs they see fit to lay upon my shoulders.  

As for the qualifications, I consider myself a creative person.  I have been enrolled in several art classes while at school and I am about to begin my studies as an architect, which is basically all about melding technology and creativity in one.  I have used the toolset off and on ever since I bought NWN, and have even done some mild area building and conversation editing.  I am a little rusty but it would not take a whole lot to shake the dust off.  I am not really strong on the scripting portion of the toolset, but I am willing to learn if I am required to.  All my life I have been members of teams, so integrating into the Layonara team should not be a problem.

My motivations for applying are quite simple.  I am going to go into a career in the video game field (as a 3D modeler / animator) and I feel that having a little experience working on a team that develops a game of sorts would help me get my foot in the door.  Furthermore, I have been at Layonara since 2004 and I love the world and all that is contained in it.  I feel that any way I can contribute to make the world better is a great testament for anyone to have, and I want to be a part of it.  

Thanks for considering my application!

Derek “Deacon” Holson

[Weeblie]

Ah, at last!

So, what do I know that you want to know? Well, I know C/C++ as my own pocket (opinion, of course, but getting a silver medal at IOI must mean something, I think) and have some experience with PHP and MySQL. I'm also a decent NWN-scripter (opinion again), though my skills in that area is a little bit unused nowadays... (heh! last time I wrote any NWN-thing was at least one year ago)

Work in a team? Sure! I don't believe... erh... I certainly hope that I don't have any problem with that!

I'm quite active, I think, and would love to spend some of my time for something more useful than staring at the static mIRC screen or watching Garent walking in Hlint. I hope that I can contribute with something to Layo and increase the already impressive feature-list (the more, the merrier!)...

And, I could probably also add that I've got a certain interest in finding exploits and fixing those... If that's a useful skill...

[Lucius]

Can't let this opportunity to help slip without givint it a try!

I'm interested in becoming part of the project staff, and I think I can contribute to the world in some ways.

I consider myself a creative person, and I enjoy writing, be it simple stories or big PnP campaigns. I can work pretty well in a group, and I got some nice spare time (even though it's slightly chaotic) to work with. I've been experimenting with the toolset since I bought NWN, so I got some knowledge about it. As for custom content, I've created a couple of modules, but never tried anything with haks or similar things. Yet

I would like to join because I greatly enjoy playing on Layonara. I want to help the world become bigger and better, so we all can have great times ingame. I think I can bring nice ideas to the team, and it would be a pleasure to work with you.

[SquareKnot]

Well, after quite a bit of thought, I've decided to apply to the Project Team.

I currently work as an electrical engineer on a team of 7 people, and work with others across three different geographies. I'm very accustomed to working together with others on a common project, where each person contributes to the common result. I've also adapted my work style to better mesh with people from other time zones, cultures, and native languages.

I consider myself a creative person and have written short stories and DMed PnP games. Unlike some people, who feel that "creativity should know no bounds," I most enjoy being creative because of bounds. Not "My floating city has reverse gravity" but rather "Given the limits of NWN, how could one simulate the physics of reverse gravity?" If given an assignment, I think I'll be able to unlock my creativity in unexpected ways that will be fun for myself and fun for others to discover.

I've programmed computers for over 20 years, professionally for 10. Most of that has been C/C++, a lot of perl, some java, a bit of sh/bash. I've mostly used Unix/Linux, and I've done some sysadmin on Linux. I'm also used to revision control (RCS/CVS/a little SVN). I've made some medium sized areas using the toolset and done some custom NWScript. I've never built an entire module from scratch, though. I don't have the entire script API memorized, but I've read the Lexicon more than once. I've also edited .2da files, though I still have a lot to learn about what goes where in the different .2da's. So I'd say that I have a good background, but little actual NWN development experience. I look forward to gaining that experience, quickly.

[Stephen_Zuckerman]

This is going to be very straightforward, and completely lacking in examples to support my claims. My reasons? The skills I bring to the table are only three: Continuity, Custom Content Creation (in regards to item and NPC descriptions, etc.), and a joy for working, as SquareKnot has put it, inside the bounds I've been given. I have no skill with the toolset, as I've recently proven to myself (though in that same half-hour, I proved also that the system is one I could become proficient in within a couple of hours), and I have never run a DMed game through NWN. I have almost zero programming experience, as I doubt you would count TiBASIC as experience, and don't know the first letter of NWScript.

However, the three skills I do have can make up for my shortcomings in spades.

I've been interested in joining the Project Team for some time, to work primarily on fleshing out the in-game world to the best of my abilities; adding description to NPCs, tweaking dialogue so that it flows a bit better, altering item and area descriptions to order, and other things of the like. I believe I could be very useful to the Team, particularly concerning the upcoming transition to NWN2, and in updating LORE.

If you need a solitary worker, I'm your man. If you need a collaborator on ideas, and a "go write it" guy, I'm your man. If you need someone who prides himself most on his ability to make a system of information work, then I am most certainly your man.

If you need someone with skills more on the programming side, I'll be back around when you're looking for a writer.

[Chongo]

I've sent all of my material to Leanthar regarding this, I am happy to forward it to you if that would be easier Dorganoth.

Quick Hits:

- Lead Developer of Arynwind, you can find information on this at http://www.arynwind.com or at http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=gameworld.HOF
I started this ground up, grass roots with a series of scripting and building helpers.  I guess you can assume everything that entails, it is a painful process where you learn a lot about how inconsiderate you may have been in previous lifetimes to other devs.  I was the primary builder of the Empyrea and Korim servers, around 1300 areas and everything in them are mine.  The info on the server can best be found on these links about the faction/ empire systems and any other ideas I pursued.  There's a lot to it that's just not worth your time detailing here, suffice it to say I worked with a team of under 3 core builders/ scripters for the duration.

My general ideology on internet gaming that I've formed from the time I first put the NWN disc in, to the first time on Layonara about... almost two years ago, to the development of a fairly massive gameworld.... is that it's very possible to perpetuate solid values and personal accountability in this environment.  That players can be made aware that it's people they're playing with that have the same goals and desires you do, and that mutual respect is always warranted.  This is something my slow learning curve has taken, what is it, 4 years now of NWN, 1 painful year as a dev, and almost 28 years of my life to calm down and figure out.

My general ideology in building, which has seen it's share of growing pains, is that you should think linear with on-foot world design and non-linear in character customization.  That is, the primary human factors design to perpetuate roleplay is such that people are constantly steered to collection points.  Mapping can be done very effectively to take any chosen town, field, mountain, city... whatever is deemed a center of gravity, and design it so that players find themselves collected.  Non-linear grid mapping of 5000 areas is a thing of NWN 1.  Focus and very completed atmosphere (i.e. no doormat left unturned) is where things need to move.  The potential for anything non-linear on a gameworld comes from every opportunity built into the game to bring individuality to a character.  Through multiple angled scripted quests pulling on character traits, skills, or feelings to something as simple as tailored sets of armor, it is the million and one things you build in this area that will keep the world vast.  All of this seems obvious but I think it is a natural beginning tendency to think to big in every area instead of remembering that this in the end derives from PnP roots in your buddy's basement.  The vast lies in the character possibilities.

As I've said in my correlation with Leanthar, Arynwind will be closing down as my project, at some point this week actually.  A core team will be keeping it up on a smaller scale because they just won't give it up no matter what I say and I am happy to let them keep it going for their small group.  I will be fully focused here, whenever you bring me on board... and if not, as a motivated player.

My intentions with Layonara is to simply help out, primarily in the design of the NWN 2 project, although I am more then happy to help with the current world in any way I can.  This decision was made some time ago, as I have come to realize that Layonara is the best thing going, and I'd be proud to help it out.  I do not intend to lead, co-lead, or quasi-lead anything.  The idea of being a worker is like a good book, and a warm blanket next to a fire at this point.

Regarding this application, I would definitely like to talk to you about what you need in this hiring.  My intent again, is to support Layonara.  I know my capabilities and based on your needs, you may not need me at this time for Layo NWN 1.  My primary use is with building, balancing, monster/ item/ etc creation, improving environments, and QA whenever it's needed.  With the team you have in place, I am outclassed in scripting and take pride in being able to avoid it outside of general in-game mechanics.  Given my job, I am able to put a fairly large chunk of time towards a project and am available/ at my computer typically during EST work hours every day.  But I'll be honest, right now I'm just enjoying playing here again - I won't be offended or turned off if you fill your needs elsewhere.  I'm here for the long haul.  

Again, I can forward you everything I sent Leanthar and any references etc as needed.  Regardless, see you in game.  

[Fatherchaos]

I'd like to toss my hat into the ring and apply for the project team. Most certainly since onest8 sparked my interest.

A brief run down of my current skills:

-Two degrees in animation & computer graphics (focus on special effects/cinema/traditional animation/video games)

-10+ years experience as an engineer working primarily in implementing servers and topology (and end users ). Work with linux/windows equally, a little Mac 'n cheese on the side. Moderate to good ability in php, c++, mysql, html, flash (actionscript). Also just busted out the books on asp and perl, so I'm getting along with those now as well.

-6+ years working in the video game industry as a QA engineer & developer for game assets.

-I've been in and around PnP since the early 90s. I fancy myself a good writer who focuses more on "dark plots" then the happy go lucky hollywood endings. I've created my own game world twice over, so I know what goes into it, and often what little can come out of it.

-My skill with the NWN toolset is paltry at the moment, as I've only pieced together a few rooms to see what it was all about. I have not undertaken anything major for NWN at all. Though given my background and experience in Maya/3DMAX I don't see this a hurdle.

-Willingness to do what is asked of me, and also speak up when I don't think something fits. E.g. if I disagree, expect to hear a well thought out arguement avec good logic sans whining.

-I also work with the "DM rule" - meaning the DM is always right (on the spot), but can be discussed later why they are "wrong" when it won't interrupt the flow of things. Critical issues excluded of course, those are always politely discussed.

-Only whine when I'm out of pizza or cheese (often at the same time).

-Can usually commit a good full day once a week to whatever task I'm on. This may increase after I finish my current college semester (graduating in 2 weeks, with _another_ degree yeesh).

-Never DMd using NWN, but willing to give it a shot. Have ran various other games PnP/PBeM as the gm for several years (12 years on that one)

What I'm expecting/not expecting:
-I don't expect to see everything right away. And truthfully, I don't want to. Too much responsibility without familiarity, as I like to say.
-Not expecting to get immediate fame/fortune/power/yadda yadda. I'm a "behind the scenes" kind of guy that just likes to see things working, and watch others enjoy what I've made.
-I'm not expecting my time here to be considered more important than my real life concerns. Though I will give it a lions share of my hobby time.
-Expecting some difficult and interesting projects. I'm especially interested in doing conversions to NWN2 when its out, as I love to do script rewrites & re-modelling. This also gives me a chance to flex my Maya muscles
-Expecting to be able to throw out some ideas, good and bad, and not be shrugged off without them being heard.
-Expect the same as above directed to me.

-Expecting my extra cheese pizza to arrive in 30 mins or its free

Now the most important: Why I'd like to join the project team.
Thats actually a fairly simple answer: I enjoy the layo world and would like to contribute to it so that others can enjoy it even more. For a several years now I've worked in and around video games, and prefer the nearly unlimited freedom of creation available. Layo seems like a good fit to work with.

And I sold my soul for NWN2 -> linux port, even if under wine

[orth]

There is no association with DMing and the Project Team, please do not confuse each other. These are not applications to be quest DMs or part of the DM Team.

We just don't want any confusion with the two, thanks

[see-more]

I would like to throw my hat into the ring to become a member of the team.

I have been playing and DMing role playing games and computer games for over 25 years. I have played most of the major games out there: D&D, AD&D, Warhammer, Mech Warrior, Champions, Wizardy series, Might and Magic series, NWN, just to name a few.

My experinces with these games give me a feel for what makes a good game or some thing you just wasted your time and money on.

Feel free to PM me with further question and I will supply you with the details you request.

Have a nice day:
Asher Hardrock

[Chuckles_McChuck]

no prob Orth, I only mentioned my DMing experience because it ties in with my world building experience for my PnP campeigns, which I imagine is what you wanted for the creativity part of the project team

[Dorganath]

I'm a little behind on this, but the Project Team applications are now closed.
  I'll be reviewing these applications and contacting applicants in the near future. Thanks to all who applied.