[Help Wanted] How To Be A Part Of Metahusk | Instructions Here
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How Do I start?
We want to keep the management of our projects as easy and intuitive as we can. Using a top-down management style with creative people isn’t always the best approach, especially with those who develop games for free as a hobby.
You're welcome to stop at any of these steps, but we encourage you to continue as far as you can. Game development is difficult, but practice makes perfect.
Here are the seven easy steps to earn the contributor forum badge and how to get your name in the credits for one of our projects:
1. Introduce yourself here.
2. Pick a project you want to help us with and read the project's instructions.
- For Example: Jane Doe, who happens to be a modeler, stumbled across Cardinal Fall but hasn't created any meshes for a game before. She decided this project was a good fit because she doesn't want to be too committed to a project and there are no formal applications. She was looking for a quick weekend project that could double as an assignment in her design class.
3. Post about what you intend to create by following the instructions in the project's forum thread.
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Example: After playing Cardinal Fall's demo, Jane noticed the demo doesn't have a medpack, which is a common item for a game. So before she started working on the mesh, she decided to check on Cardinal Fall's wanted assets list and noticed a Medpack was needed. As a result, she posted in the project's thread that she intends to create a medpack mesh and included a detailed description of what it would look like along with some inspirational concept art that she found on the internet. In the thread, a Content Sherpa confirmed that the project does need a medpack mesh, that he likes the concept art, and that she's welcome to take a shot at creating one.
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Note: You're welcome to start creating assets without permission at any point, but if you create one without asking, it's possible we may do things like adding extra requirements or inform you the style you're going for doesn't fit with the project's vision.
4. Download the project’s files from the direct download page, create your asset while following general industry practices like keeping the polycount within a target range, and test it thoroughly.
- Example: Jane downloaded Cardinal Fall’s project files and proceeded to follow the instructions. She's never worked with Unreal Engine before, but she's determined to create an art asset that gets accepted into a game project. She made sure to research what a typical polycount and texture filesize was for the mesh she making and compared it to already existing assets in the project.
5. Post your contribution by following the instructions in that project’s forum thread.
- Example: In the project's thread and after a challenging weekend, Jane posted a screenshot of her completed medpack mesh and a download link where she uploaded the mesh for a Sherpa to inspect. She made sure to follow the instructions and placed the asset in the correct project directory.
6. After you’ve posted your contribution, one of the project’s content Sherpas will reply about what you’ve created and you will earn the "Contributor" badge even if your contribution isn't accepted the project itself.
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If your contribution is finished, meets or exceeds the minimum quality established by the project, follows the correct tone and style, and conforms to the rules and guidelines, a content Sherpa may grant you access to the repository so you can begin committing your work into to the project.
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Example: The Sherpa reviewed Jane's contribution in the thread post, noted its unique and fitting style with a low poly count, and sent her a private message saying she would be granted access to the repository if she wanted. In response, Jane opened an account on the git repository and told the Sherpa her username. The Sherpa granted her push permissions on the project's repository and Jane made sure to read the git instructions.
7. Once you push an accepted commit, you will earn the "Committer" badge. At this stage, more information about the project will be presented to you. Congratulations, thank you for your hard work, and welcome to the team!
- Example: Even though Jane's college assignment was finished, she was inspired by the process and was determined to go further. As a result, she forked the project's repository and successfully made a pull request for her new mesh. The commit was inspected, accepted, and she was granted the "Committer" forum badge as it was merged into the main branch. Jane felt so rewarded and accomplished knowing that her medpack was put to good use that she decided to help with more aspects of the project and eventually became one of our main artists. Down the road, Jane Doe used her contributions here to build her resume and she landed her first game design job with a small indie company.
For ideas about what kinds of content we are looking for, take a look at the project’s already accepted content or the list of what's needed. A good place to start is the project’s pinned forum post. Or you can look for inspiration from other games and development projects in general. It’s not uncommon for creative individuals to find inspiration by looking around.
How Do Project Credits Work?
Everyone who pushes an accepted commit will have their name put into that project's credits.
And even if you contributed content that didn't earn you the ability to push a commit or if a commit you pushed wasn't accepted, but we still used it in some fashion, we will grant you credit. This includes any content from other sources, such as open source content which we found ourselves and put into a project.
Don’t feel discouraged if you aren’t granted committer status. Everyone’s contributions are valuable and your efforts here provide an inspiration for others. All development is a part of the learning experience, no matter the quality. So feel free to try even if you don't think your creations will be accepted.
