WHAT IS SCION DEVELOPMENT?
Scion Development is a collaborative of game modification projects developed and supported by the members of our community. Commited enthusiasts of the design community donate their time and energy to contribute to the production of these mods, striving to prove to themselves and others that amateur designers are capable of developing retail-quality software. Game design is our passion, and our ensemble of talented, dedicated volunteers are devoted to producing well-crafted applications for the enjoyment of our users.
Scion was founded from the remains of our sister development organization, Purple Design Studios. PDS was responsible for many of the modification projects of the Age of Mythology community, which has since taken a pitfall. In order to revive the team's efforts, the administration decided that a new identity and a new game would be necessary. 0 A.D. offered the opportunity to develop in an open-source environment for a game that is to be widely available to the public at no cost. Wildfire Games' inspiring efforts drove us to expand on their virtual empire.
If you are reading this, it is safe to assume that you are a spirited individual seeking to join our team of developers. In case you didn't catch it the first time, we are a non-profit organization, and the only budget we have is our determination and our creative minds. Instead, we seek the chance to take part of something unique, the opportunity to learn and practice our skills and see first hand what it takes. We're doing this because we all have dreams of developing high-caliber modifications, perhaps a dream that you also share.
WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN AN APPLICANT?
We are specifically looking for hard-working and motivated individuals with a good temperament, the ability to commit 10+ hours a week to the project, have a passion for RTS gaming, and an interest in working to expand upon one of the greatest free-ware achievements to date, 0 A.D. Members of Scion are expected to work efficiently and cooperatively to produce their work, but for the most part create their own work schedule to adhere to their required agendas. Working as a team means that everyone has a say in what goes into the project, and everyone has their piece of the puzzle. To achieve our quality standards and historical accuracy, there will most likely always be something improve. However, we do realize that perfection is a mere concept rather than a reasonable goal, and as such, designers are encouraged to pursue their personal aspirations.
This is the Scion Development application form: your portal to the team. You can use this application to tell us about yourself and what position on the team interest you. We will use your application to learn more about your moral standards, ability to work in a team-oriented environment and more importantly, your personality. We value a person's characteristics and social qualities, their ability to learn, and their aptitude for teamwork more than their particular skill sets and experience. The Scion Development development community exists as a place where we can learn, exercise our skills, and to have fun doing the things we love.
HOW DO I APPLY?
To begin the application process, you will first need to register on the forums if you haven't done so already. Once you have registered, copy, paste and fill out the form below and create a new topic in the Applications Forum, where you can receive feedback from the existing staff, who may direct questions regarding your application. The use of a public forum makes the application process much more personal and permits rapid communication.
In order to maintain organization, we ask you follow a simple format for the title of your application:
"[Position] Application - [Full Name]"
Example: "Texture Artist Application - Rob Kimball"
Copy the syntax below and paste it into the the thread body, respond to all the questions and post the thread. Provided at the bottom of this post is a list of what positions we are currently seeking to fill and what sort of tasks would be expected of someone in that position.
- Code: Select all
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Position[/b]:
[b]Age[/b]:
[b]Email[/b]:
[b]MSN Messenger[/b]:
[b]Location[/b]:
[b]Expertise[/b]: What past experience has prepared you for this position?
[b]Short-Essay: Motivation[/b]: Where did you learn about Scion Development? What compelled you to offer contributions? What do you seek to gain as a member of Scion Development?
[b]Other Online Communities[/b]:
[b]Occupation[/b]:
[b]Other Hobbies[/b]:
[b]Favorite Game[/b]:
[b]Personality[/b]: Pick 3 words to describe yourself.
Administrator Global Moderator Member
ART DEPARTMENT
3D Artist A 3-dimensional artist will be responsible for the creation of units, animations, props and structures for the game. The designer must have adequate experience in a mainstream 3D application such as 3DS Max or Blender, be able to properly UV map a model with a given texture, and it is preferred that the artist knows a little bit about animating, but it is not required for the position. Unfortunately, Gmax is not currently supported with an exporting script.
3D Animator Must have an eye and aptitude for animating humans, animals, chariots, and other common assets in a realistic and fluid manner. Preferred development tool is 3DS MAX 2009 (but Max 8 or 9 is also acceptable). Experience with exporting meshes, animations, and skeletons is required as is rigging models for animating. Experience with non-skeletal animating and sprite animations is a plus (this will be a future focus). Basic knowledge in C++ programming language and/or Javascript is always a big plus, but certainly not required. Skills in other art disciplines are always a plus. Examples of your work may be in the form of animated GIFs, various movie formats, or Max files in Max2009 or lower; your choice.
Concept Artist A concept artist is responsible for creating reference assets for the Art Department to use to aid in the development of game assets as well as the development of final drafts of GUI art. Applicants should have experience with drawing and digital painting, especially if combined. No specific software is necessary for this position, but a Wacom tablet is recommended.
Texture Artist The primary job of a texture artist is to create textures for 3D models from a concept or reference image. Experience in a photo editing software such as Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, or GIMP is desired. The ability to work with layers, advanced functions and tools, work with alpha layers, and various plugins is also desired. 3D experience is not required (but helpful) and unwrapped wireframe maps will be provided for the user upon acceptance, although the user may already have 3D software to extract the uv map template.
DESIGN DEPARTMENT
Environment Designer An Environment Designer would be responsible for using Atlas to develop showcase environments for our projects to aid in our marketing efforts. The applicant should have a reasonable knowledge of RTS scenario design and be willing to provide screenshots of their work. Having a basic knowledge of video production, post-processing or Photoshop is recommended, but not required.
MARKETING DEPARTMENT
PROGRAMMING DEPARTMENT
AI Programmer (JS/XML) The AI in 0 A.D. is multifaceted and requires work on many fronts. The AI needs to competitively function in single-player, multiplayer, and on randomly generated maps. Pathfinding, Computer Player AI (backend for scripting), Scripting, and Basic unit level AI are a few examples. Expertise in javascript and XML is required as well for this particular position.
WEB DEVELOPMENT TEAM
Webmaster As the Webmaster, your primary responsibilities would be handling periodic server operations and managing a 2-3 man team of web developers. Applicants should have a strong understanding of MySQL, PHP, Perl, Javascript, XML, XHTML and CSS. Familiarity with cPanel 11 is a plus. There will be an extended trial period for the Webmaster applicant to ensure trustworthiness and leadership capabilities.
Web Developer A Web Developer is responsible for just that: developing the website. The applicant should have a strong understanding of XHTML, CSS and a basic knowledge of Photoshop and graphic art. Knowledge of PHP and Javascript are recommended, but not required. We use CMSMS as our content management system for it’s versatility and developer-oriented functionality. An understanding of this software is not necessary, but is beneficial to the applicant.
Once your application is accepted, you'll immediately be able to settle into your new team environment and start work as soon as you're ready for it. Each member is given his/her own personal task manager forum, in which they can post whatever he or she likes, such as absences, game ideas, source images, progress reports, or ask for advice from other team members. Until the game is released, there will almost always be something for you to do. These things are extremely flexible and everyone usually gets to work on parts of the game they're most interested and capable of working on.
We look forward to your application and we welcome you to our team!
