[tsc-devel] Help needed: MA on open-source game development

Julian Schönbächler | Tue, 15 Sep 2020 13:39:34 UTC

Hi there

My name is Julian Schönbächler, I'm a programmer and professional game 
designer from Switzerland working at Koboldgames[1], a small Swiss game 
studio. I am currently doing my Master's degree in Game Design at the 
University of the Arts in Zurich[2] and I would kindly ask for your 
help. I write to this mailing list in the hope to reach various 
open-source game projects from different areas.

*TL;DR* - In my research work for my MA thesis I focus on open-source 
game development, its structure and hierarchy as well as the motivation 
of the people involved in the project. I try to explore how game design 
processes function on games that are developed in the open and how 
collaboration on a project might serve an educational purpose. If you 
got *10min* on your hands to fill out a survey on this topic, I would 
greatly appreciate it. Thank you!
https://survey.julian-s.ch/limesurvey/index.php/918477

I believe I first came into contact with open-source games in my early 
secondary school days, when I was searching for free games on the 
internet to play on our old and slow Mac computer. SuperTuxKart is one 
of the games that still has a special place in my heart. To this day, it 
is a free and open-source game that receives a good portion of attention 
and is in active development. The open-source gaming community was also 
the place where I took my first steps in my game design career. An 
environment that provides you with free access to source code and 
assets, techniques and tutorials. One that actively encourages people to 
become contributors and joining a community. For me that was the best 
insight into how game development works and all the aspects it consists 
of I could ever get. Eventually, even though not really intended, years 
later I found my way back to the art of design and did my studies in the 
field of game design.
I am still lurking around in many of the open-source communities I once 
actively contributed to and maybe I will have time at hand to become 
more engaged in some of them. But over my whole engineering journey free 
and open-source software along with its development played a big role in 
my personal growth.

Now back to topic. Design and development of open-source games looks 
different compared to how it is generally done in the industry. Note 
that I would like to differentiate between game design and game 
development. While game development is often used as an umbrella term 
for all the specialized fields that the creation of a video game 
requires, design however is focusing onto the ruleset and mechanics as 
well as the balancing and the motivation design. The open-source games 
community as I experienced it is often more driven by the development 
aspect. Combined with other differences e.g. of having no fixed 
deadlines or compulsory feature requests, the design process is quite 
interesting and unique. The feedback loop tends to be more direct, the 
community as a collective can drive a project and participate in shaping 
the result.
Besides, actively developing on a game project in the open is a whole 
different experience. The motivation on working on a project in your 
spare time can range from fun-seeking to the eager of learning new 
things. I want to explore this kind of development deeper and maybe 
shape the future of free and open-source game development a little by 
giving back some design knowledge I have learned back into the 
communities (eh, every student dreams big, right?).

So for now, I am in the need of data. Because researching something I 
only halfway understand will not work here. That is why I prepared a 
survey with questions about /your/ personal experience with open-source 
game development, the projects you are involved in and the hierarchical 
structures under which they are developed. It consists of:
- Basic demographic questions
- Questions about your education and background
- Your open-source engagement
- Experienced project structures and hierarchies
- Your personal involvement in open-source game projects

I would be very happy if some of you could take the time (around 10-15 
minutes) to fill it out as your experience and knowledge is extremely 
important. It does not matter if you are one of the projects core 
developer or a member of the community who mainly contributes to 
discussions. Consider yourself involved as part of the game project and 
answer the questions as best as you can, any perspective is relevant. 
Thank you so much in advance!
You can find the survey here: 
https://survey.julian-s.ch/limesurvey/index.php/918477

The survey software used is FOSS (LimeSurvey[3]) and self-hosted on my 
personal webspace. Participation in the survey is completely anonymous, 
answers are encrypted and *no* personal data will be permanently stored 
in the database. At the end of July 2021, all the data will be cleared 
and analysis and results published under the GPLv3. The survey ends on 
*15. October 2020*.

That is all from me for now,
Cheers
Julian

[1]: https://koboldgames.ch/
[2]: https://www.zhdk.ch/
[3]: https://github.com/LimeSurvey/LimeSurvey
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