So, I don't exactly advertise it, but know that I absolutely LOVE the idea of collaborations. When executed correctly, they bring out the best in developers, I think it's that idea of bringing them out of their comfort zone, and into an interdependent setting that just really brings out the best in them. And i mean, in-turn, the players get a fantastic game to enjoy. Games such as 'I Wanna Try A Collab', 'Spook Jam', and 'I Wanna Get Cultured 2' are manifestations of this.
One of the many challenges that comes with leading a collaboration project is keeping track of everything that's being sent your way by participants. Software such as GitHub seriously help with that sort of stuff; automating most of the process, and putting everything neatly into one project file. The only problem is, GitHub isn't exactly something someone can just pick up and immediately know how to use (i know, sounds a lot like everyone's first experience with GameMaker, right?), and tutorials on YouTube are incredibly vague with how to
actually collaborate using it. From experience, i.e. learning myself, all the tutorials tend to show you is how to set up a repository, and send you on your not-so-merry way trying to learn everything yourself.
Anyway, enough reading, to the point; I made a video explaining how to use GitHub for fangame collaborations. My intention was to go in-depth in a 'walkthrough-esk' type of video explaining how to set up a repository, and collaborate in 'real-time' (as loose as that term may be) with peers.
The video is split into 3 segments:
- Information / Instructions for the leader of the collaboration
- Information / Instructions for the participants of the collaboration
- A general overview for both sides of the coin
If there's anything you think i might've missed in the video, please feel free to leave a comment either on this thread, or on the YouTube video, and I'd be happy to help out!