Dev Fund Update: Who's Next?

[Prophet]

Thanks to everyone who donated toward the first GP2X Dev Donation Fund, and to David at GP32Z for his assistance. All donations are now received, and the first GP2X dev fund was a nice success!

Skeezix will be receiving one of the very first GP2X's in mid-October!

Jeff - we all hope you enjoy it!

Question now is - would people like to contribute to a new Dev Donation Fund for another developer? Many top devs are already getting a GP2X, so this time we'll have to do some research to learn who still needs one. And I think it might be interesting if we voted on who the next candidate would be. Skeezix was an easy choice, someone I knew many people would rally around.

If you have any suggestions or info on some good devs who would need a GP2X and would/should be considered for a community donated unit, post your recommendations here. They don't have to be GP32 devs, but remember they should be devs who can offer something to the platform and have the background to prove it.

First possible candidate suggestion: Vilmos.

Vilmos is a Zodiac dev who ported Noiz2sa & MAME to Zodiac/PalmOS. He contacted me about the GP2X and is very interested in getting one, but is low on funds right now. So he's one possible candidate.

If you are a dev, don't be ashamed to ask! We appreciate your work, and there's nothing wrong with receiving a bit of thanks. You don't have to be an emulation dev either. If you've done some nice ports, utilities, SDK's in the past and want to get into Gp2X dev, but still short on funds for one - just stop by and let us know.

 

[OrR]

Quick, I wanna spend some money!

Thinking about devs... Vilmos is a good choice. Kenta Cho didn't want one for free... I think zodttd has already preordered one. (He should get himself a real nickname, it's weird to call him zodttd... )

 

[x68000]

franxis, yoyofr and ld chen all have intentions to dev for the system.

anyone know what their status is as regarding getting hold of a system?

 

[declaration]

I had thought the main candidates would be people who had already coded for the GP32. Then, if they don't actually do anything on the GP2X, its still a thankyou for work done for the community previously.

There are plenty of examples- Yoyo for example, but I'm not sure he would be seriously interested. Mr Spiv is also a big guy who doesnt really get much attention. If he isnt already getting one, then I think he would be a great choice. Reesy is obviously another candidate, but I don't know if he is getting one from other source. Franxis is also another candidate along with many others I am forgetting.

 

[Prophet]

Yoyo never answered when I emailed him about the GP2X a few weeks back (which is odd cuz he knows me).

Reesy & Franxis are already getting one AFAIK. Several top devs are already getting one.

 

[Julius]

Dunno about Chui, but if he wants one that would be a sure thing
Or maybe someone from the Dreamcast dev crowd?

I am not exactly exited about someone who only did a few things for a system I never owned, though. I would like to see someone where I could justify a donation even when he never returns any work for the GP2x (unlike Skeezix who deserved my donation for the GP32 CaSTaway alone).

 

[skeezix]

Wow, all good people, from Chui to Spiv to Vilmos (to Reesy et al who already are getting them.) Spiv is definaltey under-rated, because people don't know about him (though the devs do.. Spiv helps the rest of us Vilmos is definately a good man, and Chui to help keep Fenix alive on the platform.

Tough choices Oh, and zodttd to eh? Looks like gp2x is getting the combined zodiac + gp32 + new sceners together. (I rather feel sorry for the Xgp.. seems to falling by the way side in our general support.)

Rlyeh is covered?

LDChen .. small world

jeff

 

[Digital Awakening]

I would like to nominate myself but I'm sure there are others who GP2X would benefit more from at this time. I'm a university student and I can't afford a GP2X right now.

I'm very interested to develop games for GP2X as I've always wanted to develop for a handheld and GP2X has all I want. I don't have much of a track record but I do have 2 completed games (shots and info on my site, there's also a demo of TML), a couple of prototypes and contest projects and I've also done some PHP/SQL coding. Anyone who have tried game development knows how hard it is to actually complete a game. I've been looking into C++/SDL and found it easy enough for me to develop in.

My first game is The Magic Land that was my first full game. It's a 3D RPG for PC made in Dark Basic Pro. It got it's advantages and disadvantages but then it was my first game and it wasn't planned to be as big as it ended up to be so it's lacking in a few areas.

My 2nd completed game is Goo Lab that I made for mobile phones. It's made in Omega Basic and was a project I made to learn the language and the bulky syntax. Omega Basic never got good enough for Goo Lab to work 100% before it died, but the game runs great in the emulator and without sound on my phone.

So for GP2X I would start by porting Goo Lab as a freeware game, anyone who donate could get to beta test it. Would be a great project for me to really get to learn every aspect of developing for GP2X. All graphics would need to be redone to match the larger screen and a lot of the code needs to be restructured due to how Omega Basic works.

My 2nd project would be a labyrinth/puzzle game that I had planned for mobiles as well. I did this little game in Dark Basic Pro for a monthly contest but the contest stopped before I had completed the game. It's fully running with 8 levels but the new version I'm planning has much more advanced gameplay, more detailed graphics and a story. The game is designed as a fake 3D overhead camera. The plan is to include a level editor so that people can share their levels.

As for my 3rd project I'm currently unsure. I'm thinking of a boxing game with RPG style character development, hopefully with multiplay if that ever will be possible using 2 GP2X. The gameplay would take advantage of all 6 buttons for a fast and quite realistic boxing but with an arcade feal. But I'm also thinking of a space strategy game that would allow players to wage war against each other in space and on the ground. It would be turnbased so many players can play on the same GP2X, preferably connected to a TV or you can just pass it around in a car etc. Most of the gameplay is already planned and I'm thinking about things to make it more suitable to multiplay on the same unit.

I should also mention my current project. It's a web based RPG using PHP and MySQL that is still very early in development. The focus on the game is as much freedom as possible and as advanced as possible without beeing to hard to play or too heavy on the graphics. I've been working on an RPG system on and off for about 8-9 years. What you see in TML is an extremly scaled down version of what the system was back then. You really can't compare the 2. The web RPG will feature 15-16 character values and you'll be able to learn to handle many types of weapons like swords, revolvers and magic. It's really different from all RPGs I've ever played and it's designed to make battles as interesting as possible.

For future projects I have lots of ideas that I'd like to develop for GP2X. My other favourite genres exept for the 3 mentioned are: Action adventures, shoot'em ups, platformers and card games.

So if you want a game developer with his own unique game ideas who is open to suggestions from the community and have played games on his dads Sharp Z80 even before C64's time and on many other systems until today and who love and still plays SNES then wote for me B)

PS. That turned out longer then planned but I have a habit to write a lot when I get started

 

[elinscheid]

I think that Chui, Vilmos and Zodttd are excelent choices.

 

[DaveC]

Thanks to everyone who donated toward
First possible candidate suggestion: Vilmos.

Vilmos is a Zodiac dev who ported Noiz2sa & MAME to Zodiac/PalmOS. He

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Maybe make a poll and we can vote on it. It could still be vetoed by you but at least if anything would narrow it down.

Vilmos? well we have Franxis that does MAME, and Noiz2a we already have on the GP32 that could probably easily be ported. How about Tinnus? didn't he do alot of emus on Palm? Of course you have to tread carefully when it comes to Z devs as they will get upset if we try to lure them from there (right Moz?) so that may be a bad idea.

Flubba would be good but he refuses to do anything for anything other then Nintendo hardware Too bad because his PC-engine emu would fill a big hole.

 

[Prophet]

I intend to hold a vote, but first I need to get a selection of candidates.

Vilmos contacted me, so that's why he was mentioned. I'm not going to list anyone as a voting choice unless they verify they're interested first!

What I may do soon is a general news announcement across Emuholic's sections, including ZodiacGamer, to let various devs know about the donation funds and see who's interested. But I have to think it over, so it doesn't sound like a "hostile takeover" by GP2X factions.

 

[Esn]

What I may do soon is a general news announcement across Emuholic's sections, including ZodiacGamer, to let various devs know about the donation funds and see who's interested.

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Just make sure that you get no candidates like "Shaking Your Fist Productions" (see the GP2X Quake thread in LOL files). Anybody on the list should have a proven track record, and prefferably they should have already done something for the GP32 scene before. I'm still a bit uneasy about paying people for future projects to be honest (look what happened with the SNES9xGP team, a few years ago!), so for me personally it would feel better if the person was someone we all know, so that it's also a way of thanking them for what they've already done for the community.

I'm not going to list anyone as a voting choice unless they verify they're interested first!

Sure, but make sure you ask people - some good devs may not much like admitting that they're interested (sort of like how skeezix didn't want to post in that thread that was started for his donation). As they say, the best king is often the one who doesn't really want the job.

P.S. Digital Awakening, that "cover art" for your 3D RPG looks amazing. Did you make it yourself?

 

[Digital Awakening]

Esn:
Nope, that was made by Ian McConville from Mac Hall.

 

[no_skill]

reading throught this thread i saw something: we need a list of developers who did outstanding things on the gp32 and thus deserve support of some kind (klicks for devs, gp2x dev fund).

do it!
do it now!

 

[Reesy]

Yeah get Mr Spiv one...even is he doesn't want it. You know he won't be able to resist playing with it once he has it. We need more experienced low level people and he is the man!

 

[x68000]

The Italian Stallion, LDChen gets my vote as he has already said he would love to port his FPSE emulator over to the gp2x. He is a very talented coder who has undertook a huge task with this and has pulled off fantastic results, beyound peoples expectations - a little like reesy and with what he did to DrMD.

@prophet - PM me if you need any contact details for him

 

[OrR]

Vilmos? well we have Franxis that does MAME, and Noiz2a we already have on the GP32 that could probably easily be ported. How about Tinnus? didn't he do alot of emus on Palm? Of course you have to tread carefully when it comes to Z devs as they will get upset if we try to lure them from there (right Moz?) so that may be a bad idea.

​

Tinnus just got his Zodiac and is busy developing for it. Maybe at a later date but he should do some Zodiac stuff, first.

I had thought the main candidates would be people who had already coded for the GP32. Then, if they don't actually do anything on the GP2X, its still a thankyou for work done for the community previously.

​

I agree, paying people in advance for something they might do only leads to trouble. Since lots of Zodiac owners are migrating to the GP scene it might be possible to collect for Zodiac devs, too. Same is true for Linux, Dreamcast etc. coders. In such cases only people coming from that scene should donate as a thank you for all the work the coders have already done. Of course, others could give money, too, but without any conditions attached.

 

[Iorgy77]

I would chip in a few bucks again... probably not as much as last time though.

Someone who has done stuff for the gp32 would be nice as a thank-you for previous deeds and an automatic membership to the next generation.

 

[Hanz™]

Mr Spiv is a very good canditate for a free GP2x I would say. Not that I have any spare money now.

 

[A600]

Mr Spiv is a very good canditate for a free GP2x I would say. Not that I have any spare money now.

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I second that.