Where to Find Aspie Employees?

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I'm working on forming an online gaming company comprised of telecommuters and have been stuck with the problem, recently, of trying to figure out where to source these workers from--especially since initially all positions are unpaid... it's a sweat-equity deal. Maybe the company will make $180 milliion like Zynga and maybe it will fall flat on its face, but if it does, I don't want to be hundreds of thousands in debt.

Part of the problem I've been running into is that I need to find people who can work well online and don't need to go out and chitchat with their co-workers, since the company is going to be all telecommute, at least initially. I've worked at many jobs and run a few companies and as an Aspie myself, office politics and the need for people to take half the day to socialize has always driven me crazy! I get into work, do my day's work in 2 hours, and then, depending on the job, either want to leave because there is nothing left to do or seek additional work which annoys others. I actually had a co-worker tell me to slow down once, stating that I was making the rest of the team look bad! Maybe if they'd taken three or four fewer 15 minute cigarette breaks they could have gotten some work done themselves. Fortunately, the tech companies I've run most recently and the game store I run now naturally attract Aspies like magnets. But I've never needed more than a couple employees and I've always been either in the yellow pages or right out there on the street. Now I'm stuck with a different problem--my new company is completely "hidden". I've thought about posting ads on Facebook or Google but my husband thinks that is a stupid idea--he says that everyone with a clue has ad-blocking software. I generally think I have at least a small clue... but I don't use ad-blocking software myself because I actually LIKE to see some of the ads--I've found a number of sites I wouldn't otherwise have come across if I hadn't seen the ads. But maybe he's right, ad bars are kind of irritating when the ads are all flashing neon and trying to cause seizures, so maybe most people DO have them turned off...

So I figured I'd ask my target community--if you were looking for a job, where would you look? Or, if you weren't looking for a job... which would actually be better since this particular job doesn't provide a source of income at this time... where would be the best place to put an ad that you would see and actually notice?

Any ideas or opinions would be most welcome.

What are the still reqired for working for you?

My skills are video editing,
audio editing and doing voices,
I can imiateate ovices and make my own
voices.

as u can see I can'tt uype good at all
so I can't have a tpindg jonbs

I'm a composer, clarinetist, pianist/keyboardist (have master's degree in music composition), sound designer, and synth programmer. I'm a full time musician: Teach piano lessons by day, play in a band on weekends every chance I get, play for private parties/fundraisers/weddings/funerals, have a paid accompanying position at a church, and do volunteer work every now and then. I've had music performed by a string quartet, featured in a community theater production, and even have a self-published piece for piano available online. I'd love to work in film scoring and even game music.

I use Logic Pro 9, Reason 4, Absynth, and have a small collection of keyboards and synthesizers: Yamaha DX7II, Yamaha TX7, Roland Alpha Juno 1, Akai S2000 (sampler, currently programming). I also own a Fender Diamond Anniversary (American) Strat, a MIM Fender Tele I personally upgraded with Seymour Duncan pickups. I'm not a guitar player--just use it for recording (punch in, strum chord, punch out, punch in strum chord, punch out, punch in, play lead lick, punch out, etc.) and for all 5 songs I play guitar on with the band. I do have an old beginner bass guitar that, considering what it is, has a great tone. I also have some custom synth gear on the way, but it's one of those waiting-list kinds of things. With all the different synths and software, I'm as much at home creating sound effects, atmospheres/beds, and soundscapes as I am doing what we usually think of as "music."

I'd love to work on the game as a telecommute. If pay is a problem, just pay what you can. I'm mainly looking to get my feet wet in the game music business and am looking more for credit on project than I am a lot of money, which is why I'm willing to take a chance on doing something for no pay at all.

Very odd first post.

I wonder what other forums this is on.

I'm a programmer, but my game experience is quite limited. I've worked mainly with C++ and Java. I've also done some work with HTML, CSS, javascript, ASP.NET, and VB.NET.

I'm in the planning process for my own game right now, and am brushing up on DirectX tutorials.

If my upcoming job turns out to be part-time (which I believe it will be), I'll have plenty of time afterward.

Unpaid to start is fine, but if you go out and sell it, I want to be part-owner of the project.


What kind of work do you need? What is the target platform?

As far as places to post ads, well the best place would be game development sites. Will the software be open source or proprietary? What kind of online gaming? Casual, hardcore or a mix?

I do have experience working online. I have successfully run a theater company online doing plays on the internet. I ran the company for two years. I am still president of the company though it is not very active but, here is an example of the work my company did:

Act Up Theatre, Midsummer

All plays were performed in the virtual world of Second Life.

Wow. You're right. Hmmmm....that is an odd one. I didn't even notice that.

This one, and only this one.

I had a WrongPlanet account years ago and don't have that email account any more so I couldn't get the password emailed to me if the account even still exists. So no, I'm not an active member because I go out of my way not to be active on any sites--one never knows what offhand comment might come back to bite one in the other end years later. Yes, this may be an odd "first" post, but it's completely legit--just a question, not a solicitation. This is the first--and only--place I thought of to ask my question.

If you want to know exactly who I am, my name is Erika Stokes, my domain is my name with a dot com. My existing game store is Relentless Dragon, my new online game company is Okapi Games, same domain naming concept for both. The address of the game store is on the website, if you're local feel free to stop in and confirm that I'm a real person without evil ulterior motives, I'm there every Monday and Friday night and a few in between. I'm headed there now, so I'll reply to the other posts tonight when I get a chance.

If someone would teach me how to code
I would happily write games for your
company.

I cannot work the standard 8 hour
shift without a nap between the 4
hour mark and the other 4 hour
mark. I do best working at home
with assignment by email or fone
from boss.

I am hardware but I can't teach myself
things they have to be taught but I sure
wish someone had the drive to teach
C coding to me without being mean AND
asking for all this money and then frefusing
because I have only 10 dollars to give them
every 4 or 6 months.

I edit video at home now but not alot
of assignments, I'm pretty decent at
video editing I USE FINALCUT goddamnit
33333333333333333333333333333333
333333
i use final cut pro

i can't tuype so please correctit yourself sorry
i guessi'm having a diasbalbed day

I'm a contract software engineer. My sources for jobs:

1. People I've previously worked for, who know that I do nearly bug free work.
2. Headhunters.

What you are doing actually sounds very interesting, but unfortunately my risk tolerance is currently low.

You ask good questions... questions that I don't have the answers to quite yet. I ran a successful MUD for 10 years with highly customized CircleMUD/SillyMUD code, but this endeavor is a bit beyond the scope of simple MUD code... I think, anyway... since I'm not much of a coder myself! I'm hoping for a mix of both--I hadn't played online games beyond simple things like Bejeweled in years until last summer because I have a tendency to become fixated on the game to the exclusion of all else--that's how I ended up running a MUD for 10 years!--and I was trying to prevent myself from doing that. I dislike PVP games in which there is malicious intent--I like a good challenge between players, but just going out to destroy someone else for the heck of it really bothers me.

Last summer I noticed one of my employees playing FarmVille and asked about it and got hooked on that and then, later, other Zynga games. The thing I like most about FV is that it is a cooperative game--no killing each other or destroying/stealing anything. But Zynga claims that their games "form deep social connections" which I think is utter bull. I have no idea who 90% of my Facebook "friends" are at this point because I friended them--or accepted their requests--simply to have more neighbors to get the next ribbon or to have another person to get "rewards" from. They are complete strangers who could be replaced by entirely new strangers overnight and I wouldn't notice the difference. Hmmm... kind of like the neighbors around my house... sometimes I feel like I'm in the movie The Net... maybe the problem is me and not the game's inability to "form deep connections"? I tend to think not, though, since I formed such deep connections with the players on my MUD that I became involved in their actual lives, considered them friends, and met many of them--and even went so far as to drive a thousand miles to pick up one of them and bring him home to live with my husband and I for several months so he could get his life sorted out. That might have been the buttinski in me, though.

Anyway, my husband and kids started playing Castle Age so I started playing that as well... and noticed a similar lack of true "social gaming" in this so-called social game. But I like it a lot more than FarmVille--at least there's something to do. But it's a lot like a hack-n-slash MUD... it's good to have "army members" who are active and help out with your monsters but, for the most part, one army member is as good as the next. My goal is to achieve a more social environment in which it actually matters WHO your neighbors are and there is more interaction. Something of a combination of the two games, but not in a "point, click, gain points" type of game... I want to bring in more of the old MUD environment with social gathering locations but also improve things for people who don't like to fight--perhaps they can be farmers who never go to battle because they provide a knight with the fruits of their labor so that he can feed his family and squires, maids, etc. (upkeep) And, most importantly, I'd like there to be something to DO while waiting for energy to recover, corn to grow, etc. PetVille touches this--barely--with the bubble game, but it's a pathetic attempt.

I don't think there is any sort of open source software that will cover this--and I'd like the company to make money to eventually share with the employee-owners, so I guess the answer to that question is that it is going to have to be proprietary.

I checked out the trailer for the play--it was phenomenal... I didn't realize that kind of thing was even possible!

Are you able to get financial aid for school? Maybe you could take a course or two per semester at a local community college? Since you already have tech skills, adding coding may not be that difficult if you are able to make it through the classes (I know how hard that can be!). I also become tired a lot and find the need to nap frequently. I am fortunate in that I learned to write HTML back in the early '90s when it was a lot easier (and I was a lot more awake) so I was able to ease into the more difficult aspects of it--I do web development work at home to make some spending money. If I could think about one thing for more than an hour or so at a time--I could probably make an actual living at it even though I have to compete with all the offshore coders willing to sell their time for a dollar an hour. I charge significantly more than a dollar, but still manage to get enough work that I have to turn some down because I am unable (or unwilling?) to commit more time to work.

Have you tried Elance, oDesk, and Craig's List as sources of potential employment? I use Craig's Pal software to do country-wide searches on CL, since my local area is pathetic, at best. CL has resulted in several long-term arrangements for me which generate a couple hundred dollars a month each. It's not as nice as a guaranteed specific paycheck, but I can do the work in the middle of the night in my living room if I want.

Ok. I have a better sense of what you are trying to achieve at least generally. To answer your original question, I mentioned other game development sites. There several other games that attempt this. One such game is A Tale in the Desert. There is also Mabinogi.

There are a plethora of console games out there too like Animal Crossing. While the games are pretty much single player there are community aspects to them. There was one game that was being developed that looked promising as to what you are trying to do in terms of social aspects and that was True Fantasy Live Online. The game was being developed by Level 5 but eventually ended up being cancelled. It looked to provide a lot of different jobs. You could be your typical wizard, knight, priest, etc...BUT! One could also choose to be a blacksmith, inn-keeper, store owner or whatever without ever having to kill a thing. Unfortunately, we'll never know.

Some things to think about and consider:

Have a specific idea of the game, game mechanics and setting. Take a look at the scope of the game. In other words, if character development is going to be open ended it may be difficult to implement a whole bunch of mechanics for each job. Figure out your target audience. Not all types of games will appeal to everyone. Zynga games are for the casual crowd. Those are MMO-lites I guess you called them.


I have played a very little bit of MUDs. I'm at least familiar with them. Today's MMO's are considered the modern day descendants of MUDs. To build the community, you need jobs that will depend on each other. I would venture that one of the reasons MMO's don't live up to MUD game playing is because of that pesky little thing called graphics, lol.

The BEST example I can think of for having to build a social environment would be Final Fantasy XI Online by Square Enix. The classes and jobs in that game were very dependent on other players. You simply could not progress or do ANYTHING without the help of other people in the community. Whether it was advancing class or your crafting. And, to my knowledge no other game has done what FFXI did. They achieved what an MMO should be like. The problem with the depending on other community players is that it CAN make the game more difficult and not as easy to enjoy. One nice thing about that though is that it actually forces the player to have to be nice to other players. That's why World of Warcraft is very popular. It's fast and you can go. There is some dependency because of the auction system and dungeon raiding. Helping others in that type of game does not build up community as easily unless it's a guild. There is a huge difference in the feel of WoW versus FFXI. You will have to find that balance.

Something you may want to consider is having a linux version of the game. The linux community is desperate to have a good quality mmo. In that sense, you may be able to find some people who are willing to help you. They are used to open source where you don't get paid at first, so you willl probably have a decent chance of finding others to help you with your project. Open source projects are all worked on via internet. Your project does not have to be open source but make it known that it will be proprietary and they still may help just for the simple fact you will have a linux client and it will be one of your priorities.

Anyways, that's enough for now. Too long. Sorry about that.

Take care,
Upo.

Thank you, Upo, you've given me a lot to think about--I'll check out the games you mentioned that I haven't heard of.

The console games you mention like Animal Crossing are exactly what I am trying to avoid--In that game specifically, for example, you can visit other towns but you're all alone except for a bunch of stupid animals that just spit out pre-programmed gibberish... Unless it has changed since I last saw it, you can't even visit with your friends who are online at the same time. That seems rather ridiculous to me--why create the functionality to be able to go to other towns if you can't talk to other HUMANS while you are there?

I do understand that graphics are part of the problem--people are demanding them more and more now and this game I am planning will have them just to satisfy that demand (otherwise I might as well just run a MUD!). I find it interesting, though, that "power users" of games like FarmVille specifically trap their characters to speed the game up and there is no movement at all, just static art, on Castle Age... which seems to utilize an inordinate amount of system resources for a game with static images.

Do you happen to know why Level 5 canceled True Fantasy Live Online? I'd like to implement a similar job diversity system and would like to avoid any pitfalls that might have caused problems there.

This is going to be a long process!

As far as Level 5 canceling the title, no one really knows. The game was 90% done and they pulled the plug. Best educated guess is that Microsoft and Level 5 had a falling out and couldn't agree on certain issues.

Yes, and as far as graphics go, they just have to get the job done. There is a trend for gaming to focus on art styles as opposed to realism. A lot of projects do shoot for realism but there is a growing number that focus on style. It seems that people are getting more drawn to style than realism to give the perception that video game creation is and can be an art. One good example is Okami. Very unique style of graphics. Games like Battle for Wesnoth with simplistic graphics are still fun to play as are older games.