Dead Village - GTA-5 based in South Africa


Hello Villagers.

Allow us at NGS to introduce ourselves.

We are very well connected.

We have a Disney Animator, Connections to all the major blogging companies and youtube channels in the SA eSports & Geek industry, We are in dialogue with several celebrities, we have a community, We are in dialogue with universities, we have a veteran high court attorney on board, CA’s, Marketing Team, that has worked in the Geek industry for years in SA …

CEO - CHECK
MARKETING TEAM - CHECK
ATORNEY - CHECK
DIALOGUE - CHECK
STORY - DONE


We even have dialogue for investments… We cannot release the info now, but what I can tell you is that, the Marketing of this game has not even begun…
Trust me, on that… Our team ranges from 65 year olds to 16 year olds…
There is a lot that we are planning on doing over the course of several years.
This is not a game that we are releasing any time soon.
Rev share for all.

GAMEPLAY

Here we are going to discuss game-play for our game Dead Village. We would like the community to be a part of the development process. And we are going to use these forums to allow members to contribute ideas and other contributions to the game. One of the topics that we are going to discuss down the road is the crowd funding campaign. Which is very unique as it is based on a vanity system, where you will be able to become part of the game. Developers & Game Designers will also be active here on the forums..
So to explain. We are building a zombie survival based shooter called ‘Dead Village’
It is going to be a game similar to GTA 5, both in graphics and game play except, that you will be fighting zombies instead of mafia and other classical GTA style content.
The game will be built either in Unity or Unreal engine, however we are prototyping the demo in UNITY.
Please give us suggestions and feedback here as we want our community to design the game, not us, we just build it!.
As long as we don’t move to far off track.

BETTER THAN ANYTHING EVER MADE IN THE RSA

The most successful game in South Africa is arguably Bro Force. The original budget of the game was minimal. They used unique methodologies to hype up the game which eventualy amounted in global awards and a feature in the move ‘The Expendables’ This was all done with a small budget and limited investment.
We have our own unique ideas and we are currently negotiating corporate investment for both the game and the delivery of a budget for the community.
We have a vanity crowd funding campaign, in the works, where you will be able to be a part of the game in your own personal capacity just buy donations starting at R15 dependent in your involvement. Imagine, for valentines day, you create the option of adding your girlfriend as a feature in the game. We cannot provide to much information on how we are going to do this yet, but it is extremely exciting.
Our developers are working on a shareholding and contribution basis, there are a ton of developers in cape town that want to be part of a start up. Literately, we have got a TEAM of 13 Staff members already and our DEMO is almost complete for testing and video editing
We want the community to drive and design this game! It makes less work for us and keeps us having a great relationship with BETWEEN the team and the community. Nut most importantly we will be able to deliver a game that you as the community want!
We will also be providing the assets that we use in the game for download, some for free and some paid, in fact, you will even be able to buy the games source code, hell if finances go well, we will make a large part of the game opensource.
The whole initiative behind this movement is to create a relationship between gamers and developers so that everyone can be a part of the game without knowing how to code. Wiki’s and various other things will be developed, tutorial and various other efforts.
We are close to getting endorsement from 2 well known SA celebrities who have agreed to market this game through their networks, corporate marketting is also almost sealed as a deal…We have minor capital investment currently.
The team is not made up of Just IT staff. We have a specialist in Market research & Corporate Champions that opened negotiations last year.
There is even a spin on the creation of a Upliftement Campaign for the underprivileged masses…This will take form as an education program.
These are only some of the methods that we are pursuing. Our vision is to create a community around a game that is designed by the community.
In fact, we would love for any sort of contributions, to story telling, sound, 3D assets, tutorials, blogging etc.. Your personal name will go into the credits of the game for your contributions, internship programs are currently in the works for highest contributors and those who would like to offer us their permanent services as programmers, will get a shareholding based on a Dashboard Management time sheet algorithm… We have even set up a business structure to cater for this!
The vision is more then a game! And we have the connections to make this work!

WHY GTA?

We don’t plan on mimicking GTA systems and technology, GTA is what it is, we have our own ambitions in mind and we believe that we can produce an extremely high quality game.
Our focus is primarily on gameplay, but graphics and physics will play an important role.
This is why we plan on using the Unity engine for prototyping. The actual development of the game will be in Unreal Engine as it is far more powerful and has many pre-built assets that we can use to incorporate into this game.
We also plan on keeping this game in development for several years. This is not something that we are going to deliver in 6 months.
As the community provides input and grows the IP, we will continue to build and attract other developers.
As for Fraud, it is only fraud when money is exchanged. If money is paid, we will deliver on that. But we are being very careful with this delivery.
We want to move things int he right direction.

CONCLUSION

NSG is an opportunity for township kids with unbelievable skill sets, to mix with experienced developers.
NSG is made up of award winning developers with Experience from Disney & other international companies.

We will not apologize for our upliftement of the impoverished… Yes, we have a 16 year old developer, but this kid puts most developers to shame, even teaching IT classes at his high school when the teacher is absent.
Soon, I will release CV’s to show you what we have.

Furthermore, this is not just about a game, but rather an ecosystem. I primary objective is to introduce black programmers into the game development industry.
We give chances and support the small, guy, this is something that MGSA has not done…
We have a mix of low level of experience, with high level of experience… I have 2 Holmes in Italy fully paid off, for heaven’s sake, one of our dev’s drives a Ferrari…

In the end of the day, we will be running an education and upliftment program for previously disadvantaged people that want to get into game Dev! This has been the vision from the beginning…

Dialogue has already opened with several universities…

This is not an amateur operation & we will be going big…

PS

You will be surprised at how many people want to be a literal part of a game and how much risk they are prepared to put up to achieve greatness.

Comments

  • djspu said:
    I have 2 Holmes in Italy fully paid off, for heaven’s sake, one of our dev’s drives a Ferrari
    image

  • edited
    Hi @djspu, welcome to MGSA, we hope you enjoy your time here.

    These are really ambitious goals, and I'm sure you will get lots of very valuable advice from the MGSA community, many of whom are very experienced and have shipped (critically and financially) successful games. Since you didn't actually indicate what you're looking for here (feedback, hires, a place to just discuss your game), I'm going to assume the aim is feedback. We would also welcome a demo here and at one of our IRL meetups so our members can have a go and give you gameplay feedback.

    However while you and your game are welcome here, I'd ask you to refrain from unnecessarily provocative statements such as
    We give chances and support the small, guy, this is something that MGSA has not done…
    . The MGSA community does their best to support all who join and contribute positively, regardless of their background, demographic and circumstances.
    We have a mix of low level of experience, with high level of experience… I have 2 Holmes in Italy fully paid off, for heaven’s sake, one of our dev’s drives a Ferrari…
    While there's nothing explicit in our code of conduct (http://makegamessa.com/discussion/4108/forum-guidelines-faq) against being boastful, it certainly isn't necessary and won't impress anyone here. All that matters in our community is making games, and the things (hard work, experience, passion and reasonable expectations) that make that possible.
  • Mmmh, I might be wrong but I think this is that Julian Rigotti guy who wrote a beef filled post in the South African Game Developers group about mgsa. It's definitely someone involved in the same project as him regardless. Something about this post just feels to me like it was written by someone with a serious chip on their shoulder.
    Thanked by 1critic
  • @djspu Hey there. Sounds like you have a great idea and thats cool. My biggest concern here is that you seem to be talking a lot, and making tons of promises that I would be willing to be my life savings you will not ever achieve. I'm not try to put you off, a little bit of hubris is perfectly fine, but you are thinking way too big for what you actually are.

    The fact that you think you can make a game "like GTA, both in graphics and game play" just screams how inexperienced you are. Firstly, This is practically impossible in Unity. It's just not powerful enough. Secondly, your team is currently 13 people. The development of Grand Theft Auto 5 took 5 years. 5 years, 250 developers, and $137m (R1.8bn). Even if you had 100 devs + artists working for free, I don't see you raising the capital to make this game. A good article on it all.

    Some pro's though. You sound like you are connected and you have a team of passionate people. Thats awesome. Why not try get something smaller out? Take 3 months making something amazing and polished. Test the mettle of your team. See who can stick it out and what works for you guys. Not only will it allow you to make some money on the side, but it will give you some exposure.

    Basically, if you try make your GTA clone, the most complete thing about it will be the forum post you made about it. Try make something small and see how hard it is to actually make a game. Either way, good luck.
  • gamespot.com/articles/rockstar-more-than-1000-people-made-gtav/1100-6415330/
    Grand Theft Auto V was developed by more than 1,000 people across multiple Rockstar Games studios, Rockstar North president Leslie Benzies told Develop in a new interview.
  • IceCliff said:
    Mmmh, I might be wrong but I think this is that Julian Rigotti guy who wrote a beef filled post in the South African Game Developers group about mgsa. It's definitely someone involved in the same project as him regardless. Something about this post just feels to me like it was written by someone with a serious chip on their shoulder.
    And indeed it is... http://www.naturalstudiogames.co.za/web/site/forums/forum/dead-village-game-design/
    These dudes seriously try too hard to look cool.
    Thanked by 1BenJets
  • IceCliff said:
    Mmmh, I might be wrong but I think this is that Julian Rigotti guy who wrote a beef filled post in the South African Game Developers group about mgsa. It's definitely someone involved in the same project as him regardless. Something about this post just feels to me like it was written by someone with a serious chip on their shoulder.
    It almost certainly is someone connected with @julian, but nonetheless let's give them the benefit of the doubt. They may be acting under his (mis)guidance, but that's all the more reason for us to show them a friendly and helpful face to show all this talk (he's spreading) about MGSA being unfriendly is unfounded :) We're here to help however and wherever possible, after all.

  • edited
    Hi @djspu ! Welcome to the community! Super sorry if you're not getting a particularly warm welcome.

    It sounds very exciting what you're doing! Especially building an infrastructure that will allow previously disadvantaged people to get involved and get their first experiences developing games.

    I'm very interested in hearing more about the community you're building, and the partnerships you're fostering. Are you going to be able to pay the new developers that join your team, particularly the previously disadvantaged ones ? Are you looking for funding to be able to do that?

    Getting previously disadvantaged people an opportunity to develop games, and have some ownership of the game they produce, sounds like an incredibly noble goal.

    Of course I share others' concerns about trying to make a game as complex as GTA 5 for a team of new game developers (or any team of game developers in South Africa). But if there is a way to sustain a team, and uplift some previously disadvantaged people, then it doesn't matter if the end product falls far short of your initial goals (the important thing is that a game was made and new opportunities were provided in the games industry).
    .
    djspu said:
    Furthermore, this is not just about a game, but rather an ecosystem. I primary objective is to introduce black programmers into the game development industry.
    It's awesome that you're tackling this difficult problem, and I agree that what you're doing is bolder in this regard than what many of us are doing at MGSA.

    So let us know how we can help!

    In the past, MGSA has pooled its resources and funded the education of previously disadvantaged students.
    I don't think it's out of the question to do that kind of thing again, but obviously we'd need a lot more information.

    I think the primary resource MGSA has is some experience developing and releasing games. There's lots of other communities of developers around the world who have that experience, but I'd hope MGSA has more incentive to help and answer difficult questions because whatever successes you achieve, they're successes in South Africa, so we all benefit. I think what we can offer is the ability to plan ahead and make better decisions (in terms of the development goals).

  • Why would anyone apologise for "uplifting the impoverished"? Who have you met that has done that?
    What about Fraud?

    Don't quite understand much of this, but looking forward to see actual things happening out of this, best of luck :)
  • Welcome @djspu, I hope you'll find MGSA to be a great, supportive space for you to share your progress on Dead Village.

    If I can offer some advice, I suggest you focus on sharing actual development progress. A long, abstract post of text like this doesn't give people much idea of what you're actually doing. To somewhat echo @AngryMoose and @mattbenic, you don't need to brag about "Holmes" in Italy, Ferrari's, Disney animators or high court attorneys. If you're wanting to impress people, let your work do that for you.

    Another bit of advice from my side is that you should probably be ready for advice suggesting you reign in your expectations for what you can do with your first game. As a rookie studio, you're showing up and claiming your first game will be "BETTER THAN ANYTHING EVER MADE IN THE RSA", and saying "It is going to be a game similar to GTA 5, both in graphics and game play". Looking at the likelihood of that happening, you can imagine that most people would see that as wildly ambitious at best, and straight up delusional at worst.

    I'm sure that you've already had a couple of people trying to suggest you start out with more humble ambitions. I don't mean to discourage you guys in any way, but as you do seem pretty set on making your AAA dreams a reality, I do wanna point out that you can expect a lot of people to try help by setting more realistic expectations. If you plan to prove them wrong, then do that by showing off original work that illustrates that you have the skills to make a game of this caliber.

    Good luck in these early stages of development! Looking forward to seeing what you guys do!

  • so the title dead village doesn't say gta-like at all to me. the logo on the other site looks more resident evil like and the screenshots show it as a fps like dead island...?
  • edited
    IceCliff said:
    Mmmh, I might be wrong but I think this is that Julian Rigotti guy who wrote a beef filled post in the South African Game Developers group about mgsa. It's definitely someone involved in the same project as him regardless. Something about this post just feels to me like it was written by someone with a serious chip on their shoulder.
    Yep. OPs post is a cut-and-paste job of Julian's replies to me on their forum. I regret ever perpetuating that 'discussion' especially after seeing this.

    Does anyone know how much it costs to legally change your name?
    Thanked by 2AngryMoose BenJets
  • djspu said:
    We give chances and support the small, guy, this is something that MGSA has not done…
    I don't want to start a flame war, but I really beg to differ on this one.
  • I am currently making a cocos2d-x match 3 tutorial and I am under previledged. Maybe I should switch to a GTA tutorial ¿ what do you think¿¿¿
  • NSG is far more then an ambitious game development company.

    NSG leverages off the passion of the community, in order to provide a central hub, tying game development products, Development Communities & Marketing all together.
    We love the Little Guy and we believe in the internet and the power of social media.
    Our role is to provide awareness and opportunity to anyone who wants to become a game developer or be involved in game development!
    Game development in SA is dominated by the previously advantaged, NSG & ZAGD have campaigned to bring developers from the rural areas into game development as this industry is a largely untapped Market.
    Since the founding of South African Game Developers; the industry has almost doubled in size, with ZAGD having the largest black community of Game Developers in the industry!
    We have mixed, Gamers, Marketers, Developers and complete beginners into a single ecosystem all managed under the company Natural Studio Games.
    It makes you wonder why, older communities have not grown as fast as ZAGD?
    Well the answer is simple. We have the philosophy that Game Development is for everyone, not just the big corporates or indies funded by the dole in London.
    We have proven that there is opportunity everywhere, with NSG staff working completely for free, fueled by nothing but hope and dreams!
    We have a staff of 15 people guys! All investing in Seed Capital & Good Will!.
    You too can be part of the Team!
    There are so many of those big shots that have bullied the little guy into submission! They don’t want you to succeed because you are a disruptive technology to them in your own person!.
    Some of the most successful games in the world, only took weeks to program … Think about Angry Birds!
    Whatever your skill set, it does not matter…whether you are a monster of physics and animation or a simple story writer, we want you to contribute to the community and the passion!
    NSG will tie the communities together, with an asset store in the works and many other great oppertnities in the pipe line. We have already designed 10 unique items for the asset store thanks to our contributors and we only started a week ago!
    Game Development is the new graphics design, it is something that everyone can get into, easily, whether you are a programmer or not!
    Your only goal is to make something that is fun! That is the only goal that you should have!
    And that is what we strive to achieve at NSG!
    Gone are the days of the super engine! Game Dev is an art form and a simple text based RPG can take the world by storm if it is fun!
    We encourage everyone to become a part of our community!
    Join us at ZAGD & Natural Studio Games and we will mix you with Gamers, Developers, Sound Writers, Animators and complete beginners! …
    Or, if you already have a game, contact us and we will promote your game using all of our resources, hell we even plan on integrating mini games into Dead Village!
    Anything and everything for publicity!
    That is our motto, help us help you!
    Be a part of greatness and become a celebrity! Just be aware of communities that seek to control your contributions with false promises and advice developed to discourage you!

    The Game Developer is the new rock star!
  • edited
    This is how a bot converses. With pre-set scripts and no actual responses. This bot doesn't even do grammar. Can we kick this for being a bot?
    Thanked by 1BenJets
  • Julian, please leave a line between paragraphs, it's painful to try to read otherwise.
    Thanked by 1djspu
  • Tuism said:
    This is how a bot converses. With pre-set scripts and no actual responses. This bot doesn't even do grammar. Can we kick this for being a bot?
    What question?
  • edited
    djspu said:
    Tuism said:
    This is how a bot converses. With pre-set scripts and no actual responses. This bot doesn't even do grammar. Can we kick this for being a bot?
    What question?
    Responses doesn't only come from questions, a large part of conversations aren't necessarily questions :) That said, do you realise that this is your only post on this forum that doesn't look like a copy paste?
  • Tuism said:
    This is how a bot converses. With pre-set scripts and no actual responses. This bot doesn't even do grammar. Can we kick this for being a bot?
    Yep. Sad thing is I think these are still copy-paste compilations from their website. Good luck getting an actual reply from someone who only operates [ctrl], [c] and [v]

    I wouldn't expect much OC from djspu-bot
  • Oh well. That second post was quite disappointing.

    I'd really like to discuss an assisting in building an infrastructure to help disadvantaged people get into games, if it wasn't clear @djspu.

    There's been some talk here at Free Lives about MGSA (or just Free Lives alone) funding some bursaries and paid internship. The goal to be to offer some disadvantaged people some of the stability/opportunities that coming from a relatively privileged middle-class background usually affords.

    I'm actually not 100% certain how the previous students who received bursaries fared (or are still faring). Regardless, it'd be great to provide that kind of entry point again to some students (and maybe even provide them a secure path to getting an entry level job in games, through their studies and into a paid internship).
  • @djspu, me as a black guy here, I am highly offended by your racists tendency's... You call people "black programmers", is there such thing as " white programmers"? I have friends with degrees in computer science and are capable of programming games but are not just interested, so stop being a spokesperson of black people. We don't need you.
  • Is there some sort of beef between ZAGD and MGSA?
  • Is there some sort of beef between ZAGD and MGSA?
    I'm going to try for an objective description of this.

    Members of ZAGD came here posting this kind of self-promotional posts and doesn't engage in any other meaningful way than to shout "come join ZAGD!". Members of MGSA plainly states that they're welcome to the community, and it would be nice for ZAGD to show any kind of contribution other than trying to get members. ZAGD continues self promotion without any meaningful engagement. Present day.

    And talking about this beef is really a waste of everyone's time and effort, so please can we move on to meaningful engagement, thanks.
  • @jackshiels - The simplest answer to that is pretty much "no, not at all".

    I don't know of anyone from MGSA's side who has any beef with the ZAGD community. Why would they?

    Unfortunately Julian, who founded and acts as admin on ZAGD, has in the past been very aggressive towards MGSA as a community, notably "declaring war" on MGSA last month.

    Last week he published a fresh round of posts perpetuating the laughable idea of a ZAGD vs MGSA war. I asked to join their group, thinking that it might be good for more MGSA members to step in and speak out against the idea of their being any sort of conflict between the communities. In the brief time I've been there, the impression I got was that everyone active on ZAGD (which is small percentage of their members) has no interest in there being any kind of beef between their community and ours. Even Julian reactive positively when one of the members made a post calling for an end to the silly idea of there being a "war".

    I think we can take it as a positive sign that NSG are here to share progress on Dead Village. I think it shows that Julian is making an effort to smooth things over. It's a pity that both of @djspu's posts contain sections where they're bashing MGSA. At the same time, I think those statements reflect a pretty clear lack of insight into what MGSA has done in the past, and what the general attitudes of the community are. Hopefully by engaging with the community (and maybe looking at some of the past endeavors of MGSA members) they might start seeing things in a more optimistic light.
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