What is it?
Basically, "The Avatar Portal" is an MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game) created by me (and whoever else decides to help) and officially sponsored by AP that takes place in the Avatar world and even our world (sort of). In the game, players will create characters that will go through the "Avatar Portal" and end up finding themselves in the world of Avatar among characters both familiar and new.
Sounds interesting. But will it be 3D?
3D games are somewhat tough for people like me who have not gone to video game creation school. "The Avatar Portal" will run on the Eclipse Evolution engine (an engine which is can be modded to do almost anything you want). Eclipse Evolution uses 2D graphics. So the graphics for "The Avatar Portal" will be reminiscient of that of an old school Zelda or Final Fantasy game. I can't say much about how the quality will be, but I will say I'm aiming for it to be the quality of that of a 2D DS game (like Pokemon).
Are there subscription fees plan for the game? And is this game only available to people on this site?
No, if I charged you to play this game, I could get sued big time. Especially if the game is highly successful. So it will be completely free. While the game will be hosted/sponsored/whatever by AP, anyone is welcome to play it. So if you're from another site, but are for some reason visiting AP right now, don't be scared to jump in the beta once that goes live.
Beta?
Basically the stage of development when we have players log on and test the game out for any bugs or any other problems. I'm aiming to get the beta out by December 2009, but don't take that as an official beta release date.
So how far exactly in development is this game and who all is working on it?
The game right now is in the planning stages. Actual production won't start until Avren is done. I myself am the creator and am heading the project. Uncle Iroh will be helping me develop the game as well and probably will co-head the project with me.
Can I help?
Yes you can actually. This is actually pretty much why I made the post in the first place. The other stuff was a brief overview and an attempt for people outside of the chatbox to hear of the game. Anyway, the game's staff as of right now is just Uncle Iroh and myself. What we need are the following:
Mappers
These people make the maps (or areas) of the game. A very very very important job. You will need to demonstrate to me you can make good maps before you land this job on my little test game I have set up right now (I'll even offer to train you).
Spriters
Another very very very important job. Basically, without spriters, we have no graphics for the game besides the ones that come along with the initial download and maybe some I can score off the internet. Spriting is basically the art of creating pixalated 2D graphics. Everything you see in a game such as "The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past" is a sprite. You'll have to send me a sample of your spriting abilities to score this job as well.
Developers
While technically both the above are developers as well, what I'm talking about here are the people who make the items and NPCS and the spells and decide what the drop rate on items are and such. Developers also help me come up with ideas for the game, what maps we should make, and what direction the story should go and such.
We could eventually use scripters as well that script special events that occur within the game, but that's not a priority right now as I want to get the ground work layed down first. We could also use people who know how to compose MIDI music since we will need Avatary sounding music, but again, it's not a priority.
If you decide you want to pursue helping make this game, don't go about it half-assed. Sure, it will be something fun to do, but you need to be willing to make some type of commitment to this or else this game will never get released. Don't be afraid to step up and try to join in helping make this game!
Lastly, if you have any ideas or any questions, feel absolutely free to post them here. If you're interested in helping make the game though, you can post here, but it would probably be better to PM me so I can send you stuff easier.
