Resource staff?

[Zebestian]

I know we're not the biggest community out there. And I know we're still in a phase where everything needs to be organized and finalized. But I wanted to at least ask if something like is planned already: a resource staff, i.e. a collective of artists, musicians, coders working together to release a resource package regularly.
We all know the re-staff from other RM forums, so why should we not have something similar here? Personally, I'd really like to help with something like that by providing music exclusive to this forum. It would give people a reason more to join and maybe boost their creativity when looking at or listening to the resources they get regularly.
This is a thing we should consider, I think. Not necessarily for right now, but for when the community has reached a reasonable size and we're done with getting the forums sorted out. :)

 

[Amysaurus]

I think it'd be nice for when we have some more resource creators. I know who I'd suggest for music *wink wink nudge nudge*

 

[Xyphien]

This is something I wanted, and had planned. However, this would require some volunteers, and people to come out with at least some things monthly. What I wanted, is to have a package a month with some things like Characters, Matching faces, maybe a tileset, music, a plugin or two exclusive, etc. all exclusively given out to the members of the forums. Maybe have a HUGE one every once and again to sell to help raise money for addons, and to help raise money for the hard working staff members of the forums. Of course, selling the things, would rely on if the community wishes such things to happen.

I'll go ahead and make a post on this in the announcements asking if anyone wishes to participate in being apart of this.

 

[Zebestian]

I think it'd be nice for when we have some more resource creators. I know who I'd suggest for music *wink wink nudge nudge*

Amy, why do you think I suggested this in the first place? :D
I'd be up for music. I'm composing on a regular basis anyway and one or two tracks more exclusive for this forum? Totally doable. :)

 

[LTN Games]

I'm interested for sure. We will need a few volunteers though, quite a few because it's a lot of work to have a decent amount of assets in a month.

 

[Pine]

@Kaimen
As an original member of the Resource Staff on VXNet, from which all following Resource Staff groups have been copied, I would like to not only agree with Kaimen, but also to strongly endorse his position. One of the things that drove VXNet to the top back then was the Resource Staff. It may be a little chaotic at this time, for sure. Developing the place into something you're comfortable with (and everyone) takes time, but I'd suggest this to sit on the list of things with priority. Maybe not TOP priority, but somewhere near.

@Xyphien
I think before monetizing it or starting to think of a business model, you should consider getting it established and working. I'd recomend bi-monthly at first.

@LTN Games
As I mentioned, my recommendation would be bi-monthly and themed.

 

[PandaMaru]

@Pine Not all. ;) A lot of communitys have this idea without copy VXNet.
Bi-monthly is a good interval.

 

[Holder]

I'm not wanting to put a downer on the idea but it is sometimes really hard to get this done on a regular basis. Especially when some resources take longer to make than others and even harder if you wanted to theme it. Paid resources, that's where I dislike things, it brings up so much necessary red tape and rules of rules.

Why not firstly try a weekly/fortnightly/monthly topic with what's been going on within the forum - what's been released, hot topics etc.

 

[PandaMaru]

Yes, that's true.
I have good experience with a suggested theme + open for everything.
The users don't really need a theme and are happy with all free resource they can receive.

 

[Pine]

@PandaMaru
I partially agree. But at least the person(s) who does the facesets and the charsets should be tuned in, for obvious reasons.

@Holder
Paid resources can be a pain. It could end up being one of those things that requires too much effort and not enough reward.

 

[Zebestian]

@Holder True, if we wanted to theme the resources that would be hard to maintain. Not necessarily every release has to be themed though. I could imagine a theme for those "big" releases once or twice a year Xyphien was talking about.

Personally, I must say, I wouldn't have a problem with releasing resources regularly. I've been doing that for quite some time anyway. We'd need to evaluate who can muster the time to do such a thing and who not. ^_^

Edit: I think we should start small anyway. Grow with the community. ^_^

 

[Amysaurus]

I would suggest making sure we can actually get a few organized releases done before even considering anything commercial.

What we could do is offer releases to current members via email (or something like that), then combine older releases every few months to create a pack that newer members have the option of buying.

Ex.
1.I join in January, I receive emails for the January-June releases.

2. I join in July, I can buy a pack with resources from the January-June releases.

 

[Zebestian]

What we could do is offer releases to current members via email (or something like that), then combine older releases every few months to create a pack that newer members have the option of buying.

That doesn't sound too bad actually. Kinda emphasizes the exclusivity and would work as an incentive to join. Still though, that could lead to a lot of dead accounts - people who just signed up for the grabs. If you did that you'd need some requirements, I'd say. :)

 

[Amysaurus]

Maybe a minimum post requirement, but the same thing could still happen. It's like how some members will always feel the need to troll. Some things just can't be helped. xD

 

[Companion Wulf]

Perhaps, especially in the beginning, we have a kind of prototype to see how it would work out. I'd agree bi-monthly (or even quarterly) at the start; that way members will have a "feel" for it and to decide on the proper direction to head with this. For commercial uses and purchasing the materials, there would need to be some kind of universal contributor agreement in place per artist, musician, coder, etc. as well.

 

[Zebestian]

I agree that the whole commercial thing, if we were to do that, would need a crapload of agreements, "contracts" and all that stuff. I'd be very uncomfortable making profit out of the resource staff releases, honestly. I wouldn't decline if I was offered some kind of revenue though. :D
Going commercial with is something we should discuss once we got a resource staff established though. Let's not get into that right now. Those are technicalities for a later point. Right now we should focus on, you know, getting a resource staff started. XD

 

[sage]

Right now we should focus on, you know, getting a resource staff started.

This is obviously the most important piece of this idea. As everyone has stated, we need to find volunteers willing to donate their time and energy to asset creation.

Before we do that, I think we should find a way to compensate them for their hard work.
It would be best to actually offer something to potential volunteers. It will attract more people, and it's the right thing to do.
The only thing I know that we can for sure give them is like a unique title, and probably their own private forum section to communicate in while creating the packs.

I think, rather than jumping into it, the resource team should make a practice pack without the community's knowledge first. That way the team can figure out what problems they encounter in production, how long it takes to make a pack, and see whether it's something that they can do without the community breathing down their necks. It'll let them get organized.

After that, based on the time it took to make the practice one, the team can set a schedule that will work for them, and should be able to begin making packs for the community.

 

[James]

I would suggest making sure we can actually get a few organized releases done before even considering anything commercial.

What we could do is offer releases to current members via email (or something like that), then combine older releases every few months to create a pack that newer members have the option of buying.

Ex.
1.I join in January, I receive emails for the January-June releases.

2. I join in July, I can buy a pack with resources from the January-June releases.

I know i dont have a horse in this race so to speak ,but.....
this is a great ideal as far as i cant ell, and you could probably keep the dead accounts down by requiring a certain Level to have been reached before they are elegable for the packs. cause isn't your level in part determined by how active on the forums you are ?

 

[Amysaurus]

Yes, primarily. Number of posts, number of likes, etc. A level 2 or so requirement wouldn't be too bad. I really don't remember how many points it takes for the early levels xD.

 

[Zebestian]

This is obviously the most important piece of this idea. As everyone has stated, we need to find volunteers willing to donate their time and energy to asset creation.

*cough cough*
*slowly raises hand*
Yes, just as Sage says. Gather allies, do some practice, figure stuff out, get real with the resources! And as for incentives for people wanting to join the resource staff I guess we could also think about badges. Those might be interesting for potential guest contributors. Unique titles or other forum-related "advantages" would also be a neat thing for staff members. ^_^