So I booted up the latest build available on this website, and the first thing I noticed was that there was no access to the Options menu. I thought "Cool, as long as all the graphics are available I can make that happen." So I started working on it, and in fact I'm nearly done. But another thought hit me while I was working on this, "What if somebody is already working on this, or is even finished?" That would mean I spent time working with an already finished game component when I could have spent my time working on other parts of the game. Or even the other way around, somebody else could be working on this, and my work made theirs obsolete.

I propose a need for a Task Planning system, this would not only make it easier to prioritize things that should be worked in the game, but it would also serve as an overview over the game, how far it is coming along, and so on. A concept would go something like having a set amount of goals, broken down into tasks that needs to be accomplished before this goal can be considered reached.

Goal 1 - Implement core mechanics and GUIs.
Goal 2 - Analyse the main quest found within the code, finish writing it.
Goal 3 - Implement main quest.
Goal 4 - Same as goal 2, but with side quests.
Goal 5 - Same as goal 3, but with side quests.
Goal 6 - Alpha
Goal 7 - Beta

The task list for a goal can look like the example in the attached file.

Task type: What kind of job this specific task is, simple enough.
Task: The task and what it is about.
Task handler: Would typically contain the user name of the person committed to the task.
Date: This is important, because a person committing to a task might not be able to finish in a reasonable amount of time. This is spare time work after all, and we all have our lives to commit to before this project. This is not meant as a due date, here we will write when a person committed to something. If a reasonable amount of time has passed(say 14 days?) the task is considered free for anyone else that would like to do it.

The concept I have written above is just a suggestion from the top of my head, inspired very loosely by SCRUM. So feel free to come up with your own ideas around this.

Sorry for the long post, and I know planning down to this detail is boring, but I really think the game would benefit greatly from it.

This is absolutely the method we should use. Not familiar with SCRUM, but I've been familiarizing with Github. Deltamatrix also mentioned the use of a wiki. We should probably keep a wiki for plot-line/side-quest brainstorming. This would keep the primary development of the game from straying down rabbit-holes. I understand that this was an issue during the last development cycle for this game.

A task-management approach would be fantastic, our primary development should occur through this method (perhaps through SCRUM, Subversion, Sourceforge, Github, or wherever we decide).

We should probably begin with a small Goal 0 to determine where we begin. We're at the mercy of our availability which is why I was leaning toward Github. That way, all progress can be pushed to a shared repo.

Currently, the only areas being worked on (to the best of my knowledge) are:

Options menu - ChamberOfFear
Stealth Sprites - Construed (He's finished, but I have yet to implement his update to the main page)

A structured task-handling system will help us assess our progress too. I'll start working on something on Sourceforge and keep everyone updated.

Thanks for the great idea and welcome!

_________________
Robert

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"What good is knowledge and wisdom if you can't use it?" - Erasmus

SCRUM is a no go, just saying that right off the bat. It relies heavily on face-to-face interactions and daily progress at a steady rate.

The last I heard was that AGS didn't support git very well but if you can make it work, do tell. I believe the most commonly used system is the Master - Slave relationship which is already what we have.