Game Development Manager

I'd like to show off some software I've been working on recently.

After seeing a lot of people asking about software which would keep together all their games documents, in order to be more organized. I have seen people saying this for a long time, but have held back merely because I didn't think it was my kind of thing.

Anyway, after a couple of days of work, I've got a small concept up and running. It's not completed yet, and just has a few basic functions. Rather than explaining the features, I'll just show pictures of everything, it's pretty self-explanatory.

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I plan on selling this in the future, when I have a stable version up, but for now, I'd like to ask what you guys think of the overall idea and feel of the software:

Would you find it useful?
How much would you pay?
Have you seen software like this before?

Thanks.

~ Alex.

 

I really like the idea. It looks extremely useful. If and when you sell it don't forget to make a Mac version .

 

It should be web based, that would work better for the many virtual teams.

 

http://www.dotproject.net/

 

Mac version will only be available when I get to touch a Mac PC. At the moment, it's written in .Net so that's one thing.

A web version would be great, but it'd involve hosting. With this, it's simple and really easy to use, plus it's desktop. I could probably set-up a version with a server, though I don't plan that until I have a few sales (Just to be certain the idea is valid).

Cheers for the comments

 

I don't really think that it's possible to charge for services such as these nowadays -(especially offline applications!), since there are so many free alternatives online. - I personally use Trello which is great for planning and coordinating a team in developing a game.

 

Cool little project there. Done in MSVS I'm guessing...

 

Too many online free alternatives. They may not be quite as specific to games, but there's not that much specific to games development that doesn't fit within standard Project Management.

For a good free example checkout ZoHo Project (if you use google apps). It does tasks (including dependencies, gantt charts, etc) documents, wiki, bugs, milestones, time sheets, etc.

 

Well judging by the reply it looks like I'm going to have to create something amazing. Despite what people have said, I will still be charging for this. Afterall, my hours are worth your hours. I could possibly set-up a multi-user system but that would mean some server development and such, which would likely mean that I'd have to put the price up to about $40 per-team as opposed to the original $10 for a team.

@SevenBits - Yes, Visual Studio. Dot Net is a great tool for creating applications like this, and by using it, it means I can cut my development time by a large proportion.

 

It's going to have to be pretty 'amazing' to compete with whats out there. I guess if you focus on Indie Games Development you might be able to bring something new to the table. A couple of things that spring to mind:

- Link tasks to design doc to concept art/code/models/etc. And allow seamless browsing between them.

- Track user contributions. Attach contracts/rights/licenses to contact. Attach effort to content. Attach cost to contact. Attach revenue share to contributions. Facilitate the task of ensuring that everything on the project is owned by the project, and that everyone is paid properly for their contributions.

- Automatic generation of review requests, updates for forums, etc.

 

Just like to say, after considering all of what people have posted, I have decided to work on making the project a bit larger. I'll be looking to extend the project into a server based system. It will still be a desktop application, but will be a lot more advanced and have a lot more features than first stated. I'll also be looking for a Mac programmer over the next few weeks to help with the project, as due to the programming language, it is only windows compatible.

@JohnnyA - Thanks for the tips man, really appreciate it. I'll be starting from scratch to get a fresh start on the system, as I feel it'll need completely revamping so I'll try to incorporate your ideas.

I'll also be adding a "Team-members" tab, meaning projects, jobs, and artwork can be linked to each member. This will mean users will need their own log-in/username, which should make the system more stable and give the user a customized feel.

With that, I've also thought up some more features which will be implemented, though I'll be keeping those quiet until I get a running project.