Hi, Here is the log of the chatroom at http://community.hackit.cx/chat/ for the 28/01/2011.
09:23:48 <> vlad joins Farsides 09:25:07 <Xavier> vlad quit (timeout) 09:32:29 <vlad> Hi Xavier 09:33:41 <Xavier> hi vlad : ) 09:33:50 <Xavier> How are you today? 09:34:00 <Xavier> (Deborah and David should be there soon) 09:34:10 <vlad> i'm good. and you? 09:35:20 <Xavier> very good - finally rested, and almost up to date ;p 09:35:59 <Xavier> What's up since last time we talked? Still on the big project? 09:36:33 <vlad> we're in tests now. we installed it last weekend 09:37:15 <vlad> it's going good so far :) 09:37:15 <> tartaruga feliz joins Farsides 09:37:17 <> da joins Farsides 09:37:21 <tartaruga feliz> hello!!! 09:37:29 <da> hi everyone :) 09:37:30 <vlad> hi Deborah, how are you? 09:37:34 <vlad> hi David 09:37:41 <Xavier> wow, what a synchronized arrival ;p 09:37:41 <tartaruga feliz> I'm good and you Vlad? 09:37:58 <vlad> i'm good, a lillte bit tired, but good 09:38:31 <tartaruga feliz> working like crazy? 09:39:04 <vlad> yup, but we're almost there. it all should be over sometime next week 09:39:22 <tartaruga feliz> cool! the best reward :) 09:41:23 <da> about this, Vlad. What did you think of my suggestion in the mail ? 2-3 more weeks friday only and then we start every day iteration ? 09:43:15 <vlad> yup, sound good to me. but would it be ok to move this friday iteration sometimes next week? i've got to fill in my taxes with the state and i'll be out most of the day 09:43:45 <Xavier> you mean today or next week? 09:43:57 <Xavier> today right? 09:44:02 <vlad> the one today, yes 09:44:14 <Xavier> sure 09:44:51 <Xavier> do you still have some time to debrief a bit the sprint and next steps? 09:45:06 <da> ok good, I'll try to send you a contract proposal sometime in the course of the next 2 weeks 09:45:26 <vlad> yup, i've got around 40 mins before i leave 09:45:36 <Xavier> okay, perfect then 09:46:50 <Xavier> I was thinking we could list a bit the good and bad things about the sprint, sounds good? 09:47:05 <Xavier> for each of us 09:47:05 <vlad> sure 09:47:18 <Xavier> I'll start, that will get you some time to think about it : ) 09:47:23 <Xavier> Pros: 09:47:58 <Xavier> - Was really cool to be able to focus on a concrete objective for me 09:48:39 <Xavier> - I really liked working more on the code lately, this is likely something I'll want to keep doing 09:49:52 <Xavier> - The areas that I prefered were: things related to the mission engine, and the logic part of the minigame/intro development 09:49:55 <Xavier> Cons: 09:50:50 <Xavier> - There was really too much stuff to do, the deadline was really tight. The result is there, but some of the things could have been done better if time had allowed it 09:51:35 <Xavier> - It's really horrible to integrate animations :D Glad it's looking good thanks to your work Deborah, but I'll need to find a way to automate stuff here ;p 09:52:00 <Xavier> Well, I could probably add stuff, but that's it for now for me : ) 09:52:06 <Xavier> Who want to try next? 09:52:14 <vlad> ok, i'll go 09:53:06 <vlad> pros: 09:53:54 <vlad> i liked that i was able to meet the deadlnes set for each day. it's clear that a daily iteration is more easy to estimate 09:54:51 <vlad> it's cool to see features being developed without your involvment. it makes the game feel new to me :) 09:55:35 <vlad> cons: 09:56:09 <vlad> i wasn't involved in this sprint as much as i wanted due to my engagement in the other project 09:57:51 <vlad> i feel like i lost touch with some parts of the code, especially in the front end js/html implementation and i'm a lillte in the dark regarding js tests and browser compatibility tests for that part 09:58:17 <vlad> i think that's it for now 09:59:16 <Xavier> (yup, js tests and browser compatibility is not good - I just made sure the minimum was there for Firefox/Chrome/Opera, there is some work to do to support IE and Safari again, as well as putting the js tests up to date) 09:59:54 <da> my turn 09:59:56 <da> pros 10:00:14 <da> very nice to see things evolve on a daily basis 10:00:51 <da> for me, I liked to be involved in concrete stuff, visible, like working on missions. I want to do this again in the future 10:01:42 <da> useful to have a 'real' objective at the end of the sprint (the Mozilla one), feels more involving than if we only define an objective in house 10:01:47 <da> cons 10:01:59 <da> i hate javascript :) 10:03:06 <da> it would have been even better if there was more people involved in the sprint, first in order to see even more change every day, second becuase it would test our ability to manage work on larger scale 10:03:24 <da> i'd like to test that during the next sprint 10:03:37 <da> that's about it 10:03:52 <tartaruga feliz> ok, I guess its my turn 10:03:56 <Xavier> :D 10:04:05 <tartaruga feliz> pros: It was challenging for me to work on a project that nobody had idea for design. sometimes challenges are good. I felt motivated to do stuff I never did before, like the mini game. I liked to have Mati helping me on that too. agree with david that its useful to have an objective (the mozilla one), it helps with motivation and give us a deadline to accomplish things. 10:04:14 <tartaruga feliz> cons: the deadline was very tight. because of that I felt pressured and it was really hard to create. the free software images and fonts we have to use are very difficult to find (specially good ones), so it took me a long time just searching for things like that, when I could have been working, but I think there's no other option for that, right?: ) 10:04:15 <Xavier> we can feel the copy and paste ahahahah 10:04:17 <tartaruga feliz> tada! :D 10:04:30 <tartaruga feliz> I'm a very proactive person :P 10:04:51 <Xavier> very good idea ;p 10:05:05 <Xavier> so let's tackle some of the cons maybe 10:05:33 <Xavier> for the images and fonts, yes, there is not much to do about it - the license is important in a free software project : ) 10:06:13 <Xavier> But could be good to think of things that could help you - maybe there are some stuff on which we could actually contract someone to do it (like pictures?), I don't know... 10:07:01 <Xavier> For the deadline, yes, it was too tight. If we set another deadline like this, it would be good to plan stuff more in advance (and with more people as david pointed out) 10:07:27 <Xavier> David, JS is not that bad ahahaha : ) 10:07:34 <tartaruga feliz> yes, that would be cool 10:08:33 <Xavier> Vlad - the time spent on the project should go back to normal soon, so that's fine : ) 10:08:46 <Xavier> For the part of code where you have lost touch, what would help you? 10:09:41 <vlad> probably i will get up to data when i start going over the code 10:10:22 <Xavier> yup - if you need that we spend some time looking at some parts of the code together, or if you have any question, don't hesitate 10:10:47 <vlad> sure i'll do that 10:10:55 <Xavier> Alright - now about the next steps? 10:11:50 <Xavier> We can't really decide what to do on the game without feedback from players, but would be good to have an idea of the things each of us would like to do or work on in the future 10:12:34 <Xavier> For me, as I said earlier, I especially like the minigame logic and the things related to the mission engine 10:12:55 <Xavier> But I'll of course want to focus on whatever is necessary or asked by players 10:13:05 <Xavier> I'll want to spend more time discussing with players, too 10:13:14 <Xavier> Who's next? : ) 10:14:39 <tartaruga feliz> I can try 10:15:04 <tartaruga feliz> I really liked doing the videos, I would like to continue doing this 10:15:21 <tartaruga feliz> and the interface for the missions I would like to improve that too 10:15:38 <da> it will depend on the player's feedback yes, but what I'd be interested to do is missions (editorial and repetable ones), levelling (trust, items, etc) and multiplayer is something I would very much like to get involved. But this will depend on the technical level required and the discussions with players 10:15:40 <tartaruga feliz> there are lots of little things that can be refined to give a better impression with the design 10:16:25 <vlad> i could probably expand the gauges section, if there's anything more to be done in that part; maybe work a little more on the admin side? 10:16:28 <tartaruga feliz> I would like to work on that, refining, making new videos and new design as needed 10:16:58 <vlad> or maybe work on the js tests 10:18:19 <Xavier> Vlad - for the js tests unless you actually like that part, I can try to have a look - I already feel bad that you had to do the PHP tests that I didn't do : ) 10:18:54 <Xavier> The jauges it will depend on the players feedback, but it's interesting to think of the admin right now 10:19:13 <Xavier> I don't know if you have seen, but there is a new section of the admin for the sessions 10:19:27 <Xavier> that allows to see what the players have typed, etc. 10:20:17 <vlad> no i haven't seen it. yup i think i would like to work on the admin. maybe we can do a list of features and i'll start breaking them down into 1 day iterations 10:20:40 <Xavier> As part of gathering feedback, there is probably a lot of work to do there that would facilitate the improvement of missions (for example, right now the log is not very lisible, we miss some stats about the types of answers the players gave, etc.) 10:20:53 <Xavier> Good! 10:21:38 <Xavier> Actually, there is something we could test for this, to give you more ownership over the features - if you want to of course 10:22:32 <Xavier> We could define a goal: for example, "make sure we can get the most useful and efficient information out of the players actions/replies in the game" 10:23:14 <Xavier> Then it's up to you to try to see what would be useful, discuss this with whoever is involved in getting the feedback 10:23:48 <Xavier> Would that be something you would like? 10:23:53 <Xavier> (you can say no of course ;p) 10:24:26 <vlad> i'd like to give it a try, sure 10:24:40 <Xavier> cool! 10:25:16 <Xavier> Alright then 10:25:36 <Xavier> (Vlad if you need to leeave let me know) 10:26:03 <vlad> in about 5 minutes 10:26:11 <Xavier> Deborah - the videos you liked to do is interesting. 10:26:38 <Xavier> there are some technical challenges to get them working without Flash, but we can have a look at those 10:26:47 <tartaruga feliz> yeap 10:26:57 <Xavier> Especially, try to think of where it would be interesting to have videos 10:27:11 <tartaruga feliz> ok 10:27:17 <Xavier> this could heavily depend on the feedback from players 10:27:29 <tartaruga feliz> I was thinking about adding videos on every mission but we can discuss that too 10:27:35 <tartaruga feliz> yes its true too 10:27:47 <Xavier> For example, do they want to replace the text, or some parts of it, with videos? 10:27:50 <Xavier> yep 10:28:47 <Xavier> Maybe you could try to think of ways to check that - questions to ask players, or even have a look at what the players said in the chat (do we get a lot of replies like "bla bla bla -- TOO LONG!!!"? : ) ) 10:29:13 <tartaruga feliz> where can I see that? 10:29:26 <Xavier> in the admin - I can give you an access if you want 10:29:55 <Xavier> And I would be very interested to see what you'd like to change in the interface - how would you like to proceed on that? 10:30:37 <Xavier> (Vlad, I know you have to run - any question or topic before you leave?) 10:30:53 <tartaruga feliz> I want the access yes, please 10:31:15 <tartaruga feliz> for the interface, I can take one day to work on that 10:31:26 <da> sorry just one different thing on the side for Vlad : i still need the invoices !! :) 10:31:49 <Xavier> David - ok for one day of Deborah on this? 10:32:39 <vlad> david: yes, i have them in mind, i'll work on them asap 10:32:50 <da> ok thanks Vlad 10:33:24 <vlad> Xavier: no question right now, i'llhave to look in the admin and make a plan about it and then ask questions if i have any 10:33:52 <vlad> ok, i'll have to go. nice chating wth you all, have a great day 10:35:57 <Xavier> alright - have a good day vlad! 10:35:58 <da> have a nice week-end Vlad ! 10:36:16 <tartaruga feliz> bye bye!!! 10:38:11 <da> Xav - for one day work of Deborah on the interface, yep good idea. For the payment though we'll need to stall until we receive the money - should be in 3 weeks more or less. So I'll let Deb decide when, accordingly to this 10:38:59 <tartaruga feliz> ok 10:39:28 <Xavier> good! 10:39:56 <Xavier> One last thing on my side - where do you think it would be good to post the game to get feedback from players? 10:40:20 <tartaruga feliz> facebook! 10:40:38 <Xavier> ok, good one : ) 10:40:45 <Xavier> Where else? 10:40:45 <Xavier> vlad quit (timeout) 10:41:05 <tartaruga feliz> we could make a newsletter and send to everyone we know 10:41:12 <tartaruga feliz> and to free software institutions too 10:43:43 <Xavier> Yep, free software portals is a good idea 10:44:00 <Xavier> For the newsletter you should have received it yesterday, no? David, did you get it? 10:47:37 <da> ye 10:47:40 <da> p 10:49:24 <tartaruga feliz> no I didn't 10:49:45 <Xavier> duh... let me check the logs 10:53:26 <Xavier> hum, nothing in the logs... Let's see if you still don't receive it next time, weird 10:53:40 <Xavier> So any other place to post the game on? David? 10:54:59 <da> i don't know, I'll think about i 10:55:06 <da> t 10:55:42 <Xavier> Yup, would be good to think hard about it - if you have ideas please let me know : ) 10:55:44 <tartaruga feliz> but my idea of newsletter is not just sending a post on a blog 10:55:57 <tartaruga feliz> I'm talking about me doing something really good to send attached on the email 10:56:02 <tartaruga feliz> so everyone can forward to everyone 10:56:17 <Xavier> what do you mean by something really good? : ) 10:57:00 <tartaruga feliz> a real newsletter! like the ones I receive from the stores I like, that are very well design and make you want to know what they're talking about 10:57:06 <tartaruga feliz> without a lot of stuff to read 10:57:14 <tartaruga feliz> just the feeling of the game and a button to vote 11:01:04 <Xavier> why not - the only issue I have with that is that it is a bit redundant with the blog posts we currently send 11:01:29 <Xavier> but if you can find a few people who say they would prefer, we can give it a try 11:02:06 <tartaruga feliz> I can't find any people I think... it was just an idea 11:02:13 <tartaruga feliz> we can send the blog its ok :) 11:03:42 <Xavier> ok, that's it for today then :D 11:03:49 <Xavier> unless you see womething else? 11:06:00 <tartaruga feliz> nope, its good for me : ) 11:13:42 <da> good for me, thanks 12:59:25 <tartaruga feliz> da quit (timeout) 15:47:32 <Xavier> tartaruga feliz quit (timeout) _______________________________________________ Farsides mailing list - [email protected] Wiki: http://farsides.com/ List: http://farsides.com/ml/ Forum: http://farsides.com/forum/ Ideas: http://farsides.com/ideas/ Chat: http://farsides.com/chat/
