I've been struggling with the problem of how to rate fan projects on feasability and likelihood of completion. Due to the young ages of many fans, the vacillating schedules of others, and the lack of a work ethic and drive in some, many proposed fan projects never get off the ground. It's a bit painful for me as a result to advertise new fan projects and provide a list of positions needed, since talented individuals may join these projects in good faith and end up being involved in a total failure and having their efforts wasted. I've been thinking about devising a system of ranking fan project enterprises, so potential applicants and fans know if a certain effort is well on its way to being realized or is dead in the water and lazily abandoned. This thread will serve as the molding furnace for that system. We need to develop several criteria by which we can rank fan projects.
Criteria
-Is the project fully staffed?
-Has work been done? Have screenshots been released?
-Is work actively in progress?
-Is the premise of the project even feasible given staff and tech?
-How's time management going? (composite score: passed + remaining)
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-Has a demo been released?
Scale:
A - Fan project is healthy, possible and on an expedient schedule.
B - Fan project is mostly healthy, and can be expected to reach completion.
C - Fan project is in progress, though it will be some time before development ends.
D - Development has been impaired and progress impeded.
F - Fan project is frozen at a standstill or working at an infinitesmal rate.
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Before describing the critiera, let me note that I'm a firm believer in a grade scale covering the full spectrum of possibility. On a scale from 1 to 10, great, great performance will receive a 9, with 10 receives for pure perfection or innovation in the art being evaluated. It will be tough to get an A. Conversely, it'll be hard to get an F.
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-Is the project fully staffed?
This score will be arbitrary. For instance, if a project has everyone accounted for save for a beta tester, it'll still get an B as beta testers can easily be procured. However, if something like a rom hack doesn't even have someone who can work with Temporal Flux, the grade will be much more severe.
A - Every position is staffed.
B - Every important position is staffed.
C - Most important positions are staffed.
D - Minimal important positions are staffed.
F - No important positions are staffed.
-Has work been done? Have screenshots been released?
The happiest staff with the greatest idea in the world still faces the problem of being untested if work has not been completed on the game. You might think it's a little harsh for everyone to start off with an F in this section, but really, this grade is something you earn.
A - Substantial work has been accomplished.
B - Fair portion of work has been done.
C - Adequate work is complete.
D - Minimal work has been undertaken.
F - Project has just begun.
-Is work actively in progress?
Show that your project not only is achievable, but is well on its way to being realized. Factors going into this grade include activity on the fan prjoect forum or at least some kind of assurance that work is being done. The grade here will probably be extreme in one direction or the other.
A - Project is in full swing; all systems go!
B - Project is in good progress, though some work is on the backlog.
C - Project is progressing at a very basic level.
D - Project is enjoying little to no work.
F - Project is completely frozen at a standstill.
-Is the premise of the project feasible given staff and tech?
If you have a tremendous work ethic and a competent staff, you might still not be able to make a completely new game in a rom hack or RPGMakerXP. Entire games are massive undertakings that were produced by Squaresoft's by a team of college graduates working over 40 hour workweeks and getting paid every step of the way. If you think you can make a new, great game in under 2 years with a team half the size of Squaresoft's development group in 1994-5, go for it, but the Chrono Compendium has to remain skeptical about these kinds of enterprises. Alternatively, if you're just one rom hacker looking to make a short little adventure, it's technically and personally feasible for you to do so.
A - Project idea can be easily accomplished by the team in little time.
B - Project idea will require significant work, but can be completed with current resources.
C - Project idea is cumbersome, but might eventually be completed.
D - Project idea is very laborious, with questionable outcome.
F - Project idea is massively irrealizable to the point of absurdity.
-How's time management going?
This category is divided into two grades. If you miss your deadlines and take too long to accomplish promises, your grade of "Passed Time" will dwindle from an A to an F. The second grade is "Time Remaining." If you aim to make a new game and have it out in 10 years, you might be telling the truth, but you'd still get a bad grade. Expediency is desired; the faster it comes, the better. Still, you shouldn't feel pressured, but keep in mind that not everyone is going to mark your fan project on the calendar for 2017 and sit on pins and needles until it comes out.
A - Deadlines have been met and the project will be executed in weeks.
B - Deadlines have mostly been met, and the project will be executed in a few months.
C - Deadlines are questionable measures of progress, and the project will require many months, if not a year.
D - Deadlines and promises are often broken, and the project will require over a year.
F - Promises are not to be trusted, and the project's ETA is over two years.
So, if you meet all your deadlines on a game that will take ten years to make, you'll score a C.
-Has a demo been released?
This does not factor into the actual grade, but instead determines whether a project received the PLUS rating. If a fan project has released a demo, a + sign will appear next to their grade. It's just a way of letting fans know that a demo is out, and the fan project is at least somewhat meritous because of it.
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How does this sound? Give me your suggestions.
