Contribution Guidelines

Participating in the microgame collab

Notable links

Collab Signup - Sign up here if you haven't yet and you want to work on microgames! (Does not apply for sound effect contributions)

Microgame List - Cursory list of all microgames, their team members, and what state they're in

Collab Responses - Contains lists with all responses to the signup forms, including who's currently working on games. All members signed up for the collab can be found on these lists.

IMPORTANT: By contributing to our project, you give NitorInc full rights rights to use and distribute the assets you provide us for commercial and noncommercial use. (We don't plan to be evil with this but we gotta cover our butts just in case)

General guidelines for everyone

• PLAY THE GAME! Our demo is free on Steam right here, and it takes about an hour of your time at most to get the gist.
• If you've signed up and haven't been contacted about making a microgame yet but would like to, feel free to ask us. But also be patient! We're doing all we can to keep things going and also allow everyone to have their fair share to do.
• Each microgame team will be pinged weekly (for those on the Discord server) asking for progress. While you don't need to get something done every week, please do answer them and communicate.
• If you finished your part for one microgame and want to work on another, ask us. Rules for this aren't set in stone yet, so we'll work something out with you individually.
• Making games is iterative, meaning not everything will work out the first time. Don't overexert yourself while making your first draft of whatever you're submitting, as things may need to be tweaked a fair amount. And we highly recommend sticking to your comfort zone in terms of style and practices.
• You're going to get weekly pings, and yes, you should answer every one of them (assuming you can get on Discord that week). Progress every week isn't necessary, and there are times where you'll be waiting on someone else to start working, but no matter what you should leave us and the rest of your team at least a teensy little snippet of what your status is, or any concerns if you have them. It's the best way to keep things clear and communicative for your team so your development can really flow.
• Several of the above rules do not apply to localization or sound effects. Check the individual sections on them below for more info.

Guidelines for programmers

• All code contributions must be submitted via pull requests on this github repo.
• This game uses the unity engine, so if you're not familiar with it you should spend some time brushing up before it's your turn to contribute.
• The project's current version of Unity can be found here. Please use the version in the link to contribute.
• When you're signed up and ready to get prepared, we have a tutorial you can do to teach you all about how to code for us!C ontact us on Discord (or wherever else you happen to be), and tell us you want to get started on it.
• ALL changes in your branch should be within your microgame's folder (Asets/Microgames/[MicrogameID]) or its .meta file, as the tutorial demonstrates.
• All script names should be prefixed with the Microgame ID.
• Important: Make pull requests and make them often! Don't make one PR branch for your entire microgame, split it by major checkpoints (prototyping, difficulty, sound effects, etc.) and submit those. Feedback is an important part of the programming process.

Guidelines for artists

• The whole game has a 4:3 aspect ratio, so if you're drawing backgrounds or something to fill up the whole screen keep that in mind.
• Use layers! Many games will require different parts of your image to move around in different ways, so the more you split into layers, the easier it is to separate and adjust them.
• Feel free to use any resolution for your game images, but if it's too high we may shrink them to conserve space.
• For perspective: ideal resolution for a picture that covers up the whole screen (like a background) would be 1024x768.

Guidelines for musicians

• Every piece of microgame music must be 130 BPM.
• Most microgames are 8 beats long, but some longer ones are 16.
• Microgames that have different characters for each of the three difficulties may require three separate tracks to accommodate.
• Don't be afraid to bring your own style into your contribution, but consider the gameplay, tone, and artstyle of the microgame you're composing for. Composing something like a melancholy track for a lighthearted game or an overly energetic track for a relaxing puzzle game may not blend with the gameplay or style well.

Guidelines for Localizers

• Once you sign up for localizing in the Collab Signup, your job is basically to translate as much of the game as possible.
• This Google Sheet is what you'll use to translate the game text. Simply fill in your column at your leisure, the sheet will be updated as more content is added to the game.
• Note that there are multiple subsheets on the bottom of that sheet.
• If your language isn't on the form, contact us.
• If someone else has translated something in your language and you don't agree with that translation, insert a comment on that cell and explain why you think it should be changed.
• Don't translate anything that doesn't have an english string yet! With the exception of the Microgame Names, which can be named however you like.

Contributing sound effects

• All sound effects are up for grabs. Lots of microgames need sound effects, so any contributions there are appreciated.
• Check out the Sound Effects Google Sheet to see what sounds we need (highlighted orange).
• Alternatively to making sounds, you can also find a royalty free sound that will work well in place of making one.

Contributing to the core game (outside of microgames)

((THIS SECTION IS OBSOLETE RIGHT NOW, contact us on Discord if you have any interest in contributing outside microgames))

Core Game Trello Board - This has what needs to be done outside of microgames. Contributing to the rest of the game is looser than the collab, but there are some important things to keep in mind:

• If you want to contribute to anything on this board, run it by us before you do to avoid any conflicts
• If you get approval to work on something, you can also request access to the board to be added to the card.
• If someone else is added to a card you want to work on, they'll need to be okay with you working on it too.
• If you'd like to contribute to something not on this board, run that by us as well and we'll try to work it out.
• There may be a higher threshold for quality depending on what you take on, so if you're unsure about your ability to contribute to a game, it may be best to start with the microgame collab where we can accommodate for all skill levels.
• Code contributions need to be submitted via pull requests just like in the collab, so be sure to fork the repo and make a branch for your contribution.
• Simply contributing code cleanup or minor tweaks doesn't require you to ask permission, your pull request will simply be reviewed when you submit it.
• In-game cutscenes are planned for the future. Those will have their own set of rules in the future, but if you're interested in helping then please contact us.