Allen Varney, a freelance game designer, landed the assignment to rev and update Paranoia, an hilariously funny pen-and-paper RPG. He put up a wiki and invited "open source" style contributions to the game, finishing up with something that is genuinely good and has been well-received in the marketplace. Now Allen has written up his lessons learned from open source game development in a lucid article (unfortunately, the overfancy html presentaiton breaks in my Firefox) — must-read for anyone contemplating this style of design:
3. A gatekeeper:
Everyone involved will have a different take on the material. Either set direction and vet all contributions yourself, or appoint *one* person to do so – preferably a good listener.4. Honesty:
Ensure everyone understands up front the rights they're assigning you, and their compensation (if any). Be candid about why you want things done one way and not another. Tell everyone basically everything, short of betraying confidences or making someone in the group look bad. Brace yourself for corresponding honesty in return.
(Thanks, Jason!)
