It's remarkable we haven't really had anything like this before. Can you provide some details on how this will help developers collaborate on projects?
@jonlee108 Sure! So the collaborations feature that we debuted yesterday allows for multiple Cartrdge users to be tied to a project. Each collaborator then has the ability to post to that project, and the avatars of all the collaborators will be presented on the project page.
It's basically a way to show the team making a game, and for each team member to share exactly what they're doing for it. The game designer can post maps and charts, the animator can post gifs, the composer can add Soundcloud embeds, the artist can share images, etc.
I think there'll be a lot of ways to use the feature. Promotional presskits for a game all the way to literally teaming up on Cartrdge for game jams and stuff like that!
@jonlee108 thanks man! it's my favorite feature that we've built so far :)
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I really dig this - it's always awesome to get a look inside a community of people that I admire!
Is there any thought to adding a UX/UI section to the site? I know that might be fuzzy and hard to do but it's something I've always been fascinated by... and I would love to break into that part of UX design so anything to reference or learn from would be super helpful.
@300mhz Thanks man, I really appreciate that!
What do you mean by UX/UI section? We have that option as an Industry Role for users, so anyone doing that work for games can totally join and post their work. Jennifer is a great example: https://cartrdge.com/mechbunnies
And here is a link to a list of folks that have UI listed as a skill (we haven't made Industry Role clickable yet, otherwise I'd be able to get you a more comprehensive list): https://cartrdge.com/search/skil...
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@ron_golan oh dig it, I didn't even notice I could drill down into skillsets at first glance! That feature, plus the ability to click though roles would be enough for me. Already found some great inspiration. Thanks again.
@300mhz My pleasure! And yeah that's coming. We'll probably also build a feature where you can cross filter - "X" industry role in "Y" city or something like that. That doesn't yet exist for the industry and I think it'll be super useful.
I've followed Cartrdge progress since it's inception, and it's great to see how far along it has come to from the paper mockups I saw a year ago. Looking forward to where it will go.
Hey ProductHunt! My name is Ron and I’m the co-founder and CEO of Cartrdge. My team and I have been working to get to this moment for a long time now, and it’s pretty exciting to finally be here on PH :)
Cartrdge is a portfolio style community for folks in the video game industry. We launched it as a private beta last August, and have spent the past 7 months building a ton of features and making major product improvements. Yesterday we added a feature called Collaborations, and came out of private beta by debuting a system where existing users each get a certain number of invites to send out.
We think the timing is perfect for this. The industry is getting bigger, and it’s never been easier to create and publish a video game. But there still isn’t a platform that focuses on the individuals behind the games, which is why we’ve centered the entire experience around the user profiles.
There’s lots more to tell and I’m excited to be here and chat with everyone, so ask away!
Hey Ron! Awesome product you have there. I'm really interested in community building, and I'm wondering how you were able to get your first superstar users and how you keep in touch with your community, etc.
@juhaelee Thanks so much for the kind words! That's a great question - getting those first amazing users is a challenge and key to the success of a creative community.
I had a funny situation in that I (not a developer) was alone on the project for the first 6 months until my first partner joined. So while some of that time was spent mocking up ideas, most of it was spent reaching out to game developers and talking to them about what I was working on. These conversations helped me design the site, but even more importantly I built relationships. A lot of these folks have become my friends today! I keep in touch with them through twitter, emails etc, and of course increasingly on Cartrdge.
So my advice is always just to make genuine connections with the people who you'd like to join your community; ask them for advice, go to their meetup events, etc
Great to see a place built for game devs and artists to post their work
Pros:Strong game development niche unlike other 'portfolio' websites
Cons:Perhaps better filters in search results and better way of categorizing different posts