News | Bungie.net”>

News | Bungie.net”>

The Video Game History Foundation (VGHF) wants to save our source code with a new initiative called the Video Game Source Project.

The non-profit, which is dedicated to preserving, celebrating, and teaching the history of video games, wants to ensure source code is preserved and made more accessible so it can be studied for decades to come.

The term ‘source code’ essentially described the raw materials used to create a video game, and comprises everything from the code itself to animation artwork, design documentation, and records of correspondence.

The VGHF explained that preserving that source code allows a title to survive past its initial release (possibly facilitating bona fide remasters in the future), and when archived properly is “the next best thing to time travel.”

“Video game source code and other source materials are inarguably the best resources for those studying how a game was made. And yet the availability of these materials is scarce at best, with few examples available online and even fewer in institutional archives. Worse, historical source code from the earliest days of the medium is being lost by the day,” explained the VGHF.

“We’d like to change that. Today, we’re announcing what we’re calling our Video Game Source Project, the VGHF’s most ambitious initiative to date. It’s a wake-up call to preserve this endangered resource, a call to arms to locate it and make it accessible, and a forward-thinking vision of a world in which using this material as an educational resource is commonplace.”

With that goal in mind, the VGHF will establish an advisory committee comprised of members form the games industry, academia, and non-profit institutions to investigate and address the plethora of issues that make source code such a rare commodity.

It also plans to produce content that demonstrates the power of source material in a historian’s hands, and will host educational events like the recently announced 30th Anniversary celebration of The Secret of Monkey Island that will see the VGHF and its creator Rod Gilbert look through its source material.

You learn more about the VGHF’s preservation efforts by clicking right here.

French charity stream Z Event has raised over €5.7 million ($6.7 million) for Amnesty International, breaking its previous record of roughly €3.5 million ($4.1 million).

As reported by Dot Esports, the annual event sees a bunch of popular French streamers get together for a marathon gaming session that’s broadcast on Twitch.

This was the fifth installment, and despite being held during a pandemic that’s left many people dealing with financial uncertainty it managed to raise a record amount for charity.

A number of notable names praised the efforts of those involved, including French president Emmanuel Macron who told organizers to be proud of their efforts in a short tweet.

“You can be proud! Proud to have mobilized more than €5.7 million (a record!) To uphold human rights with Amnesty. Proud to have shown that by being united and in solidarity we can accomplish great things,” he wrote (via Google translate).

It’s often hard to find the balance between puzzle games that are too complicated, and puzzle games that aren’t complicated enough. But in our experience, the best mobile puzzle games, and the best puzzle games in general, are actually very simple. Look at Portal, for example, and you see a game which centres around one fairly simple mechanic: creating Portals. But what makes the game incredible is how it gradually builds complexity around that.

Girabox is a puzzle game that plays with a similar idea. The central mechanic of the game sees you solve puzzles by spinning shapes, trying to use gravity to move your icon to the goal. Sounds simple, right? Well, just like those previously mentioned puzzle games, Girabox builds complexity as the game goes on, presenting players with a challenge while also retaining that accessible simplicity.

And never one to turn down a good puzzle game, we’ve partnered with Girabox for this week’s giveaway. We’ve got both iOS and Android copies of the game, so if we’ve peaked your interest, be sure to enter down below.

In order to throw your hat into the ring, all you have to do is fill out one of the entry boxes. Please make sure you fill out the correct one for your device, though, as that will affect what code you get if you win. Also please have a glance at our terms and conditions.

ios

PT – Girabox iOS giveaway

android

PT – Girabox Android giveaway

We’ll let you know in a week whether you’ve won the giveaway! If you can’t wait to play Girabox, you can also find it on Google Play, the App Store, and even Steam.

This article is for you if you are either of the following:

• You’re a freelance developer or freelancing agency and you want to offer your services to a client.
• You’re a client and you want to take the service from a freelance developer.

If you belong to either group, you’re in the right place!

Disclaimer: Before I share the contract templates for freelance developers with you, I’m legally required to tell you that I’m not an attorney (I’m a programmer first and teacher second). So, you cannot take this as legal advice. Instead, I simply share some contract templates with you that I found useful during my own career as a freelance developer.

Yeah, I also like the color of the disclaimer background. Are you ready for the legal stuff? So, let’s get it over already!

ALL LINKS OPEN IN A NEW TAB! I hate those links that don’t do this.

#1 Freelance Web Development Contract (GoogleDocs, PDF)

Based on the contract given at the source, I’ve created a Google Docs contract and a PDF that you can access here:

• Google Docs Template: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mHNWFx-MCfMB1bM-yhOeufFi9T_Gh8TVJmF_1qMuvCg/edit?usp=sharing
• PDF Download: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mHNWFx-MCfMB1bM-yhOeufFi9T_Gh8TVJmF_1qMuvCg/edit?usp=sharing

This contract is 100% based on the excellent resource from Stuff & Nonsense at the following site:

Link: https://stuffandnonsense.co.uk/projects/contract-killer

This particular contract was quite useful during my career as a freelance developer earning $100 per hour and more—and I’m very grateful for the great work they’ve put into it. It’s also a contract that doesn’t shy away clients because it’s easy to read, relatable, and authentic. Love it!

#2 Freelance Developer Contract (GoogleDocs, PDF)

Again, based on the contract given at the source, I’ve created a Google Docs contract and a PDF that you can access here:

• Google Docs Template: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M_KdKLh6U15TjVTpIsEvEgvsY_VzsBxrUwdqyaOR-7E/edit?usp=sharing
• PDF Download: https://blog.finxter.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Freelance-Developer-Contract.pdf

You can find the full contract either on the Google Docs I created for you (click on the image!) or at the original site as given in the following link.

Link: https://www.docracy.com/0kpa5hfcobb/freelance-developer-contract

Do you prefer a Word template? No problem, there’s a contract template for you as well!

#3 Basic Freelance Contract Template (Word)

Do you seek more general contract templates for freelancers? Here’s a Word contract template from legaltemplates.net:

What I particularly like about this template is that the underscores highlight clearly where you need to fill in the blanks. It cannot get any simpler than that!

Link: https://legaltemplates.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Freelance-Contract.doc

You don’t need four contracts—one is sufficient. However, I found that there’s one resource missing of a general freelancer contract (not necessarily tailored towards freelance develoepers) that’s also available as a Google Docs. As it turns out, there’s one that fits these requirements perfectly!

#4 General Freelancing Contract (GoogleDocs)

This excellent freelancing contract is from Jyssica Schwartz—and it addresses a wide spectrum of issues. Here’s the table of contents:

Click the following image to check out the interactive contract template on GoogleDocs:

This is a comprehensive contract but it requires a bit more work for you to get started. Here’s the link to the original contract resource:

Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Bg_1m1C05YqTJzp5MBZMhlREemUrFrOvOE7rsNOc2X0/edit

These four contract templates should be sufficient to get you started with your first few gigs. I know it can be a pain to customize a given contract template—you have to read over it at least once—but view it as a one-time investment into your business success. If you set up the contract once, it can protect you from litigation for many years to come. Get this one thing done today and make one big step progress towards your new freelancing adventure!

I hope you liked this article—before you go, please allow me to present my new book: Leaving the Rat Race with Python where I show the best success tips for upcoming freelancers in the programming space:

Do you want to develop the skills of a well-rounded Python professional—while getting paid in the process? Become a Python freelancer and order your book Leaving the Rat Race with Python on Amazon (Kindle/Print)!

Where to Go From Here?

Enough theory, let’s get some practice!

To become successful in coding, you need to get out there and solve real problems for real people. That’s how you can become a six-figure earner easily. And that’s how you polish the skills you really need in practice. After all, what’s the use of learning theory that nobody ever needs?

Practice projects is how you sharpen your saw in coding!

Do you want to become a code master by focusing on practical code projects that actually earn you money and solve problems for people?

Then become a Python freelance developer! It’s the best way of approaching the task of improving your Python skills—even if you are a complete beginner.

Join my free webinar “How to Build Your High-Income Skill Python” and watch how I grew my coding business online and how you can, too—from the comfort of your own home.

Join the free webinar now!

The post Top 3 Freelance Developer Contract Templates (Free) first appeared on Finxter.