Hey everyone,
I’m a part of the Bazaar Initiative and we are working on an open source game. It’s an open-world role-playing game set in a fantasy world, built for PC. The core idea is simple - it is 100% free, open-source, licensed under GPLv3, and built by anyone who wants to make it.
We are building this game openly, from the first sketch to the last commit, by a small group of writers, artists, programmers, and sound designers working across time zones. There is no roadmap dictated by a boardroom or a publisher sitting between the team and the player. No micro-transactions, no live-service contracts. Just a growing forest of contributions, each one reviewed, merged, and signed by a real person.
Why open source?
A game made in the open cannot be killed by a single quarterly meeting. We work in the open because:
- It keeps us independent from money-hungry publishers.
- It gives us a workshop for creative vision experiments (want to prototype a weird weather system or combat stance? Branch it, push it, see if it breathes).
- It gives contributors a public artifact with their name on it to build their portfolios.
- An open-source game is forkable. As long as one contributor wants to keep the world alive, the world stays alive.
Who we are looking for
We’re looking for anyone who wants to help make this a reality. Any experience level, any timezone, any background. These roles aren't gates - they are just starting points:
- Writers: Quests, dialogue, world lore, item descriptions.
- Artists: Concept, illustration, 3D, environment, UI.
- Programmers: Gameplay, systems, tooling, engine, build pipeline.
- Sound Designers: Score, ambience, foley, combat SFX.
How to join
There is no application form, no test, and no deadline. Write a few sentences about what you'd like to make, link your work if you have it, and say hello.
- 📩 Email me at: artem.yurchenko@pm.me
- 🌐 Check out the project page & vibe here: https://bazaar-init.vercel.app/
I'd love to hear what you think of the project, or answer any questions you have in the comments!