Source
r/gamedev•
lapislosh

Finding a Subject Matter Expert

Question

Let's say, hypothetically, I'm working on a game set in 16th century Europe, and I'm looking to have specific questions about the era answered about topics that general research may not be able to uncover.

Has anyone tried finding and reaching out to subject matter experts for a case like this? Is posting on r/AskHistorians and hoping the best way, or just browsing a bunch of university faculty trying to find a History professor who teaches this stuff? And then, are people usually open to just answering a list of 5-10 questions over e-mail or would there be some kind of payment involved here? Anyone ever tried to do anything like this before? I guess the process would be similar if you needed car expertise, or firearm expertise, etc.

Posted Oct 13, 2017, 10:19 PM UTC

57
[deleted]•

[deleted] ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^0.0715

6
pdp10•

Specific questions seems like this would be a good topic for a post in the relevant subreddit(s), yes.

Just remember to be considerate of your correspondents and their time. Do this by taking your time to construct a succinct post with your specific questions, and give a small amount of context. I'm looking to make a historically-accurate game set in 16th century Europe, and I'm having trouble finding unambiguous answers to the following specific questions:

2
rhacer•

Sounds like you need a Warrant Officer.

1
Oilswell•

There's very little you couldn't research yourself, the only reason to ask an expert is if you're looking to have a conversation and you're not sure what kind of turns it will take and are looking to get inspired. In that scenario you might need to pay them for their time or offer to credit them.

Generally though, experts are people, which means some of them will have time for questions and others won't. Some will love discussing their field and be willing to do it for free, others might consider it to be a waste of their time. The only way to really find out is to reach out and ask them.

1
jarxg•

Not posting, but browsing and PMing people on r/AskHistorians is your best bet, yes.

1
pdp10•

Why not posting? It seems inconsiderate to ask privately for help when a much broader readership could benefit from the questions, the answers, and the opportunity to answer.

1
jarxg•

Why not posting?

Because r/AskHistorians has very strict rules, a post like this might be against one of them. I might be wrong.

2