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Team Construction - as tough as making the game...
Team Construction - as tough as making the game...
| Name: | Jason Lee | |
|---|---|---|
| Date Posted: | Jul 05, 2007 | |
| Rating: |  3.0 out of 5 | |
| Public: | YES | |
| Comments: | YES | |
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| Profile Page: | View profile page for Jason Lee |
Blog post
In a team construction environment, building the membership, organizing and fulfilling the needs of the team as a whole can be as troublesome as building, marketing, distribution of the game. As an indie game developer this is the downfall of most projects, large and small. Less then stellar motivation, lack of experience, loss of focus and a plethora of daily responsibilities are the main killers of game design. Some of the factors for success in this area include:
1) understanding managers: having team leaders is excellent, but having team leaders early on is a challenge. Finding the right person to fit the mold that allows for the average struggle of team members and participation make this decision a hard nut to crack.
2) recruitment avenues: having access to large groups of like minded people is imperative. It's not enough to plan out every aspect of a games design and just pick up a piece of art or code here and there. It is absolutely vital that you have a focused team to give the overall vision and development cycle a life of it's own. This factor alone, even if a game gets "completed" makes or breaks it when it's released. Having random art, odd contrasts and unorganized vision, no matter how well implemented, makes a release hardly worth the time it took to create.
3)moola: given the above aspects of gather team talents and providing motivation for a well-created game, this hidden cost of development falls under team compensation. You can have all the best hardware and software along with the greatest game design imaginable, but if your team can't be motivated enough financially, you're in for a struggle.
People often wonder why there are so many ideas out there for games that just don't get made, or can't seem to get off the ground, given these factors, it's not impossible to see how they fail miserably. Even in some of the companies that build games on a regular basis struggle with these issues, so when you play a game, your also feeling the results of hardships during development. Some of the main things you don't like about a game really hinge on it's development organization and implementation, over and above the way it plays.
1) understanding managers: having team leaders is excellent, but having team leaders early on is a challenge. Finding the right person to fit the mold that allows for the average struggle of team members and participation make this decision a hard nut to crack.
2) recruitment avenues: having access to large groups of like minded people is imperative. It's not enough to plan out every aspect of a games design and just pick up a piece of art or code here and there. It is absolutely vital that you have a focused team to give the overall vision and development cycle a life of it's own. This factor alone, even if a game gets "completed" makes or breaks it when it's released. Having random art, odd contrasts and unorganized vision, no matter how well implemented, makes a release hardly worth the time it took to create.
3)moola: given the above aspects of gather team talents and providing motivation for a well-created game, this hidden cost of development falls under team compensation. You can have all the best hardware and software along with the greatest game design imaginable, but if your team can't be motivated enough financially, you're in for a struggle.
People often wonder why there are so many ideas out there for games that just don't get made, or can't seem to get off the ground, given these factors, it's not impossible to see how they fail miserably. Even in some of the companies that build games on a regular basis struggle with these issues, so when you play a game, your also feeling the results of hardships during development. Some of the main things you don't like about a game really hinge on it's development organization and implementation, over and above the way it plays.
Recent Blog Posts
| List: | 07/05/07 - Team Construction - as tough as making the game... 05/23/07 - MMORPG - Server Architecture New Expectations for Indies 04/14/07 - Our MMORPG project |
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Submit your own resources!| Mark Dynna (Jul 05, 2007 at 15:38 GMT) |
| Jason Lee (Jul 05, 2007 at 16:17 GMT) |
| Galen Tingle (Jul 05, 2007 at 18:57 GMT) |
Leadership and managing group dynamics is important, but I've noticed that most successful bootstrap/0-no budget projects have at least 1-3 very strong anchors who have above-average critical skills in either art or coding. Other good developers then want to be associated with those people and their above average efforts and the first ones on get to select among people who want to work for them. I suppose the lesson there if you're trying to start something with no budget is to make sure that you're an anchor and to try then and attract other big anchors-- otherwise you'll need lots of money.
also:
I think so many very intelligent people fall far short when it comes to the idea of a business plan/model. I suppose it's not easy to put on so many different hats. In the end of a commercial game effort, you are making a software product, a "widget" that is expensive to make and difficult to market in a very competitive market. The same enthusiasm that is needed to start the project and build an IP clouds a sort of pragmatic view of the situation.
| Jason Lee (Jul 05, 2007 at 20:21 GMT) |
The bottom line could easily be accomplishment over finance, group interaction over big egos and offering that helping hand without much expectations over the gimme syndrome. The world we all share hasn't dictated that behavior in some time (if ever on a mass scale), which directly affects a persons drive and motivation to accomplish anything at all. Doing the dishes and seeing a clean kitchen is it's own reward, too bad the majority of the world need more then that.
| Christian S (Jul 05, 2007 at 21:53 GMT) |
I agree on your point that finding a 'qualified team leader' is important.
And the part about having a focused team I can only agree on. But, finding such a team while everyone with the guts for it are doing 1+ project themself. The really good ones as good as impossible to get, and the 'sane ones' staying totally off the 'indie mmo scene' makes this a really hard one to crack. And, as you say if it dont have a common line it wont be worth the completion time. But, as the best motivator for such an effort would be (and is) cash up front, along the road or proper defined shares any indie team taking on mmo's are in for trouble from day one.
I think the main thing is that, leadership or not. The one that have the idea just needs to keep on going, and sort through the stuff that others choose to aid with. And if persistency (and game idea) is good enough, it will, coupled with skill progress in the areas of the game project, end up with really good people joining up just like Galen also mentions. Some core people, at times do like to team up to get insight in 'other core peoples' ways to do things.
After all that is the case in most 'MOD' projects, and most low budget games enetering alpha/beta stages. Despite the fact that its both inventor, leadership, and team stuff that have to click. So keep hanging in there, I'm convinced that it will make the effort worth it in the end.
I also have to agree to some extent with Mark, and fully with Jason that its about good leadership. Which actually also is about booting those in a team that does nothing for a project, and nurse those that do contribute. For the long term benefit of said project and to show that its about development of those in the process as well as the software itself.
Regarding the angel thing mantioned by Galen, it often requires a couple of things that actually allready have to have clicked. Business plan, Alpha/Beta demo, Design Document, Team stuff in place, etc. And the fact that angels want a rather large piece of the cake. Not that its bad, but sure is a rather big derailment, for a game idea inventor. And thus a really hard one to handle as he so elegantly puts it.
I so like your last post Jason, and Im looking forward to when 'our games' finally hits the streets. Because there sure are a lot of innovation hidden in whats been going on. I do dig your comments about the big ego thing and the gime syndrome. But you do have to realize that most are in chest deep in projects allready, and covering 3+ projects are the route to trouble, unmeet deadlines and unfocusing on anything at all. Not saying that we should all shut the gates, but remember that core people do want to improve and learn and not just do the same 'ol. Which might be why a lot of the cores have banded up in that Gryphon project, just a shame it as good as killed any reason to linger at our forum and Irc.
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