Plan for Trent Reimer
by Trent Reimer · 09/07/2004 (11:42 am) · 1 comments
Sometimes you need a "hired gun".
This point was brought home to me the other week when a client flew me to a meeting in Alberta's scenic Kananaskis country. I'll be honest with you; there is nothing about my work which is especially outstanding other than the fact that I listen carefully to my customers. This client is giving me an excellent opportunity simply because I am giving them a chance to develop a product which is truly tailored to their needs.
And with the time constraints these opportunities are placing me under it is becoming clear to me that I too should look at contracting a few "hired guns" if I am going to put together a decent game.
I like the concept of contracting: there are some skills in this community which are fairly demanding and of which there is not an unlimited stream of practicioners. (character modelling/skinning comes to mind) Most of the time these people are being bombarded with requests to work for free on some project which is someone else's dream. (most of which frankly have little chance of seeing the light of day) It's one thing to invest a free labour of love in your own dream; it's usually harder to invest in someone else's.
Why not pay someone for their time? So there's not a lot of rich people here - even when it's not serious money, there's still a kind of pride and satisfaction that comes from being hired. Yes, it's a chance to do what you love and to receive something back in the process. But it's also an acknowledgement that your work is valuable.
None of which is a slur on volunteering. I have spent many joyful and difficult hours volunteering for activities which caught my imagination. But even if I was not paid there were still ways that I was rewarded for my work.
I guess the idea I want to put forward boils down to this: do not expect people to invest in your project if you are not willing to invest in them.
Where does this bring me? I am hammering out 2 game concepts and their technical requirements. If either goes forward you can be sure I will be looking to promote and invest in some way in the talent of this community.
This point was brought home to me the other week when a client flew me to a meeting in Alberta's scenic Kananaskis country. I'll be honest with you; there is nothing about my work which is especially outstanding other than the fact that I listen carefully to my customers. This client is giving me an excellent opportunity simply because I am giving them a chance to develop a product which is truly tailored to their needs.
And with the time constraints these opportunities are placing me under it is becoming clear to me that I too should look at contracting a few "hired guns" if I am going to put together a decent game.
I like the concept of contracting: there are some skills in this community which are fairly demanding and of which there is not an unlimited stream of practicioners. (character modelling/skinning comes to mind) Most of the time these people are being bombarded with requests to work for free on some project which is someone else's dream. (most of which frankly have little chance of seeing the light of day) It's one thing to invest a free labour of love in your own dream; it's usually harder to invest in someone else's.
Why not pay someone for their time? So there's not a lot of rich people here - even when it's not serious money, there's still a kind of pride and satisfaction that comes from being hired. Yes, it's a chance to do what you love and to receive something back in the process. But it's also an acknowledgement that your work is valuable.
None of which is a slur on volunteering. I have spent many joyful and difficult hours volunteering for activities which caught my imagination. But even if I was not paid there were still ways that I was rewarded for my work.
I guess the idea I want to put forward boils down to this: do not expect people to invest in your project if you are not willing to invest in them.
Where does this bring me? I am hammering out 2 game concepts and their technical requirements. If either goes forward you can be sure I will be looking to promote and invest in some way in the talent of this community.
About the author
Torque Owner Josh Williams
Default Studio Name
Good luck with your game designs, keep us posted on any interesting developments.