Too many chiefs, too few indians.
by Jason Swearingen · in General Discussion · 07/06/2005 (3:32 pm) · 5 replies
A major issue I've seen in trying to scale a project beyond just myself, is that everyone wants to be the chief, including myself I admit.
But hey, i'm better at this than my partners! (at least that's what i tell myself)
And yes, that's what I tell myself, but unfortunatly that's the problem, I think I know what should happen (and when), but everyone else has their own ideas on what THEY want..
This is important to not forget. Too many people want total control over everything.. if it's not their baby, then they dont have the passion and interest to see through with it, especially if there isnt a 100% gurentee of benifits (be it financial or otherwise)
I have seen this problem with a local "game developer" group I reciently found,
I have seen this problem with friends when trying to work on ideas,
And I see this problem being a growing pain for certain people in this community too.
How does this get resolved? Good question. I wish i knew a good answer, beyond the monetary carrot you can feed to people to get them to work on your idea.
An idea I have besides paying people, is just to keep looking.. eventually (hopefully) you can find someone with an idea you can follow, or someone who can follow your ideas.. Though hopefully you can be flexible enough to consider other's ideas, not just try to convince people to follow yours.
Any better solutions? I leave that to be pondered by the community...
But hey, i'm better at this than my partners! (at least that's what i tell myself)
And yes, that's what I tell myself, but unfortunatly that's the problem, I think I know what should happen (and when), but everyone else has their own ideas on what THEY want..
This is important to not forget. Too many people want total control over everything.. if it's not their baby, then they dont have the passion and interest to see through with it, especially if there isnt a 100% gurentee of benifits (be it financial or otherwise)
I have seen this problem with a local "game developer" group I reciently found,
I have seen this problem with friends when trying to work on ideas,
And I see this problem being a growing pain for certain people in this community too.
How does this get resolved? Good question. I wish i knew a good answer, beyond the monetary carrot you can feed to people to get them to work on your idea.
An idea I have besides paying people, is just to keep looking.. eventually (hopefully) you can find someone with an idea you can follow, or someone who can follow your ideas.. Though hopefully you can be flexible enough to consider other's ideas, not just try to convince people to follow yours.
Any better solutions? I leave that to be pondered by the community...
#2
The most important part, I believe, is to get ground rules set before the project begins. Then everyone knows their jobs.
07/06/2005 (5:42 pm)
We had this problem at my real job. Everybody, luckily realized that nothing was getting done except alot of finger pointing. After many discussions we decided that everyone was in charge of their own part of the plan. Meaning I was in charge of weapons system. The other guy was in charge of player movement, and so on. Then we decided to have a discussion, then decide what to do with anything else that popped up. We would not criticize the other, only to make suggestions. It has honestly work out wonderfully. We help each other out all the time, but try to stay out of each others "part" of the plan.The most important part, I believe, is to get ground rules set before the project begins. Then everyone knows their jobs.
#3
07/06/2005 (5:59 pm)
I think Joshua Dallman has a very good approach, in that he pays everybody who works on his projects. He may be able to pay only a fraction of the full market rate, but people working for him would tend to (I believe) treat him more like a client than a collaborator. While they may suggest changes, he's the man. He has the final say. He wants a turtle, he gets a turtle...
#4
So my idea would just be upfront with whoever joins you. If its your idea that you want to produce, tell them what the plan is. Tell them that you need people who get along and co-operate with other peoples ideas. That would work for me, but I would work on a team, just to work on a team and learn some things.
07/06/2005 (6:22 pm)
As for as this community, most people come here with an Idea already in their mind. They have this great idea, and they need "YOU" and a few others to help them make this Idea a reality. Once a group/team is formed you have 3, 4, or more people each with their idea of a perfect game already in their mind, and they all wish it to be that first project. So my idea would just be upfront with whoever joins you. If its your idea that you want to produce, tell them what the plan is. Tell them that you need people who get along and co-operate with other peoples ideas. That would work for me, but I would work on a team, just to work on a team and learn some things.
#5
www.catb.org/~esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/
07/06/2005 (7:35 pm)
@jason even successful open source projects are not a free-for-all. There 1 chief, and a set of trusted lieutenants and evangelists. Everyone else is just a contributor. Eric Raymond has done a lot of writing about this continiuum of development styles. You are somewhere around Bazaar and need to get towards Cathedral a little bitwww.catb.org/~esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/
Torque Owner Joshua Spencer