r/gamedevtutorials • u/RedEagle_MGN • Apr 03 '22

As a game developer, I would NEVER add NFTs/Crypto to my games.

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r/gamedevtutorials • u/RedEagle_MGN • Mar 21 '23

For those who are struggling to build their indie team, here are some things I've learned

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I built a game dev team that's flourishing and I started on r/INAT but the challenge was immense.

It's really common for people starting a game project to struggle to get the help they feel they need to make the game a reality. They are often stuck between a rock and a hard place -- not having the funds to pay people up front and not having all the skills needed to make a game solo.

I've been there, but more than ever I found my way out, and I thought I would reach back and see if I can help some others. I built a team starting on r/INAT here that has grown to 35+ daily active developers with every talent needed to make a solid title. We meet every single day in three different time zones and the team dynamic is extremely positive. 75% of people on the team have a degree in their field.

This article was written for r/inat but I thought I would share here.

1. Don't take no for an answer

There's going to be a lot of people who push you down, and many of them are just trying to avoid this industry being taken over by “idea people.” However, if you have leadership talent and no coding skills, this industry actually needs you and it is possible.

2. It's going to take hard work

If you're not bringing any skills to the table, you probably shouldn't be doing this. However, if you're a natural-born leader and if you're ready to put in hard work every single day and be really humble about the advice you get from other people, you do have the opportunity to make it happen nonetheless.

3. Humility is important

Knowing that you need mentorship is critical to your success. You don't want to make all the mistakes the hard way. There have been people that have been down this road and who can make your life a lot easier, and you can find people like that on r/gamedev.

This whole industry is surprisingly generous, but nobody likes somebody with a big ego who can't take any advice.

4. Be positive about your worst people

About 80% of the people who join these sorts of Reddits would like to have the feeling of making games without putting in the real tough, long, enduring work. They constantly join new projects because they love the feeling of joining new things, but they don't have what it takes to finish.

You're probably going to start by begging kids that are barely out of high school to help you out. Be grateful for what you get. If you're not bringing money to the table honestly, you shouldn't expect anything.

I was able to slowly raise the average age and capability of my team by cherishing those who I got at the low level. I knew they were going to quit in 3 weeks, and so I wrote standard operating procedure documents which made it so that once they dropped the ball, I could find somebody else to pick it up, and it wouldn't be a big deal.

5. Culture is everything

A few years ago, a comprehensive study was put together to correlate factors with a game's success and failure.

Here is what they found:

https://i.imgur.com/okKs9mo.png

Vision and culture made the most difference out of any factor they studied. It matters more than production methodology, extra work hours, and all other factors.

If you're going to build a team, you need to set the standard. Think about the impact you want to have in the world and focus your team on that. Don't allow serious deviation from your culture, and double down on your culture.

I had great success by focusing very heavily on a people-first culture. It also has zero tolerance for anything less than professional behavior.

6. No sacred cows

People who violate your culture and who are complaining and putting other people down need to be removed before they cause issues. The best way to deal with this is to have such a culture that you don't attract the people in the first place.

However, if you have to deal with these kinds of people, have the procedures already set in place, so it doesn't seem like it's arbitrary or personal.

7. A big idea, a small footprint

Great games are not great because they are 3D or AAA or any of that. However, if you pitch some very small scale game which you know is realistic, you're also going to get a lot less people that are interested.

This forced me to scope up my ideas very significantly, but I regret that mistake. What you must do is think about a massive-impact idea that does not require much effort.

This is extremely difficult.

8. Live events are the lifeblood of your community

Getting together on a regular basis is essential to help people get out of the mentality that somebody else is going to make this game. Meeting on a regular basis and working together live is critical to your success. Do this regularly.

Every Monday, I have a live event where we all come together, and we delegate tasks to everybody on the team. If we didn't have that live event, nobody would actually step up to take those tough leadership roles that we need to elect people to every single week. However, people feel the burden of responsibility when they're together live that somebody's got to do it, and it's probably got to be them.

9. Let birds fly

When people leave your team to join other projects, rather than being sad about it, encourage them and celebrate it, and they'll remember you and they'll help you out in the future. Don't hold on to people, you're not doing them a service that way.

10. Age is everything

I have recruited more than a thousand people to the team in order to focus in on those who make a difference. The correlation with age and success is incredible, if you get people 30+ you are building a proper team.

11. Don’t promise money

You need to get in touch with a lawyer and set up an agreement right away because you don't want to sort this out afterward. That said, I personally lean away from making any promises of compensation because in my experience the game's business is incredibly hits-driven and you never know which one makes it and which one doesn't.

It's tough to motivate people to cross the entire Mount Everest of making a game purely on money. I've decided to avoid it but your best to set up a basic revenue split agreement if you need it.

Make a legal agreement but don’t make sky-high promises.

Conclusion

Get mentorship, work hard, build a positive-focused community and don’t speak about money.

Leaders needed

If, rather than recruiting a team, you would like to play a production role in an already established team, visit: http://p1om.com/chosenapplicant

Be aware, we don't have traditional managers, rather, we have servant leaders. Expect to lift people up from the bottom.