Form a Team

Decide on Roles

1. Decide what work you want to do.
2. Decide what work you want others to do.

Types of Roles:

Designer

• Creates the concepts and ideas for the game.
• Maintains Game Design Document.
• Works with engineers to script the game.
• Works with artists to establish an art direction.
• Works with writers on the story and narrative.

Engineer

• Implements the designers concepts and the artists assets.
• Build tools for artits and designers.
• Setup DevOps pipelines.
• Documents the more technical aspects of the game.

Artist

• Creates the 2D or 3D art assets.
• Concept, Character, Props, Environment, UI, Graphic, Pixel, Font, etc.

Composer and Musician

• Creates the Music, Sound Effects, and Sound Design.

Writer

• Writes the Narrative, Lore, Script, Dialogue, Plot, Descriptive Text, etc.

Producer

• Creates a development schedule and a task backlog for the Designers, Engineers, Artists, Writers, Testers, etc.
• Helps establish development processes and best practices.
• Sets production deadlines and makes sure development stays within budget.

Tester

• Playtests the game in order to find and report bugs and glitches.
• Provides feedback and suggestions about the User Experience.

Localizer

• Translates text into other languages.

Business Admin

• Handles human resources, finances, accounting, legal.
• Negotiates business deals with investors, publishers, and contractors.
• Makes business decisions based on analytics and reports.

Marketer

• Analyzes demographics and market success to determine business success.
• Copywrites marketing material for campaigns and business pitches.
• Performs A/B Testing with marketing material.
• Analyzes results of marketing campaigns.
• Works with artists and designers to make marketing assets.

Community Manager

• Moderates community discussion.
• Manages Social Media accounts.
• Engages with fans and community members of the game.
• Relays community feedback and concerns to developers.
• Works with marketers to encourage community engagement and growth.

Draft a Recruitment Post

Draft a recruitment post for your project and the open roles. The more details you provide, the more likely people will inquire and join your team.

Recruitment Post Template:

Project Name:
Project Genre:
Project Description:
My Role:
My Previous Projects: (If Applicable)
Team Size:
Role(s) Required:
Responsibilities of Role(s):
Required Experience for Role(s):
Project Length: (X Months, X Years)
Compensation: (Unpaid, Revenue-Share, Commission, Hourly, Salary)

Pros and Cons of Hiding Info Behind an Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)

• NDA is a good way to keep your business and game idea a secret.
• But, people may be less likely to contact you about your project.
• The lack of information may reduce your ability to find the right individuals for your team.

Recruit Team Members

Publish Your Recruitment Post

• Game development forums, subreddits, and discord servers.

Contact individuals Looking For Work

• You can find "looking for a team" or "looking for work" posts in the same forums, subreddits, and discord servers where you published your recruitment post.
• Individuals looking for a team include freelancers, hobbyists, or beginners.

Network with Local Game Dev Community

• Attend local game dev meetups or events, and ask other attendees if they would be interested in joining your project.
• Even if they don't join your team, they may be able to connect you with others who may be interested in joining.

Interview and Evaluate Team Members

Team's Experience

Novice Teammates

• Spend more time learning the necessary skills to make the game.
• More likely to volunteer to work on the project.
• May have difficulty implementating complex features.

Seasoned Teammates

• Have an easier time designing, building, maintaining, and features.
• Expect compensation for their high skill labor, especially if your project requires a significant time commitment.

Team's Availability

Part-Time

• Expect weekly or monthly progress.
• Generally work during their limited free time.
• Work hours may be inconsistent.

Full-Time

• Expect daily and weekly progress.
• Work hours tend to be consistent and predictable.

Team's Location

Local Members / Similar Time Zones

• Working in-person makes it easier to motivate each other and keep each other accountable.
• Working with people in the same time zone also makes it easier to synchronize the production schedule and ensure everyone is working around the same time.

Remote Members / Differnet Time Zones

• Allow team members to work on the project anytime and anywhere.
• Access talent that normally isn't available in your local area.
• Requires more effort to manage and make sure team members are working on tasks regularly.
• Volunteer members are more likely to abandon the project.
• Communication may be delayed, and trust may take longer to build up.

Team's Size

The team's size will determine how much work can be distributed and completed simultaneously.

Solo Dev

• Production is entirely dependant on you.
• While you have full creative control, every aspect of the game will require your attention.
• Production times will drastically increase because tasks can only be performed sequentially.

Small Teams

• Individuals can be divide up the task work in parallel.
• Individuals specialize and mainly work in one discipline, or generalize and work in multiple disciplines.

Large Teams

• Individuals are highly specialized.
• Take ownership of specific areas of development within a discipline.

Resources