I have read many posts like this on many different web sites:



Please note, I'm not trying to discourage anybody that wants to create a team. I'm just trying to give you a path to follow to help you get started creating a team. I'm not a MBA so I don't know everything that goes into managing a team, these are just things I have learned over the years.

While this is not a bad idea, it is not always entirely practical, even for experienced game programmers. Being a team leader is much more different than being a part of a team or programming a game on your own. You must wear many different hats to be a team leader.

Also realize that many professional developers will not want to help out with the promise of profits when the game makes money. Very many start ups never finish their game and programmers and artists will have lost a lot of valuable time and effort that could have gone into their own projects

You should think about what you will bring to the project. Maybe you are not exactly a good programmer but you have good project management skills, finincial means or other such things that you can bring to the project. You could also be a great artist/modeler/sound effects expert who needs programmers to bring your visions to life.

If you are a programmer who wants to start out on the path of becoming a team leader, it would be a good idea to follow: The path to becoming a game programmer, if you are not a game programmer already, as you will more than likely need to get your hands dirty with the coding of the game.

Before you even think about starting a team, there are a few things that you will want to do. You will want to follow a software development process, to define the scope of the game and the functional requirements. When you are writing a game on your own you can change your mind on what you want to do. When you are leading a team, you should have a very solid plan ready for the game, and the ability to write those plans down, step by step. You really need to have good writing skills, or at least somebody who can help you formalize your plan. (Don't even think of design document until you have an idea of the scope of the project and the functional requirements.) Scope means what is your game about, in fairly precise terms. Such as, this game is going to be a isometric 2D real time strategy game that can be played either against the computer, over a local area network using TCP/IP, through our player matching web site or directly over the Internet. Functionality determines the functions of the game. You will want a tile rendering system for the above game, a peer-to-peer or client/server model.

Now would be a good time to start thinking about your design document. Get a basic document down but don't go into too much detail as when you bring your team together you will want their input as to how to go about designing the skills.

Now that you have a well thought out plan of what you want to do. It is time to start looking for your team. There are several other skills you should have and many things that you must learn.

First thing you will have to do is to learn how to gauge the skill level of the programmers, artists, sound effects engineers, etc that you want to be part of the project. This is where being a game programmer, or at least a good programmer, will be most important. If you are an artist or a project manager it will be helpful if you have an experienced programmer to turn to for advice on this step.

You will have to sift through resumes, cvs, query letters, portfolio sites, code samples, demos, etc to find applicants that you are interested in inviting to your team. Since you are more than likely going to be doing this over the internet, email is most likely they way this is gong to happen. It could also be done over instant messaging but there could be problems if you are looking at team members in different time zones. (eg. I have been talking with a game designer in Australia, GMT+10 and I'm in Eastern Canada GMT-5) It is hard to coordinate conversations as when it is 10:00am on Monday here it is 1:00am Tuesday there. This can be extremely hard to coordinate.

One of the most important skills you will need are excellent communication skills. You will be responsible for keeping the lines of communications going between the various members of the team. You will also be responsible for taking input from the team members, filtering out what they are trying to tell you and determine the course of action that needs to be followed. More than likely, since it is your idea that spawned the project, you will have to communicate with the team members what you expect from them clearly and concisely. This is where the software development process you did will be helpful.

You will also want to have excellent time management skills and tremendous perseverance. You will be responsible for each of the team members meeting their deadlines, scheduling team meetings (which can be incredibly difficult if you are working with team members from around the world.) You need to stick with the project, you can not get bored and stop working on the project. As a team leader, you have made a commitment to those you selected for your team to finish the project. You have invested a lot of time, and possibly money, in the project as well. If you don't stick with the project the team members may get angry and if asked about you, by others interested in starting a different project with you, that you are not reliable. You have to see it through to the end, that is either the finished game or everybody abandons ship on you. (Finishing programming the game is not the end of the project though.)

Invariably some team members might want to leave the project or disputes will arise between team members and you will be responsible for settling them. In these cases you need a little diplomacy, to try and keep the members of your team together and happy. Working with a team member that does not really want to be part of the team can cause all sorts of strife.

Other team members may have to quit the project or worse will have to be removed from the project because they can not fill the role that you assigned them. You will have to find replacements for these members and bring them up to speed on the project. You have to be prepared for that.

There are many other skills that you will need to develop but these are a few things you need to think about before you try and start a team.

Good job! Pinned.

Thanks!

I really hope these path articles help. Have one more in mind.

Such guides definitely can make some users think more realistic about what experience they need to get into the industry. Keep up the good work!

I just happened across this and found it interesting. I always find it fascinating to see folks who want to either lead or code who have nothing under their belts. This article will hopefully let them know at least a few of the things they are going to have to conquer before jumping on something large. Many of us would love to work on the next gen MMO, but that usually requires large teams, long hours and lots of cash . I'm working on my own 3D Engine as well but mainly from a learning perspective. Already delivered professional OpenGL implementations in the past on mobile platforms, so I got a bit more knowledge than the average Joe, lol.

With article and my other one, The Path To Becoming a Game Programmer, I am hoping to help those who are interested in serious game programming a suggested path to get them started.

I am really enjoying these, good reads all round.

I'm eagerly waiting for the "Path to getting other people to do the hard bits for you..." keep it up

That was interesting. As you already know, I'm leading a team with no money (I'm that awesome) <3 so money isn't always everything. Maybe when it comes to advertising, it will be, but I'm sure you could do a few sly shortcuts >_>

Yes, you are that awesome...

Jaime,
I guess I should have read this posting before starting my latest venture. Here's a few thoughts I can share. I'm not an expert...so they are just an opinion.

I think team leaders should have some sort of evidence that they can start and finish projects. So, when I see postings by perspective team leaders I like to ask for portfolios or samples of earlier work. It's hard to direct a team if you don't possess this ability.

As a team leader (TL), I have this one rule that I like for all to keep in mind for a voluntary unpaid project. "Members are allowed to stop working on the project at any time. Membership is at will." This keeps the TL from taking people for granted and becoming a wee bit arrogant and overprotective of his or her project.

A TL must know his or her own strengths and weaknesses. When members join 'at will' the TL should yield to the members's strength. This levels the playing field and increases everyones stock in the project. With ownership comes a greater desire to finish.

Timelines....one of the most significant features of a game I read from a Microsoft guy is that the product ships on time. A TL must be able to keep the project on target. A lot of failing projects have no end dates.

That's about it. Again, very good thread.

Regards,
Chuck

All very good points Chuck. In a voluntary project the 'at will' thing is true. I was more talking about somebody who wants to create a professional team and pay them. Yes, timelines and milestones are also key. Showing that the person has completed a project or two and can stick with it through it all is also something that is important. Perhaps I should edit the original post as more of these good points are made.

Regards,
Jamie

Posts like these:



are totally killer for the groups morale ^_~

This post has been edited by NeoTifa: 27 Jul, 2009 - 06:07 PM

I was on one of NeoTifa's programming groups and then she threw me off because of being so demanding. I asked for a pee break and boom, now I am on the streets and program for food. Well, that was until my latest gig tied up in Skyhawk's basement coding for his every whim. Now I have purpose!

This post has been edited by Martyr2: 27 Jul, 2009 - 06:14 PM

Congrats on your new life, peon...