Starting a Team?
Blitz3D Forums/Blitz3D Programming/Starting a Team?
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| Hey Guys, I have never been in a team before, nor have i started one and now that i've made a few games *and started yet another* i was just interested in some information on how to start a team. What i mainly need are Graphic Artists / Musicians. I have started on the project and ready to give out information, you may have seen my posts in the Art Showcase area about terrain... I want the project to go commercial but i don't have any money to pay anyone. I would be willing to split the profits around though. Anyways does anyone have an advice before i officially start asking people to help me out? It's not a project i plan on trashing, i'm very dedicated to it, it's just i'm not all that great when it comes to 3D graphics :-( |
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| Iv'e never done this but what I would do is... Create a game document, that gives a discription of how the game will look. Like, will it be cartoonish or realistic? Will it be a fps shooter, or more of a action adventure. Will it be multiplayer ect... Also it should give a description of the main caracters. Most importantly get people interested. Some scetches and drawings might help. Also a first step might be to create a website forem for your teem to comunicate. Well I don't know just some ideas. |
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| My advice is don't bother. Look at Project Plasma to see why. Coming up with ideas is piss easy - we can all do that. Its turning the ideas into a game thats the hard part. People underestimate the scope of what they're trying to do and that's why they will lose interest and fail. |
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| No harm in people trying. I am not saying that its not very difficult to make something 'complete',but my advice is give it a go and even if it faills you might end up with a demo that will have at least taught you quite a lot for next time |
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| My advice is start small and gradually build up. This probably means coming up with a new project, a small (throwaway?) one to complete as a first team project instead of the project you've already started. The point of the first project is to get the groundwork in place of getting the team assembled and acclimated, so make the first project piss easy. The team will need to have at least one project under its belt to build up team confidence and so that the team members can get used to working with each other before you can attempt an ambitious project. You want to start with a small project so that it is more likely the team will complete the project; the confidence gain from finishing one project will be imperitive for completing other, more ambitious projects. This first project should probably be a throwaway (that is, don't bother trying to come up with the most interesting idea ever, just do something) so that if things fall apart it won't be a big deal and you can pick up and try again with a new team. A hard-and-fast rule here is that if the team can't complete a first small project within a reasonable deadline, you should all cut your losses and disband because you definitely won't be successful working on a larger project. A good idea with the first project is to wait until the team is assembled and then come up with the idea together. This way everyone on the team will feel ownership of the idea and will be that much more motivated to do their part. That said, make sure the plans stay small, something like Pac-man in 3D. |
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| hmmm definately sounds interesting! I just thought you'd hire a few people and be off to work, *since i just barely started an FPS and need graphic artists i just thought you'd grab a few and work on it* but i do see your perspectives on it jhocking, by starting small and building their confidence... but who would want to start that small pac-man in 3d, i could do that on my own :-P I do see what your saying though isn't Project Plasma a community project rather than a team project. *hence i've never heard of it* what happened to them? |
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| Ah, but would it look as good doing it on your own? By "Pac-man" I'm only referring to the gameplay, not the aesthetics. Get together some artists and ask them what kind of art they want to create. How about instead of a yellow sphere being chased by ghosts around a neon maze, you make a game about a girl being chased by anthropomorphized playing cards around a hedge maze? Oh wait... As for who would want to do such a small game, make sure to communicate to your team that the point isn't to sell (or even necessarily distribute) that first game, but to learn game development and how to function as a team. If the person you're talking to isn't interested in learning how to function as a team and/or ensuring that you can function as a team before delving into an ambitious project, that person isn't someone you want on your team. |
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| Well Idaho. I for one would be very interested in joining a team. Especially a new one that wants/needs to build up experience. I would love to write in game music and am getting better in the 3D department. I wouldn't call myself a 3D artist just yet though, but am quite good in the music department. I think it would be a great learning experience. What do say? :-) |
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| @Phil74 well music is a very important issue to think about in game developement so yes, for this learning expierence i'm going to take jhocking's advice and develope a small game :-) I'll add a section at my web-site for us to use! To me it sounds like fun and would be a great learning expierence... We'll need to find a graphic artist or two, and possibly another programmer. I'll get back to you tomorrow e-mail: idahorazor@... MSN Messenger: bubbahutch1@... stay in contact! :-) |
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| Dont bother they are 99% doomed. Only new..e.g. less skilled wanna join new teams. You just dont realise how much work is involved in any game project. Best bet is to do it your self. Starting with a small project.. and I do mean small.. a MMRPG you carnt do.. a Tetris/puzzler u can. TEAMs dont work, in most cases. |
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| The only way to fail is not to try. |
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| Trying to organise and run a team without a paid job to control things is next to impossible. Either you're a close group that have known each other a long time and work well together, or you manage a team with the threat of sacking someone that doesn't fulfill they're task. Without this you will find that initial work is good but soon team members get sidetracked with other actvities and never finish anything. Riverrat and GfK are *both* right. As long as you don't have high hopes of finishing anything with a loosely assmebled team, it might be good experience, but otherwise except frustration and an eventual giving-up after umpteen months of no progress. I could suggest you write the game and do the graphics and sound yourself. Then release (to a select audience?) and offer a cut of sales for anyone that wants to do replacement sound/gfx. If you write your code with this in mind you can just replace your meshes with someone else's. Maybe accept submissions from varying artists also, if the visual style would work. Advertising to CG forums might attract beginner modellers wanting to stretch their skills, and the small financial+glory incentive might focus them on your project as opposed to just experimenting themselves. A suggestion at least. |
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| A small first project is not a bad idea. Make something small, but with very high quality. That is motivating for the artists (a bit of challenge is always good) and you have a good chance to get it finished (and sold) before any members lose interest. Plus you can already see if the team members can really put out the quality you will need for a bigger project. Even if the first little project fails, you didn't invest too much of your time and can prolly reuse some of the written code or even finish the project on your own. If it succeeds, every member gets his $1000+ and is motivated to do something bigger with the same team. Personally, I only have one other team member (for sound+music) and it works really well although we live 2000+ miles from each other. We split the profits according to invested effort and are both happy with the results so far. You can also try to acquire a project that is already pre-sold to a customer. (Most of my work is for companies who order customized games) They will eventually pay some up-front cash, which helps to motivate the team too. Even if they don't, you have a signed contract that ensures that the invested work gets payed. You won't get rich with these projects, but it is a viable option to start things off, strengthen your team and build up own funds to support your future projects. |
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| I could really careless about lots of money, to me 25$ settles me.. lol, being only 15 all i really care about are games :-D... Philip seems interested but apparently he just focuesses on music, what i really need are graphic artists *i would like to be one, but 1.) i'm better at programming 2.) with a partner that has expierence it'd be nice to get some tips and such* Sounds fun to me, now just where to look... |
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| I'm interested email - see sig msn - steven@... |
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| You seem to have a team already :-P I can't just ask you to ditch your own team, that's kind of just wrong :-P. Thanks for the offer anyway! :-D |
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