building your indie dev team slides
TRANSCRIPT
Building Your Indie Dev Team
Tima AnoshechkinQuest’s End Games
iFest Sydney 2013
Who is Quest’s End Games ?
- Five developers- 40 years of combined game dev experience- L.A. Noire, Getaway, World in Conflict and more- Rockstar, Sony, Vivendi(Activision), Ubisoft- Own IP
Industry Struggles
- Poor Skills- Poor Communication- Big Egos- Commitment Issues- Toxic Workplace- Lack of Discipline- Lack of Leadership- Lack of Growth Prospects
Team Killers
What makes a great team?
How to find/develop talent?
Problem:- Hard to identify and attract
Solutions:- Work with people who are
○ eager to learn○ excited about game dev
- Work together on a small project before joining - Create challenging environment- Be patient
Communicators needed?
Problem:- Culture discourages communication
Solutions:- Find one communicator- Talk one on one - Organise informal team events
Who needs Discipline?
Problems:- Creates inefficiencies- Bad work environment
Solutions:- Keep it simple- Keep it consistent- Reinforce all the time
Problems:Lack of team loyalty leads to:
- Key knowledge leaving - Fall in confidence
Solutions:- Work with friends & family- Share game dev values - Address team needs- Be flexible
What is Loyalty?
Are you a leader?
Problem:- Too much focus on authority
Solutions:- Decide leadership structure- Share authority- Inspire and motivate- Lead by example
No “I” in TEAM
Problem:Big egos leads to:
- Bad team morale- Fall in productivity
Solutions:- Assign correct roles- Sacrifice for the team- Do your job
“I” in individual
Problems:Pyramid structure leads to:
- Limited growth- Misdirected energy- Top down decision making
Solutions:- Keep it flat- Make a game- Facilitate individuals expression
- Get the Skills- Get Talking- Get Disciplined- Build Loyalty- Develop Leadership- Be Team Players- Provide Growth
How to build a great team?
Is this your team?
Quest’s End [email protected]