A game can be done by ones self, but having a team can be incredibly helpful. But what attracts people to one team over another? I've read over quite a few of the threads in the recruitment forum and have some decent ideas of my own, but I want to hear directly from you what you think about this. Whenever you have the time, just post a little reply. Any insights you can provide will be more than helpful to me and everyone else.

If you think of other questions, add them and I try to add them up here. If you don't want to answer certain questions then don't. And if you want to just post in your own way, feel free. These are just to give you some ideas of what answers I'm sure many of us are looking for.



This seemed to be the best place to put this. I didn't want to write it in Recruitment for, while that's what this is about, I'm not actually recruiting for anything. And I didn't put this under general since, even though its not exactly a gaming component, it does have to do with the development of a game. If the mods have a better place for this then please send it off to where it should be ^^

Not being in tune with the world of recruitment, my opinion and view may not mean much. But I do find that whole aspect of RPG Making interesting, even though I've never had to deal with it. C-Division is my younger brother so working with him is just an extension of our relationship.

More importantly, in terms or RPG Maker, our abilities really compliment one another. I'm bigger on the technical side, I know more about coding and tend to program all of our games' major systems. He's the harder worker, actually getting dirty and making the cutscenes, events, new dungeons and areas that I lack the drive too. He's also done a fair share of the evented mechanics. He could finish a game without me (and with the release of his Zelda game three-ish years ago, he has) but I most likely couldn't finish one without him. In fact, Seven Sages was really just a 30 minute long demo for three years until he started helping me with it. All the mechanis were there, but there wasn't much in terms of gameplay. A year later it was a 10 hour game.

As far as working with other members of a team go, again, I'll have to admit that my views may represent a small minority. Arguments on the direction of our projects are few and far in between, and when they do arise are resolved without anyone getting hurt. Since he's my brother and not someone I met over the internet, we have a better understanding of how the other thinks and feels about certain aspects. I probably don't pull enough of my weight on our joint projects which probably wouldn't fly if we didn't have that personal understanding.

When it comes to teams, and especially when it comes to RPG Maker or anything that revolves around the Internet, I tend not to get involved with other users because, one, I don't really know who these people are from outside my home; two, how do I know I can trust them with my material & involvement; and three, will this team be committed to finish the project and pull their own weight if I do so?

I mean, if you have a long history with a user, and they are committed to your project -- by all means -- work together! But, I like sticking by myself because I'm my own boss, and I can do whatever I want to do, and I can do what I need to do to finish the project to my own standards. It may not turn out perfect, but whatever, something got done. But, if I was working on a professional team -- or making money off something -- then I don't mind working with others, as working with others usually tend to lead to better and greater projects.

So, it depends.

I usually don't join other projects unless it captures my eye, and I don't have any other projects to work on, but I always have something to work on, so yeah...

This is pretty much exactly why I turn down anyone who has offered to help me with my games.

Building the Team

What makes a good team leader?
The team leader is the team leader. He makes all the decisions. However, he's more than willing to listen to any and all comp,laints, and if HE feels they're viable, he'll act on them. At least, this is how I work.

What should the team leader be able to do?
As fas as abailities? The team leader has to know how the game will flow. I suck at art, but I'm learning music and I made my whole storyline to compensate for the lack of that ability. In addition, I will do all eventing and actual game making by myself. I only need people to help me with refining my storyline (Sorry, I have a guy. That position's not open) and getting me resources. Those are my weaknesses, which really aren't even that bad.

What makes a good team member?
A good team member is not a leech. He contributes to the team often, throws out suggestions for the team, offers an opinion whenever possible, but if it's rejected does not act pissy. None of my team members are like this and I am grateful. (Though honestly, everyone on the team has no issues with my game as it barely has any flaws at all.)

What is the best way to make sure a team member can really contribute to the team?
Find out what they're good at. Simple. Yoshi is good at art and story, those are his positions. Merc Lord is good at story too, though he tends to love toying with mechanics and ideas and reimagining how they work. His first versions of an idea are almost always flawed in some way (with exception) and usually colored by fanboyism/overexcitement, but they ALWAYS give me more ideas, and I end up refining their ideas until it works perfectly and has no flaws. (Or few flaws, if anything.)

How much should be included about the kind of team member the project is looking for?
Simple. In my case, I need people who are good at art. I let them know my game is a serious game and not some childish WTF IS EFFORT venture.

Joining a Team

Why would you want to join a team in the first place?
I'm not a team joiner, I'm a leader, clear and simple. I'm the guy who implements the ideas and comes up with them, not the resource maker.

What do you look for in a recruiting post and why?
No answer.

What kinds of titles attract your attention? (you can use examples. No need for detailed explanations on this one)
I look for catchy interesting words. "Final Fantasy: The War" is a hideous craptastic example of what NOT to do. "Darkness Before Dawn" is a 'meh'. "The Mind's Eye, Sphere of Domination" is a title that would make me say "Hey whoa whoa whoa, that might be good..." because the title has EFFORT put into it. If even the TITLE has effort put into it and is not taken for granted, perhaps the actual game might be good too!

What kinds of titles turn you away?
Everything I mentioned in the above answer.,

What would turn you away from a project by simply opening the thread and seeing the post?
OMG SO GUYS IM MAKING A GAEM AND ITS GOT LIKE MARIO AND LUGI AND DERE'S DIS SORSOROR WHO HAS A CATAPULT AND..."

Here's the very first title in the recruitment section that is an instant turnoff for me. http://www.rpgrevolution.com/forums/index....showtopic=48844 For all the reasons previously mentioned, PLUS bad grammar PLUS no clear organization of anything in the game. It looks like something a twelve year old would write.

What are the most important things to include in a recruitment post?
I'm not one to ask apparently, as mine has recieved no comments. I'm doing something wrong, apparently.

What are the least important?
See above.

Should the Team Leader have a logo ready?
I don't know, but this just reminded me I need to include the banner in my recruitment post. Might help.

How long is too long in a recruitment post?
I DON'T KNOW. I THINK I SCREWED UP.

How important is the format of the post (bold, italic, size, colors, ect)?
...

What features are important to include?
Oh for...

What do you look for in the story?
When I read a game's story, I don't even care about character names. If I read something like...
"My story has this kid named Luke, and his sister is Leia, oh and she gets this boyfriend later on and his hame is 'hands in pants'..."
I stop reading right there. Character development is okay, but something else has to stick out in the first couple of paragraphs. I just can't put it into words. (Usually good pictures help)

Would you rather read a full outline of the story, beginning to end (a Treatment), or would you rather read just the beginning (a Hook)?
Thgat entirely depends on what the game is about. Platformer? Who needs a story. Extremely long RPG that may or may not have names ripped directly from FF7? Long story please. JUST MAKE SURE TO SEPARATE IT INTO PARAGRPHS OR I WILL SEE A WALL OF TEXT AND NOT GIVE A SHIT ANYMORE.

Do you feel screenshots are necessary and why?
If the game isn't in development yet, then they're a bit pointless

What do you look for in Screenshots?
Some hint of everything at once. Mapping, characters, etc.

What is more important: Having design documentation or some work already done on the game? And how much?
50/50.

Would you rather: Work on a game with moderate design documentation or complete and detailed documentation?
Now, personally, I want a game that's detailed and I KNOW is going somewhere.

Would you rather: Work on a game with a wide variety of unique game features or a game with a great unique story line?
Storyline. Hands down. If I joined a team I could manufacture a million cool elements, but an awesome storyline? Those are like gold.

What is more important: the story idea or the way it is written?
The way it's written. An awesome idea is worthless if it's unreadable.

I'm not that experienced in game creation, but project management has been my living for years, so I'll take a stab at this.

Building the Team
What makes a good team leader?
The following qualities are crucial for a project team leader
vision: you need to know what it is your project is aiming to achieve, and with that, what is most important to the core of your project
communication: if you can't get your idea across, be prepared to have to correct a LOT of mistakes from your team
discipline: simply put, you need to know how to say no to things and jettisoning extraneous parts, because you WILL run into a point where you have a resource crunch and no time left to do things with. Also, project creep WILL happen if you don't know when to say "cut". You have to know when to say no to extra features, as tempting as it is to want to make the game that can do EVERYTHING.
methodical approach: while it's true that your work scope will always change with time, you need to a way to keep track of it, know what to do first, and when to do it. This is basic project management discipline. Most of you probably ALREADY DO IT without even thinking about it. But having the ability to methodically keep track of this stuff is crucial


What should the team leader be able to do?
These are the general areas of game design
game design
art direction
technical programming
IT support (if you have a development office with an actual team)
Human Resource management
Project Management
(the following are only if it's a commercial product)
financial management
marketing

See that list above? anything that you don't have a guy for, you need to do yourself. It can get even more complex than this if the scale of your project gets bigger. Now, granted, the needs for all of these will be different, based on the project size. i.e. most of you will not need an IT support team, nor a human resource team, on account that you're doing it all by yourself. That's fine and dandy. But these are the HARD skills you must have if you aspire to be a good team leader.

Soft skills are:
delegation
people management
effective written and spoken communication (this is CRUCIAL if you have an actual team)
and much more

What makes a good team member?
Simply put, a professional. That term, of course, can mean a large number of things, so let's dissect this a little.
Not all team members are created equal, and not all of them function the same way. This is something any team leader needs to understand. The most important thing about your team member though, is understanding their skill set specialization and knowing where to put them. But beyond that, it's also important that their motivations are aligned with what you're trying to do.

i.e. a project that has no money in it will require a team member who is doing this out of love, because I can guarantee you any team member who is not will drop the ball on you. I've seen this happen numerous times. Even WITH money involved, there are complexities that need to be considered.

What is the best way to make sure a team member can really contribute to the team?
Know your team member's strengths, motivation, weaknesses, and then put them in the right environment. This is easier said than done, since we all have own quirks and inclinations that are hard to tease out over the web. In most production environment, being face to face is always better than a web presence, since feedback is instantaneous. The motivation alignment portion is especially important since that's how you get the guy to turn in his work. If you just willy nilly ask someone to do it, and they say, "okay, maybe", you're fucked.

How much should be included about the kind of team member the project is looking for?
#1 know what skill sets you need / want / nice to have
This tells you the urgency and importance of the project. If you don't know how to code, better make sure you sign up a good coder. (or learn to do it yourself) On the other hand, certain things are really not that critical, like if you already have some OK art assets to use, you don't really need to be killing yourself over finding a new spriter.
#2 know how the guy works. you need to understand how this person operates. You need to make sure you KNOW the guy. If it's just some random schmoe on line, you need to test the guy out. Give him smaller pieces of work first. Things that are not crucial, if possible. And see how he turns out the work. This test run will give you a good idea on what you can expect from him. If he fumbles on the first assignment, start looking for a new person.

Keep in mind, you can TEACH new skills, you can TEACH concepts, but you can't change a person's inclination.

Joining a Team

Why would you want to join a team in the first place?
1. a chance to practice my skills
2. because I want to be part of something bigger than what I can think of (and that said project actually excites me)
3. because I have time
If I can meet all three criteria, I join a project. The only exception to this is:
4. if the job actually pays well.
Game dev jobs, however, tend not to do that.

What do you look for in a recruiting post and why?
I don't. I don't have time right now to join another project. Between my own projects, my upcoming MBA, the move overseas in about 4 months, AND me writing a business plan for a start up, I really don't have time to commit to something else.

What kinds of titles attract your attention? (you can use examples. No need for detailed explanations on this one)
NA

What kinds of titles turn you away?
NA

What would turn you away from a project by simply opening the thread and seeing the post?
NA

What are the most important things to include in a recruitment post?
#1 thing is clarity. A recruit will want to know the following:
- what is the vision for the project?
- what is the job requirement?
- if there's a time frame, what is it?
- how will everything be organized?
- who are the team members?
- what other expectations are there?

What are the least important?
- what characters/franchise/minor mechanical points are in the game
I mean, sure, it CAN be important, but only if it is CORE to the project. Generally though, you can tell how well a guy has thought through his project by his posts. If it's all over the place, with little to no unifying theme, it's generally a loser.

Should the Team Leader have a logo ready?
Not necessarily. It helps morale, for sure, but that's so superficial it's ridiculous to think of this as something that's crucial.

How long is too long in a recruitment post?
from my own experience, if your post has been sitting out for several days to a week with no response, you might as well forget it. If the thread has fallen off the first page, the chance of you finding someone through it becomes even smaller. I generally, for most of my projects, don't look for people through threads, but actually just ASK people I think would be good for it.

How important is the format of the post (bold, italic, size, colors, ect)?
beyond your basic good writing principles, it's not at all.

What features are important to include?
depends on the game. This question is.... ill conceived.

What do you look for in the story?
as above. sometimes, I don't look for a story at all. Some games just don't need one to function.

Would you rather read a full outline of the story, beginning to end (a Treatment), or would you rather read just the beginning (a Hook)?
if I can't make it past the beginning, then something is HORRIBLY wrong with the story as is.

Do you feel screenshots are necessary and why?
for recruiting? are you serious? usually screen shots are when you already have a demo. unless you're just communicating your vision through a doctored photo, then it CAN be an effective tool. But even then, not really. anyone who can't process several well written paragraphs into a cohesive idea is not someone I would want on my team anyway.

What do you look for in Screenshots?
focus. If we're talking about using screen shots to recruit, then it needs to deliver the vision. i.e. one game I saw here had a screen shot showing a victorian era setting, showing great atmosphere and all that. (I don't remember the title) That screen shot alone was worth a thousand words. On the other hand, seeing a screen shot of what seems like a run of the mill RTP sprites doing absolutely nothing special tells me NOTHING.

What is more important: Having design documentation or some work already done on the game? And how much?
I would say having the design document. But that's because I come from the school of thought that what you don't write down, you won't remember and will forget to put in. but also, how can you communicate what kind of work you need done? even an email can count as that when you're talking. But honestly, I feel it's always more effective to just put it all into a single document for people to reference rather than having to talk people through each piece. Having said that, sometimes, for leaders who like to control every detail, they can just dole out EXACTLY what the team member needs to know to do the job. But I personally find such an approach too tiresome.

Would you rather: Work on a game with moderate design documentation or complete and detailed documentation?
depends on the game, the schedule and the scope.
In general, if money and time schedule is involved, you want as much details as possible. This way, details are already nailed down and your team can get to work. The more money and more time you need, the more details you'll want to have early.
If these things are not there, that's fine. But the VISION still needs to be there. (This is why I listed vision as #1 in the list qualities a leader needs)
Of course, this is a creative project, so obviously things WILL change. This is just an aspect of game development you must accept. Moderate documentation that expresses a clear vision, in this case, can sometimes give people more freedom to do what needs to be done. In addition to this, sometimes, what is written down is just not very good. This is especially true when the person writing the document is not experienced in certain areas of game design. i.e. someone who has never played fighting games is clearly not going to be much good at writing up the portion of the game doc that talks about how to create the fighting engine. However, the LESS detail you put down, the more you'll need to be prepared to either babysit your team or delegate and trust that they know what they're doing.

Would you rather: Work on a game with a wide variety of unique game features or a game with a great unique story line?
depends on the game. Like I said, it's about focus, not about bells and whistles.

What is more important: the story idea or the way it is written?
what the fuck does this even mean? the way a story is written is part and parcel to the idea. A story idea is WORTHLESS by itself because every story idea that you can conceive has already been done. (Hero of a Thousand Faces anyone?) The manifestation of that story concept through at least SOME level of preliminary writing is crucial.

Thanks for all your replies. Your input is very useful ^^

I love how you quoted me in your sig XD

People tend to do that a lot. 800 posts... lot of material there

lol I was laughing so hard when I read that. The sorcerer with a catapult sounds familiar too for some reason.

Its also an awesome example of what not to do XD

A certain someone quoted me when I only had <100 posts under my belt. Might be because I'm a sycophantic newb though.

Not all 12 year olds write bad stories. Although that page looks like a bogan trying to impress someone. *Back to being busy busy*