building your indie dev team slides

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 Gamestima@quests-end.com