Setting up a game studio Brett JacksonApr 2011

overview

The follow document outlines a plan for founding a successful

game studio within Bally’s Las Vegas Game Dev environment.

It's a personal view but should help guide new producers coming on

from either outside or through promotion

Staffing

• Be keen to get games out the door quickly in the early stages of the studio so plan for

the first 6 to 12 months to be a lean and mean studio. Just enough guys to have one or two staggered projects going at a time and also be able to prep for the next game in the pipeline.

• Total headcount: 7

• Producer (You)

• Developer x 2 (one lead and one mid weight)

• Media tech x 2 (one lead and one mid weight)

• Artist/Illustrator x 1

• QE x 1

Staffing

• First line of attack for finding staff is referrals and LinkedIn,

• Technology and Art websites and forums (Deviant Art, Silicon Beach, Slashdot, CreativeHotlist, codeguru, cplusplus).

•Write your own ads to ensure candidates could see that this was an

opportunity that stood apart, something different and exciting.

• Look for switched on guys who are self starters and do projects in

their spare time at home for the fun of it and to learn. Find guys

with a spark. You should learn something new from the candidate during the interview.

staff profiles - Developers

• I look for solid C++ as a given but i want developers who stay connected with current trends and have a creative bent. I want to see a passion for games/play and wamt people who love the code but realise that we make stuff for humans not to show off technical prowess. I also want good communication skills and a personality. We are making games so they have to understand what fun is.

• Beyond the tests some typical interview questions are:

• “What is the most exciting technology you have encountered in the last 6 months? What makes it so exciting to you?”

• “How do you stay on top of new approaches, technologies and methods?”

• “What technology website etc is the best/do you visit the most, why is it good?”

• “What was the most succesful personal project you created? Why? Can I see it?”

• “ How you make sure what you code is the most useable and friendly it can be?”

staff profiles - Media Techs

• Again I look for fast and flexible in Media Techs but if I can have two then I can choose two slightly different approaches to get a broader range of moods and styles. Say one aftereffects guy and one 3D max guy. Depends on who I find. The TV guys are good because they are fast and have range, the PC/Console gaming guys tend to be a bit too fussy and take too long. The new breed of pure motion graphics guys in advertising and the web are also pretty interesting and usually have a creative viewpoint. I strongly dislike the “3d” look so not interested in modellers etc.

• I want guys who know the their tools well and don’t rely on plug ins too much. I like to see someone who is able to simulate plug in effects using the core package as this means they know how to drive it well and how it works on a functional level

• In a perfect world I’d want a layout artist as well but I have found many Media Tech’s have good skills in layout and can cover this aspect. Typically the more junior of the pair.

• Some questions

• “What is the best motion graphics piece you’ve seen this month? Why?”

• “If you could only use one plug in what would it be”

• “Which sites/sources are the best for inspiration? How come?”

• “What was your most succesful/favorite personal project? Why? Can I see it?”

• “How do you ensure you fully understand the intended audience, tone and brief for a project? Give me an example”

staff profiles - Artist/Illustrator

• The artist has to be a strong, fast and flexible illustrator. They must be able to draw and paint at some level with strong digital skills as well. I am okay with either a Vector guy or a Pixel guy as long as they have the chops. I will only have one so they will have be

able to mix it up style wise though. I’d want someone who has some experience in a fast paced and flexible studio so they get the production realities and are not too precious.

• I’ve been lucky to work with a number of guys like this and have solid understanding of what to look for in their portfolios and what questions to ask. I am okay if my Artist is not necessarily super outgoing but I don’t want a Boo Radley either. The quiet ones spend a lot of time painting, drawing etc for themselves and tend to have better skills. I hate prima donnas in any role but especially in an artist. That is a boring cliché and anyone who subscribes to it is not an original thinker.

• Working in Slots is one the best jobs in the world for a good illustrator and I can sell this well in ads and online forums etc.

• With the portfolio, I look for breadth of styles and subject, flair, colour palette, tool choices and originality of approach. I need

someone who can create strong characters. I avoid overly dark or flavour of the month styles. A sense of fun and life is important to see in the work.

• Some questions

• “What are you most proud of in your portfolio? Why?”

• “Tell me about a project where you had trouble understanding the brief, how did you handle it and how did it go?”

• “Which sites/sources are the best for inspiration? How come?”

• “What was your most succesful/favorite project? Why? Can I see it?”

• “How do you ensure you fully understand the intended audience, tone and brief for a project?”

staff profiles - Quality Engineer

• With testers it all comes down to the person. It's tough to really know what you are getting. The

obvious attention to details and care must be there. Personality wise, I am pretty open and I know great testers of all walks but they all seem to have a certain humility and slight reserve. Obviously not risk takers in most cases so often you need to coax them out a bit to see what they are made of. Would be keen to get help from some of the other Bally testers on this one.

• Many are failed developers who take the role as a fall back so one needs to be careful to filter them out.

• Some questions

• “Tell me about a project that went well/poorly. What was your role? What did you learn?”

• “Tell me how you make a difference with your work”

• “In which job were you most happy and why?”

• “How did you become a QE?”

• “Tell about a situation where you missed a major fault, how did you handle it?”

Timeline

• First week

• Introduce myself to the support staff and ensure I understand how i can best fit in with their processes and requirements

• Begin staffing if that has not already started

• Speak to all the other producers to ensure I am not stepping on anyones toes etc and to outline what i am going to try and achieve. Try to find some partners in crime to bounce ideas off

• Start outlining pitch docs

• Get setup in my space and make it fun to be in

• See where any spare time might have can be used to help other teams

• Shop around for any staff who are not being fully utilised to work with me at least part time

• Start researching my segment etc and identify key successful games that are in the same space. go out and play them and watch other people play them

• Run up some potential studio names

Timeline

• First month

• Cement relationship with Product, Project Management etc etc

• Prepare and present a research doc on my segment/audience and game to Mgt and the rest of the producers. Ask for any insights that the presentation provokes.

• Finalise studio name

• hustle to get hardware needed for studio

• Interviewing candidates

• Start checking game names with legal

• Have my paperwork and estimates sorted for my first game and start thinking about

the follow up. assume a slightly extend timeline to submission to SQA. Actual project length depends on scope and complexity of game.

Timeline

• Second and third months

• Be at least half staffed and be well underway on our first game, begging borrowing stealing help from other studios

• Interviewing candidates

• Have second game fully fleshed out and pitched

• Progress meeting with Mgt at 3 months

Timeline

• Four to six months

• Be fully staffed at original levels and explore to see if increasing size is a smart or valid option

• throw party to celebrate being fully staffed

• First game complete

• Second and third game in production

• Fourth and fifth games pitched

• Progress meeting with Mgt at 6 months

Timeline

• Seven to twelve months

• one to two approved games (party to celebrate)

• 4 to 6 more games in various stages of production across this period

• next games worked out some pitched and others in research mode

• Progress meeting with Mgt at 9 and 12 months