Your team is working on a game development project. What can you do to ensure they work cohesively?
Game development is a complex and creative process that involves many different roles and skills. Whether you are working on a small indie project or a big AAA title, you need to collaborate effectively with your team members to deliver a high-quality product. But how can you ensure that your team works cohesively and avoids common pitfalls such as miscommunication, conflict, or scope creep? Here are some tips to help you foster a positive and productive team culture in game development.
Before you start working on your game, you need to have a clear and shared vision of what you want to achieve and why. This will help you align your team's expectations, priorities, and motivations. You can use tools such as vision statements, design documents, or mood boards to communicate your vision and goals to your team. You should also review and update them regularly to reflect any changes or feedback that may arise during the development process.
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Never work aimlessly without a goal. So many resources are lost this way. What is the goal of the project? How do you see the final project? Who should be affected by the project? How long should the project effectively take? When clearing up ideas to get a vision and a board of goals, there are varying tools that can assist in this organization such as vision boards, brainstorming clouds, etc. Make sure the vision is reasonable and the goals are achievable before starting any project.
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Here's how I do it. First, get a clear image in your mind of your goal - this includes how you want people to feel, sound, dynamics, etc. Really see where you want to end up. Then, break it down into steps you can actually take. Map it out, set some timelines, and think about who can help you along the way. It's more than just a method; it's like crafting a piece of art. The clearer and more detailed you can make your goal, the quicker you'll see it become a reality. Remember, the success of your journey largely depends on the clarity of your vision and the solidity of your plan.
Another key aspect of teamwork is to define your roles and responsibilities within the team. This will help you avoid confusion, duplication, or gaps in your work. You should also respect each other's expertise and autonomy and trust them to do their job well. However, this does not mean that you should work in silos or ignore other aspects of the game. You should also be flexible and willing to help out or learn from other team members when needed.
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In my experience, any team, almost no matter how small, should establish who is in charge of the vision. Because that person will have the extremely important and sometimes very demanding role of making tough decisions on the way. Both decisions that means deep diving into certain details when that's needed, but also to cut great ideas that are not crucial to fulfill the vision of the game. Everything is a negotiation (or at least should be according to me). A negotiation with time, money, fun factor, community, market fit among other things. And although teams find the best solutions together, some one needs to have the vision of the final game as their baby.
Communication is essential for any team project, but especially for game development, which involves constant iteration, testing, and feedback. You should communicate frequently and effectively with your team members, using the appropriate channels and tools for different purposes. For example, you can use chat apps, emails, or forums for quick updates, questions, or discussions, and video calls, meetings, or presentations for more in-depth or formal communication. You should also be clear, concise, and respectful in your communication and listen actively to others.
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Communication is key and all updates should be known by the team to be celebrated and noted. The best way to achieve this is to have public subscribe-able channels where updates are posted where everyone can see them and understand the progress of the team. This can save time for teams who may feel they are being bottlenecked and can be able to contribute cross functionally to assist.
One of the biggest challenges in game development is to manage the code, assets, and tasks that are constantly changing and evolving. To avoid losing or overwriting your work, you should use version control tools such as Git or SVN, which allow you to track, store, and revert changes to your files. You should also use project management tools such as Trello or Jira, which allow you to organize, assign, and monitor your tasks and deadlines. These tools will help you keep your project organized, transparent, and consistent.
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Git is a must in the industry. Don't know what it is? Think of it as a time machine: You can take a snaposhot of your project, and rollback to it whenever needed, even if others make changes. In addition to that, it automatically gets everybody's work in the same place. Forget about manual backups, lost work and tansfering files through google drive or dropbox!
Another important aspect of game development is to test and review your work regularly, both individually and as a team. Testing and reviewing your work will help you identify and fix any bugs, errors, or issues that may affect the quality or functionality of your game. You should also seek and provide constructive feedback to your team members, using tools such as peer reviews, playtests, or surveys. Feedback will help you improve your work, learn from your mistakes, and celebrate your achievements.
Finally, game development is not only a challenging but also a rewarding and fun experience. You should enjoy the process and the outcome of your work, as well as the collaboration and camaraderie with your team members. You should also celebrate your success, both big and small, and acknowledge each other's contributions and efforts. Celebrating your success will help you boost your morale, motivation, and satisfaction, and foster a positive and productive team culture.
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Time estimation could be a tricky thing if the team doesn't understand or at least appreciates the other disciplines. It takes time for the team to get used to each other's time frames and estimates. And some sprints they can be extra motivated and achieving while other's may be slower and less productive. So estimates should be flexible and highly adaptable.
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This is a given. But just a reminder. Try to be as encouraging as you can with your team. Critical feedback should start with the things you liked about their work followed by what could be improved on. Try to end meetings on a high note, or at least be positive to motivate not only your team members but also yourself.
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