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 [This is a repost from my blog, doolwind.com]
Back in 2006 I wrote an article detailing one of the biggest problems I saw with indie game development. Since then, I’ve seen a rise in another problem that I’ll outline today. This problem stems from the lack of communication within the indie game industry and I look for possible solutions.
The Problem
Indie developers have trouble finding other like-minded indie developers to work with.
I talk with a lot of indie developers and they tend to fall into three main categories: programmers, designers and artist. Each of these groups has a hard time finding quality people from the other two groups. This is a major problem for indie game development as fewer games are being produced and talent is going to waste.
The Cause
The main cause of this problem is a lack of communication between the groups. There is no reliable way for Programmer Pete to find Artist Andy or Designer Dave. Pete was in the games industry for 10 years before “going indie” but he knows few people. He kept to himself and while he is friends with a lot of other programmers he hasn’t kept in contact with many artists or designers. Andy has a lot of trouble finding programmers and designers he can work with. They are always so restrictive in what they let Andy achieve. Dave is full of great ideas but can’t find a good programmer who’s happy to implement his idea.
There are hundreds of Pete’s, Andy’s and Dave’s in the world, but few of them know or have a reliable way of finding each other.
Key Contention Points
In the rare occasions when developers from these individual groups do meet up, often they are incompatible. From my experience, the key points of contention fall into these main categories:
- Compensation – Working for free, profit share, an hour rate or a fixed amount. Where a developer is in their life will often drive their monetary needs. While Dave has 3 years of savings he’s happy to burn through, Pete needs a large paycheque to buy all his programming books and pizza.
- Game Type – Each developer has their favourite game type and many developers don’t like to stray too far from their comfort zone. Andy just wants to work on an FPS but Pete is an RTS fanatic while Dave has an idea for the greatest MMO of all time.
- Game Size – Projects range from days to years to develop. The level of investment needs to match each individual’s situation. While Pete might be happy to spend the next 3 years slowly plugging away at a game, Andy wants it down within the next month so he can get back to working on his comic book.
- Availability – The bills still need to be paid and the time dedicated to a “real job” directly affects how much time each developer can spend on the game. Pete is a contract programmer who has half his week spare to work on the game while Dave works at McDonald’s 50 hours a week to make ends meet.
The Solution
One solution I’ve seen for this problem comes in the form of “help wanted” sections in popular websites such as gamedev.net and indiegamer.net. These sites allow teams to post their project and the skills they are after. Another solution is networking. Taking every opportunity to meet like minded game developers and talking to as many people as possible until like-minded people are found. Whether visiting an IGDA meeting, the GDC or the local game development educational institute.
I’ve often thought that a site dedicated to connecting indie developers would be beneficial. Teams or individual developers could post their projects with exactly what they are looking for. Developers can also post their skills so others can find them. A match making system could connect these two groups and reduce the uncertainty when looking for other developers. Do you think there’s a need for such a site, or does this site already exist and it’s not well known? Would this site be beneficial to your current situation or are you happy with the current solutions?
Conclusion
Is this a problem you face as an indie developer? Of all the indie developers I know, over half of them are facing this problem right now. Have you managed to solve this problem, and if so, how? How are you currently finding other developers to work with and how do you determine if you are compatible?
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My team is also facing similar issues. Our programmer (and ex-team leader) had to take leave of the project due to some personal circumstances. I've since taken over the project with his blessing and have recruited a few new members to the team (sound artist & a few creative writers). But finding an experienced programmer has proven to be quite the task.
"I’ve often thought that a site dedicated to connecting indie developers would be beneficial."
^ That sounds like a *great* idea. What is currently available to indies' very spread out. Having a single place to go would definitely be a time saver. What exactly do you have in mind? A social-network site like LinkedIn? More forums? An aggregator for multiple sites, like Digg or StumbleUpon?
Oh, and thanks for the links to gamdev and indiegamer! I've already posted on other forums and have no shame in spreading the word. Here are a few sites that I've used and have had some responses from:
http://www.kongregate.com/forums/8/
http://www.programmermeetdesigner.com/
http://www.pushbuttonengine.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=11
http://www.flashgamelicense.com/view_forum.php?forum_id=9
And while I'm here, I might as well post this:
My team & I are seeking an experienced AS3 programmer (or two) to join us. We’ve been in development for eight months on a free-to-play, mutli-player, persistent, web-based game on social-networking platforms (Facebook, Kongregate, etc.) with an original “fantasy” theme. We focus on creating authentic & engaging experiences in a synchronous environment, giving the player an in-depth & immersive style of gameplay that is difficult to duplicate.
Due to personal (and unfortunate) circumstances, our original programmer has had to go on hiatus from the project. In the meantime, we are still pushing through with game design (storyline content, graphics, marketing etc.)
If you would like more information (screenshots, game mechanics, etc.) please email me at brianfryer at gmail dot com or send me a message via Skype (username: brian_fryer). Please be sure to include some information about yourself ;-)
http://www.kongregate.com/forums/8-collaborations/topics/74759-designers-seeking
-programmer-s
http://www.flashgamelicense.com/view_thread.php?thread_id=14532
http://pushbuttonengine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=650
http://programmermeetdesigner.com/listing/view/4265
http://www.stevepavlina.com/forums/technology-technical-skills/43344-designer-se
eking-programmer.html#post519806
Thanks for the links.
My idea was a fairly simple site focussed solely on allowing indie devs to find each other. With context specific search requirements (eg allowing you to specify what skills, platform, development size etc) allowing developers to find each other more easily. The closest equivalent site I can think of is http://careers.stackoverflow.com/ but with a "help wanted" feel to it.
The idea is still in its infancy, but I figured it wouldn't be too hard to put together if people think it would be useful.
I used to think it was only hard here in my country, I have spare time but it doesn't ever seem enough. My incoming is quite good but not to the extend of having huge savings to quite a job, rent an office and get there with a couple other developers (that are even harder to find here I think) to get something done.
Also found the problem of project size, it's either too big and hard to finish alone, or too small and boring to finish alone :/
I am lucky enough to have an artistically talented brother who is also interested in game development to partner with. So that is great for us.
One of the issues that I would like to have resolved with finding indie partners is location. It is much harder to keep current on a project and all those involved when they are located around the world.
This is something that I am currently attempting to work through for Oklahoma. I am trying to link people together through services like Linkedin and Facebook. I am considering creating a dedicated website once interest increases.
I for one, would love a place for like minded indies to gather and find each other. I would both support and use such a service.
Although, as an odd side effect of not always having people around I'm finding that I'm learning a lot more than I would otherwise. I mean, if I could ever find a programmer then I wouldn't have ever learned to code.
@Bryan. Thanks for the links.
I would love to find a place to network and find like minded developers who are willing to work hard and take risks, while being upfront about their personal situation in a way that would enable everyone to see eye-to-eye.
I feel like many people also find it hard to understand the multi-disciplinary aspects of game development in the fullest extent. This makes it hard for programmers to gauge how much artistic work is needed, and hard for artists to know how to recruit a good programmer. A good game designer can help marry these two together but game design itself is very subjective and therefore very difficult to recruit accurately.
Ultimately, who ever starts the project will have to take the role of game designer, or they will have to hand that role over to someone they are close to... close like family. If the game designer isn't given full charge to do his job, he likely won't perform to his fullest. There is always the option for the "team" to all be game designers by consensus, but this doesn't always work so well either... and its difficult to keep everyone productive and in-the-loop.
It rather seems like the current model of indie game dev is "jump down the rabbit hole and pray you come out the other side."
I'd like to see a site where projects could be proposed and resources requested for a research charter. Equity for research charter members would be clearly defined
Once a project is posted resources could apply to participate in the research phase. After a predetermined period for the charter members to communicate the scope and terms of the project and do diligent research, a development charter would be created with requirements for additional resources and capital to develop and bring the project to market.
This way scoping the work can be done with low overhead and enough details for a business plan could be assembled, which would help to acquire outside capital and additional resources.
Yes, I guess you're right. My intention was basically to propose tools that would make it easier for us technical and artsy types to manage our own projects, but you're right, project management is the gap Im trying to cover. It seems like commitment is easier to get on well defined goals and tasks, and its easier to stay committed [without a paycheck] when you already have a reasonably clear understanding of the scope of the project. A little project management up front and intentionally defining your collaborative process (weekly 'scrum' style meeting?) might help a nebulous personal or indie project get the focus it needs to get traction.
I never really understood how they expected students to form groups for projects when they're all artists and level designers. Art and levels don't do much without code behind them. At least not anything really interesting.