8 replies to this topic

[SystemShock]

Good day everyone.

 

I've finally secured enough funds and I'm starting a game company at the moment. I don't plan anything over the top. For starters I'm planning to hire 3-4 people and see where it all goes.

But I have a few issues I'm still not comfortable with considering that I have no experience running it all myself before. So, I would like to hear what you have to say.

• How can you make sure you found a right person on the role of TL/PM? And also is the gamedev.net an appropriate place to search for such a person, or should I better use big job sites? What a good interview question lists out there?
• What salary do you think I should offer to a TL/PM? (yes, i have seen a survey)
• Should I aim for a multinational team or try the opposite and find people of more or less the same background (usa/canada/australia/etc.)? That considering that the developers have to relocate to another country where I live myself and registered a company. (why not hire people locally? the problem's that there are no qualified people around...)
• Any other tips for your experience?

This post may sound a little bit like bs... but I honestly want to hear your opinion because that is what I'm doing and I want to be sure that I made the right decisions because it might be the only chance in my life when all that is possible.

 

What I want the company to develop? For starters I plan to make a small arcade type game and release it on steam and desura to iron out small details in the team and gain some experience. By my estimations it would take 3 months when the team is in place. After that go for a bigger projects.

Edited by SystemShock, 20 January 2013 - 02:42 AM.

[Poigahn]

Your TL/PM does not need to be a highly qualified programmer.  This person should be someone with excellent communication and organizational skills.  They should be a person with integrety, one who can delicate authority and accept that responsibillity.  Physical location is questionable on all your positions.  With Internet access, utilities like Skype, an office meeting is only a computer away.

  Starting salaries are always negotiable,  Keep in mind you are a startup and immenant failure is all but certain.  Plus the fact that you first game most likely will not be a success, (all part of the learning curve)

  Multi national team would broaden internation perspective, thus increasing your chance of success.  Again with the internet, we are closer than we think.  If shaking a person's hand is important, then keep your people close.  However, if you are a germaphobic ?

 

Good Luck

[frob]

One game is not a business plan. You need a real business plan.

For your first several games (you need more than one) you need to have done your market research to know your audience. What will differentiate you from your competition? How will you stand out from all the other games out there? How and when do you intend to become profitable? How will you mitigate risk?

Once you have a business plan you will be able to easily answer most of those questions you asked.

As for hiring a management person, the safest way to do is to hire somebody who has already done it elsewhere. This is also the most expensive way to do it. Either pick up a lead who has been laid off, or headhunt for one. If instead you are willing to take a risk, go hire someone who has experience but not as a lead. They will have experience in the industry but not have leadership experience. Alternatively you can get someone with leadership experience but not industry experience. For a technical position you would prefer industry experience, for a people-person you would prefer leadership experience.

As for pay, that is always negotiable.

[SystemShock]

Thank you guys for your reply. I really appreciate it.

 

 

Your TL/PM does not need to be a highly qualified programmer.  This person should be someone with excellent communication and organizational skills.  They should be a person with integrety, one who can delicate authority and accept that responsibillity.  Physical location is questionable on all your positions.  With Internet access, utilities like Skype, an office meeting is only a computer away.

 

Well, how I see it:

Myself - overal company management, game design, marketing.

Teamlead - as a main programmer and development process management (only code).

Programmer - works with a teamlead.

Artist/modeller - creates graphics for the game obviously.

We all be sitting in the office.

And a composer/sound designer on a contract base to create sound and music for a game (not a permanent position).

That's for starters.

 

 

One game is not a business plan. You need a real business plan.

 

Well, i do have a business plan for 3, 6 and 9 months upfront. And best/worst case scanerio for each.

By my estimations developing first game would be around 100.000$, that's for 6 month plan. Somewhat less/more for other cases.

Also why should I plan for several games now? I would completely change anyway, based on how the first game sells and how everything turns out to be.

But yeah, I do have plans for future, but I can't make it concrete untill I see the results from the first one.

 

 

For your first several games (you need more than one) you need to have done your market research to know your audience. What will differentiate you from your competition? How will you stand out from all the other games out there? How and when do you intend to become profitable? How will you mitigate risk?

 

Hm, why should I start several games at the same time? It would cost more and there is no guarantee that it would make it any better. Plus when there's only one project I think it would be easier to concentrate on a particular goal.

 

 

As for hiring a management person, the safest way to do is to hire somebody who has already done it elsewhere. This is also the most expensive way to do it. Either pick up a lead who has been laid off, or headhunt for one. If instead you are willing to take a risk, go hire someone who has experience but not as a lead. They will have experience in the industry but not have leadership experience. Alternatively you can get someone with leadership experience but not industry experience. For a technical position you would prefer industry experience, for a people-person you would prefer leadership experience.

As for pay, that is always negotiable.

 

For this particular position (TL/PM) I think it would be better to hire someone with good experience so, I can be sure that he would know what he is doing. So far I put that in business plan as a 7500$/mo for this position. I think that would be a fair salary. Plus I will provide housing for everyone, it's not very expensive here.

 

I really hope I will be able to manage to do all that

Otherwise it would be a good experience but a big monetary loss...

Edited by SystemShock, 20 January 2013 - 01:04 PM.

[Greg Quinn]

Where is your business going to be based?

[SystemShock]

Since my investors are from vietnam (and I live here too at the moment) for starters I have to make company here. But the company is registered in Singapure. When investors see that everything works the way they wanted (i.e. we don't just take their money and waste them) the company will be moved to another more "appropriate" country (most likely australia since I have some connections there already)

 

I made some attempts in the past doing the same thing (starting a company) since I also happen to be living there at the moment but back then I only could offer a tiny salaries and my word for applicants which obviously didn't cut it But now with the investors I do everything more or less the way it should be done. Well, I do everything I can, but obviously I don't have a whole lot of experience except for my own projects but I have all intentions to give it my all.

Edited by SystemShock, 22 January 2013 - 05:14 AM.

[Greg Quinn]

My company is South African based but I'm moving to New Zealand around March and looking for investors to setup my company there.

 

My company has worked on 5 published smallish game titles for various client, and we're about to release our first in-house full-blown PC title, perhaps you can chat nicely to your investors and we can get something going together in Auckland
My company has a very well thought out game-development roadmap with some exciting upcoming titles. 

How did you find the investors by the way?
 

[SystemShock]

That's really interesting. How can I contact you? Can you maybe send me your skype in PM?

[Greg Quinn]

Have sent you a PM