What makes a good game-designer-team-leader hybrid?

Casey Hardman · 2011-02-15T16:09:30

What do you think would help a game designer on GameDev.net earn the respect of his team members as the team leader? For example, tips on making a good Help Wanted post for your long-thought-up project that has become a part of your heart, and what to do if you get the members you need from your Help Wanted topic? Also, sharing your experiences would be helpful. Edit: I've edited in some of the helpful replies below.Game Leaders:A game leader shouldn't: Suggestions below provided by user "Wai", slightly edited by me .Be ego centric (can't admit his/her faults) .Fail to consider suggestions (Be close minded) .Be unable to see the strengths in others .Have an immoral or unethical view and try to justify it .Be selfish .Be impatient .Be demanding .Be manipulative .Be incompetent and try to hide it (i.e. asking everyone to come up with ideas without generating any him/herself) .Be unwilling to learn .Take others' creditA game leader should:Some suggestions below provided by user "JBAdams", slightly edited by me, and some by me .Know how many people his/her project needs and know where to station them .Respect the ideas of his/her team members, especially those who are more talented than him/her in the field they're discussing .Be easy and comfortable to talk to .Make sure everything is organized (the team website, if any, and the GDD) before even beginning to recruit a team .Have a well-rounded game idea with no obvious flaws or imbalances in the gameplayGame Designers:A game designer should:Following suggestions provided by user "JBAdams", with changed wording and slight editing by me .Have understanding of mathematics. A couple areas of interest would be probability and trigonometry. Sometimes, a basic knowledge of physics will also come in handy. You should be able to define formulae for things such as weapon damage, chances to hit, etc. and perform basic balancing prior to the additional tweaking that follows actual play-testing. .Have basic knowledge of psychology. In other words, knowing how players will react to parts of the game and being able to design gameplay to evoke specific moods. Generally, games should be fun, and though inconveniences and consequences aren't totally wrong, extremely frustrating and unfair consequences will reduce the appeal of the game. .Have studied the flaws of existing games, and be able to avoid them; read the "Bad Game Designer, No Twinkie!!!" series from the Designer's Notebook column. .Have a working knowledge of business; you should be able to estimate development timetables and costs, and should have an idea of how your designs can be monetized.<BR itxtNodeId="1244">.Have an idea of what is technically feasible, and should be able to clearly and efficiently communicate with those who have greater technical skill in situations where they require guidance. Good communication skills are essential for a designer, as you must be able to get your ideas across to your team.<BR itxtNodeId="1240">

Game Design and Theory Game Design

Started by CaseyHardman February 11, 2011 03:10 AM

19 comments, last by way2lazy2care 13 years, 2 months ago

way2lazy2care

793

February 15, 2011 04:09 PM

I watched a presentation on this on the GDCvault yesterday.

http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1012343/The-Belly-of-the-Whale

There's a lot of places in it where he touches on it.

What makes a good game-designer-team-leader hybrid?

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What makes a good game-designer-team-leader hybrid?

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