Pipeline and group advice

Community Community & Industry Discussion
1

Hello, I’m a soon to be graduating Game Student

In my course we got a few chances to work in group to spend a year in module making games.
And while we got something made it was a very messy experience.
Having a proper pipeline seemed impossible given the irregularity of some work, and the lack of balance in jobs required of different teams in the group.
The group was enthusiastic at the start and that’s where we got the most done.
Design didn’t have proper communication or even a specific team other than the lead.
Some people who were designated purely concept art barely had any artistic talent, and one of them seriously (for a different idea at the time) drew top-down concept art of guns in MSPaint.
We didn’t even have a player model until near the end.

Overall I was proud of what we’d accomplish barring those errors

What is your advice for working in groups or even finding groups?
Got a methodology? We used the scrum and a bullpen. Worked well for comradery and openness.
Do you think working with friends is best, or do you think working professionally is easier with strangers?
Any advice really.

Here’s a screenshot of what the game looked like by the end by the way, and what was our “beta” trailer from a ways before we finished.
I’m not really advertising or anything since it’s never going to be released, commercially or otherwise.

://i.imgur/BHdPPII.png
[video][/video]

2

It’s very difficult to get a group to work together for free, otherwise they have little to encourage them to work and there’s no threat if they don’t do the work.
The only way it usually works is if you can get together a group of experienced developers who know what they’re getting into and they’re passionate about the project.

3

You just made my day, thank-you.

Also let me just pitch in here, I agree completely with Darkviper, if your team-mates are passionate about what they are doing, they will likely not leave the team early, it also helps if they like whatever sort of game you are working on.

4

-when you want to find a group, you always have to make sure that you already have something to show
-it’s a plus when you live in the same time zone
-make sure that everybody posts regular updates -> this will motivate the team
-stay in regular contact -> meetings
-try to find the right people -> they have to fit into the team (skills are not the most important points when you build a team)
-set clear goals :slight_smile: