Discussion Recruiting and Volunteering for teams

[Nota]

One thing I think there many different opinions on are recruitment and volunteering for fan game projects, although I think the takes on those are also used on original projects as well.

• When making your game, is there a right time to start recruiting?
• Do you think it's better to look for every role that could help or prioritize the crucial ones?
• In cases where you receive positive responses but they don't meet a standard of yours, what would you do next?
• And what about if the opposite happens? If there are no responses, would you cancel the project, try and do it yourself or leave those parts as they are?

• When looking for a project to join, what do you look at first? Plot? Features? Screenshots?
• Do you volunteer for long-term or short-term? Or until you don't feel like it?
• Are there more factors than the project itself that could make you want to join it? For example, them being someone you already know.
• Do you take into account the progress of the game before deciding whether to volunteer or not?

 

[Aki]

Disclaimer: it's been a long time since I've volunteered or worked with a team

When making your game, is there a right time to start recruiting?

The "right time" is nebulous but I think there is a definite wrong time to recruit. If you're the game designer/project lead, you've gotta know about the engine you're working with before you start recruiting people and directing them. If you don't know what you're talking about it literally creates a language barrier between you and the team. It's really frustrating when a leader says they want x, and when I return after making x they ask why it isn't y, and then after talking it out I realize the game needs z. You gotta know basic terminology and how different parts interact.

Do you think it's better to look for every role that could help or prioritize the crucial ones?

Prioritize. It's not fun to join a team and then have nothing to do, and it's not great for team morale when there's a number of randos hanging around who aren't contributing.

In cases where you receive positive responses but they don't meet a standard of yours, what would you do next?

I haven't been in this position but I'm leaning towards "beggars can't be choosers". Especially if it's any kind of graphical asset, those are super easy to replace later with updated/improved versions. I've allways seen teammates as a welcomed bonus, not a need. Why design a game that I myself can't make...? I do enjoy actually working on games, not just concepting them.

For all the volunteering questions, I'll simply reccommend you join a project that you think will be fun for you to work on. Like, the literal work you'll be doing, or the environment of the team you're working with; don't hinge your fulfillment on getting something you made into a game, because it's rare for most fan games to get that far. And game development takes a long time! You're probably signing on for months-years if you're gonna work a full game into existence.