Expanding Indie Game's Development Team?

[MarathonGuy1337]

So recently I've been working on a game project, I'm sure at some point I'll have a more in-depth thread covering the early development of the game but when speaking to some work colleges and form college friends (ones a programmer and the other did a variety from 3d modeling, sound engineering and 2D texture art).

However the problem is the game is only really just getting into its alpha stage, not to mention I don't really have any money to support a small team of people. The only solutions I have currently is either offering a percentage cut of profits, or perhaps bonus/royalties behind certain sale milestones of course this sounds more like using my friends free labor which I'm not a fan off

The problem being is that they have expressed interested in working on the project.

So I'm kind stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Any advice?

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Tyranicon might have something, but I wasn't clear on what exactly you need from the team that you couldn't get from open source/ free shit on the web?

 

[Vic]

Not enough gifs.

 

[ind33d]

sell action, offer a percentage of the profits to investors

 

[MarathonGuy1337]

Not enough gifs.

Yeah I went pretty light on gifs

Tyranicon might have something, but I wasn't clear on what exactly you need from the team that you couldn't get from open source/ free shit on the web?

Well the game isn't big on "bought assets" as for coding I have already like a 50/50 partner that has been doing the coding for the game

 

[MarathonGuy1337]

sell action, offer a percentage of the profits to investors

That was one idea I have of course the more I split the profits the worse chances are for my future en-devours, aka sequels and such, but then again having more developers probably speeds the production of the game so its a 50/50 coin flip of negatives vs positives

 

[Tyranicon]

The only solutions I have currently is either offering a percentage cut of profits, or perhaps bonus/royalties behind certain sale milestones of course this sounds more like using my friends free labor which I'm not a fan off

Other game devs will shit on the very idea of revenue share as a plan, and I'm generally one of them. But if you're fairly certain you can make it work and if these are friends you already know, then it might be worth a try.

The hardest part of having a team is really managing people, egos, relationships and drama. It can fall apart very easily long before money even comes into it. Make sure you have contracts saying what the share is and who's ultimately in charge. That's very important.

 

[S.torch]

My opinion on the matter is that you should be upfront about it. Tell your friends they're break their backs for what is basically a gamble. If they're really close to you sharing the eventual revenue is a just deal. If the game goes well everyone wins, if the game goes bad everyone loses.

Just be sure you and them want to do this because making games is not easy-peasy.

 

[MarathonGuy1337]

The only solutions I have currently is either offering a percentage cut of profits, or perhaps bonus/royalties behind certain sale milestones of course this sounds more like using my friends free labor which I'm not a fan off

Other game devs will shit on the very idea of revenue share as a plan, and I'm generally one of them. But if you're fairly certain you can make it work and if these are friends you already know, then it might be worth a try.

The hardest part of having a team is really managing people, egos, relationships and drama. It can fall apart very easily long before money even comes into it. Make sure you have contracts saying what the share is and who's ultimately in charge. That's very important.

Yeah that probably a good recommendation.

My opinion on the matter is that you should be upfront about it. Tell your friends they're break their backs for what is basically a gamble. If they're really close to you sharing the eventual revenue is a just deal. If the game goes well everyone wins, if the game goes bad everyone loses.

Just be sure you and them want to do this because making games is not easy-peasy.

Yeah its more of a recent thing when the topic of what i've been developing came up and naturally interests sparked, it could just be a passing fancy which dies down but one or two of them may be more serious

 

[shihonage]

Use placeholder graphics extracted from a commercial product such as Fallout:Tactics or whatever game fits your graphics format.

When you have a real proof of concept playable demo, you will have a lot more leverage in looking for artists to share profits with. You don't need to make the demo public, you just give it to the artists so they can see that you're the real deal.

 

[Krice]

Make everything yourself. Problem solved.

 

[zwanzig_zwoelf]

Expanding is a royal pain in the ass.

Unless people are paid with more than promises of revshare, there's a non-zero chance they'll jump ship when they get a better offer from someone else.

Solidify what you can on your own first, then get others to do the rest.

 

[Tweed]

Rule 1: Get it in writing.

 

[MerchantKing]

Have you considered using Real Estate to fund your projects?

 

[Galdred]

Expanding is a royal pain in the ass.

Unless people are paid with more than promises of revshare, there's a non-zero chance they'll jump ship when they get a better offer from someone else.

Solidify what you can on your own first, then get others to do the rest.

This exactly! The larger the team, the higher the chance you'll get bogged down by someone jumping ship. Just look at Realm Beyond: Ashes of the Fallen. And it was with 2 team members...
Also, just defining the shares when some will necessarily work part time (if at all!) will be a huge headache.
I'd recommend keeping the team size to the bare minimum. 1 coder and 1 everything else guy + an external composer is all you need. You'd better cycle through unpaid interns than try to keep a team motivated through the promise of future profit : Yes, one of my colleague published a game with a team of zero paid coders, only short internships(because they need to be paid over 3 months). I don't really recommend it, but it can be done...