Home Updates History Blogs Portfolio FAQ Contact Terms Of Use
 
2008  2009  2010  2011  2012  2013  2014  2015  2016  2017
2018  2019  2020  2021  2022  2023  2024  2025  2026  2027
2028  2029  2030  2031  2032  2033  2034  2035  2036  2037
 
 
 

Transforming the Games Industry into a Well-Oiled Machine: Building Your Own Game Development Studio – Part 3

 

Go To Part 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6

 

This is part 3 of 6 in my response to the Gamasutra.com opinion piece entitled “Making the Game Industry an Attractive Place to Work,” written by Electronic Arts' current head of European talent acquisition, Matthew Jeffery. Click HERE to read the original article.

 

December 10, 2008

By Eric M. Scharf

 

How Do You Approach Creating Your Forward-Thinking, Employee-Attracting Game Development Business Plan?



I have sold you on honoring the bigger picture of game development (reasonably keeping the needs of your project, studio, and employees on equal footing at all times), and you wish to create a strong business plan in order to maximize your future potential? The first, best step you can take involves (A) keeping a glass of ice cold water nearby and (B) using the following ideal, logical, prioritized pathway towards the common sense establishment of your business plan (applicable to almost any product):

01) Create a forward-thinking, long-term business plan. Generate this plan in the presence of an experienced business management consultant, if not yourself, as well as IP-specialized legal council, with serious consideration towards an A-to-Z list of game development givens and the source of those line items.

A) The studio founders / core development personnel have been assembled. Everyone involved has been thoroughly vetted and is completely on board with the product concept and design that will be presented to one of several possible funding sources. A highly-recommended Human Resources Manager should be targeted and hired . . . at the very moment of funding procurement. Your entire studio will rely regularly and heavily on such a multi-faceted resource for a wide range of operational infrastructure support.

B) A Completed game concept and game design document have been reasonably determined. These documents will include detailed concept-quality descriptions (type-written and visual) of each major and minor product component required by the game design document.

Such component descriptions may – at minimum – include color schemes (local, state, national, international, interstellar), earthen materials, shelter materials, clothing materials, characters (NPCs, enemies, and pawns), environments (air, land, subterranean, water, space), vehicles, visual effects, GUI, scripting systems, gameplay mechanics, animation systems, lighting systems, AI systems, rendering systems, networking systems, multi-player / online systems, and chat / LAN Lobby systems.

NOTE: The presentation you will be making to your potential funding source should and will be the very same presentation you make to any of the console manufacturers who have created the hardware platforms (such Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360, and Sony Playstation 3) upon which you and your team may wish to develop primary or secondary skus of your product.

NOTE: If-and-when your project proposal is accepted by any of the console manufacturers, you will also be obligated to purchase costly dev kits in order to legally develop product for those consoles. Being "certified" to develop software products on certain hardware platforms is a useless parade banner without the dev kits to do so. Some game development teams establish enough budget for every team member to have their own dev kit, while other teams take the cluster approach . . . with one dev kit shared among every two to four people (typically within each discipline).

The manufacturers – in most cases – will send you new hardware each time firmware and other components have been upgraded on their end. This obligates you to (keep the original shipment packaging and) return the older hardware or risk potentially being charged for lost property.

NOTE: Delivering a “high concept” to a potential funding source for review without being immediately prepared to share “the rest of the story” behind that concept . . . is a recipe for failure. Delivering the most complete game concept and game design document possible – along with supportive market research numbers – leaves your potential financier with as little room as possible for painfully unnecessary questions.

C) Well-researched target audiences / market demographics have been reasonably determined. While it is acceptable and understandable that you would enlist an established industry marketing veteran to assist, it is paramount that you do not just sit back (like a crash test dummy) and let the market data accumulate before you without your direct participation. When you stand up in front of your potential financier, you need to know and understand – at the very minimum – your target audience and associated market places (locally, nationally, and internationally).

NOTE: While relying on an established third party to assist you in collecting legitimate marketing analysis data will not be free-of-charge, there are other free-to-the-public resources for marketing analyses – both online and in print. These free-to-the-public samples, of course, may not be fine-tuned to your specific needs which – again – encourages you to be interested and remain involved in this process . . . rather than simply letting the "marketing person handle it."

D) Engine technology and middleware requirements have been reasonably determined. You will have chosen to pursue either an in-house-and-proprietary technology or a combination of external-commercial-and-licensed technologies . . . along with a detailed technical spec and reasonably well-researched technical development schedule for either option.

NOTE: You can only truly determine which commercial products you need by having already spent significant time studying and experimenting with “evaluation” versions of said products. If the conditions are optimal, you may have also compared these evaluations to the capabilities of your own custom code base effort. This evaluation period – either way – needs to occur before you enter pre-production. You are also making hiring decisions based upon these foundational technology choices, as your goal should be to hire employees who are specifically experienced with these thoroughly vetted tools.

E) Resource requirements for a fully-staffed development team have been reasonably determined. Your core team members (Executives and Managers) have been established. Your leads, assistant leads, and production staff members, for each of the primary product development disciplines (art, design, programming, audio, and QA) need to be established.

NOTE: You should strongly consider hiring a full-time IT specialist before you bring the rest of your team aboard, as you will want the IT specialist to prep and establish all office hardware and connectivity, with a solid infrastructure plan in mind, rather than leaving it to your new employees. You want your team(s) to be able to reasonably hit the ground running, so no unnecessary hardware surprises or improperly-installed software.

NOTE: Depending upon your team size and number of teams – as well as your available budget –  you may also want to establish your IT specialist as your IT Manager and hire an additional IT understudy. This may prove to be a wise investment for guarding against emergencies during unforeseen absences of one or the other.

NOTE: Industry competitors – as well as the unique requirements of potential employees – dictate that you may not (ever) achieve the “perfect” development scenario (with an ideally self-motivated team, cutting edge tool set, and the World Bank at your beck and call). This is why you must always be prepared with a PLAN B of alternative choices (specialized and multi-faceted resources), thus, the phrase “reasonably determined.”

NOTE: You will – ideally – want to establish a CCG (Core Code Group), responsible for all tasks involving studio-wide game engine functionality and custom tools sets (available to all disciplines). Your core code base may start from a commercial product, but the moment you crack open the SDK (Software Development Kit) and implement serious changes – if you dare – you will want your CCG at the epicenter of that activity. If you have multiple, smaller teams supporting multiple product skus, each of your projects will have a “local” programming team that modularly builds its project-specific code on top of the core game engine. Whether or not you are using commercial technology to drive your project, you must establish a “keeper of the keys” for that technology, and a core programming group – of which your Technical Director and / or lead programmer is a component – is the best avenue.

F) Establish a contract with your funding source (whether angel, VC, or publisher). This agreement should be laced-in-triplicate with (1) encouraging incentives and (2) protective legal clauses for both parties . . . as the alternative leaves one or both parties with bitterness, bruised egos, and potential bankruptcy (typically for the game development team).

NOTE: An additional and rare component to such an agreement would be a (3) buyout clause, where – for "proven and reasonable cause (PARC)" – one party can buy out the other party . . . at any stage of the project (but typically in pre-production). This buyout clause would also include an arbitration element whereby any buyout dispute – over PARC – among the two parties would be handled outside of the local / state / Federal court system.

G) Establish a contract with a chosen commercial engine technology partner. This license agreement should also be laced-in-triplicate with (1) encouraging incentives (to continue using the technology for future projects) and protective legal clauses for both parties . . . so that up-front costs and / or potential royalty payments – and the specific triggers for such payments – are accurately defined.

H) Establish contracts with middleware partners regardless of in-house or licensed engine usage. Middleware usage is absolutely vital when your development team has neither the time nor the expertise nor the available resources to create code linkages between specific core engine components that require extra special attention. In the event that your development team does have the expertise to bypass middleware, the necessary time to achieve the desired results still may not be available. You must still move forward with your best-available middleware option(s). Plan "M" can help save you from a full-production nightmare . . . that you should always attempt to solve as part of your pre-production, proof of concept (POC) phase.

I) Establish a contract with your QA source ensuring a robust QA plan begins as early in production as possible, thus, providing a better understanding of how and where certain bugs originated.

J) Establish a contract with your online community server management source if your product is going to require the 24-7 moderation, maintenance, and management of a server farm supporting one or more customer / player communities.

K) Establish a contract with your marketing source, as the larger publisher-developers – one of which may be your funding source – tend to maintain their own robust marketing teams . . . upon whom you would rely for the various commercial advertising methods of your product. This does not mean you should – once again – avoid performing your due diligence on a potential alternative independent marketing entity . . . in the event that your funding source offers no such internal and reputable service.

L) Establish a contract with your manufacturing source if – like many (but not all) others in the industry – you still prefer your product be available on store shelves in hard-copy format. Your largest would-be publishers also have long-established manufacturing capabilities – either on-site or via trusted 3rd party arrangements. You may – alternatively – wish to pursue self-publishing through an online sales venue. You may still need to come to an agreement – in this case – with an e-commerce provider that can establish and automate some or all elements associated with an Internet sales presence.

M) Establish a contract with your distribution source if – again, like most others in the industry – you prefer your product be available on store shelves in hard-copy format. It is worth noting that – as with product marketing – most of your largest would-be publishers also have well-established distribution networks. While it is comforting to know that you could be on the receiving end of built-in marketing, manufacturing, and distribution services with your would-be publisher – you should still to be prepared to not be so fortunate . . . and be ready with an alternative solution.

N) Establish contracts with your traditional retailers such as Wal-Mart, GameStop, Target, and Best Buy. You will find – of course – that your dealings with big box retailers will go much smoother if you have a familiar publishing face on your side when attempting to reach a store shelf agreement. If you are self-publishing online, such retail relationships will, of course, be of little consequence to you. This is unless you wish to sell your wares through the high visibility, e-commerce-driven web sites also wielded by big box retail. You may find it hard – once again – to gain traction without the heavy hand of a familiar publisher.

O) Establish a contract for an office space lease. You need to be diligent in negotiating any landlord-provided build-out allowances. If your office space is brand new, it is possible-but-not-probable that it will have already been properly set up for a network. Depending upon how badly you want a particular office space location – "LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION" – you need to be prepared to negotiate that cost, share that cost, or absolve a typically unwilling landlord of that cost, and absorb it yourself. You may also require relocation of interior walls to allow for a work environment more conducive to the needs of your development team. You will also need to negotiate monthly or annual power usage allowances / credits with your landlord – who may directly manage the property electric bill . . . and who may potentially charge you for expensive overages.

NOTE: If you are establishing a studio comprised of outsource resources, where everyone is working remotely from each other, then, a formal office space is unnecessary. You – alternatively – may deem it important to have a modest-but-professional-looking office location from which you can demonstrate your ideas, products, and development capabilities during potential meetings with prized investors and publishers alike. Every one of your resources – in this case – must be committed to meeting a pre-determined telecommunications requirement, involving (1) available-and-reasonable Internet access-and-speed, (2) instant messenger service, (3) video conferencing, (4) local-and-remote-access FTP sites, and (5) a reliable set of core hours (that are carefully overlapped by one or two hours . . . with respect to the unique time zones of each team member).

P) Establish an office space insurance policy covering every item within the office space that may qualify for replacement coverage . . . including travel equipment, such as laptops and other mobile devices used for product demonstrations at off-site meetings.

Q) Establish office utility accounts for electricity, water, sewage, telephone, Internet, and security (again – if not under the direct assignment and control of a landlord). Some larger utility companies offer electricity, water, and sewage as a package of services, while others do not. And, again – regarding Internet service – if your studio involves a tangible team size, then, you are going to need the proper network installed. A capable network may already exist in your facility – typically involving a previous tenant – but you will want it triple-verified as sufficient for your current staff . . . and any potential growth. When a development team hits a certain size (rather quickly), the quality and expandability of your network cannot be underestimated.

R) Establish an office cleaning service / waste disposal agreement. If you want to bypass a cleaning service and rely upon your teammates, you had better be sure of their ability to keep your office “corporate clean,” . . . as the alternative will only prove to scare away the most determined of interested investors. My experience – managing multiple teams of varying sizes and levels of personal hygiene – compels you to willingly budget for a cleaning service.

S) Establish an office equipment lease for any equipment you know will be upgraded on a yearly basis – or will be kept for no longer than a year at a time . . . such as computer systems, printers, servers, flat screen monitors, high-definition TVs, and a variety of peripherals.

T) Establish an office furniture lease contract or purchase agreement, allowing for the procurement of desks, chairs, conference tables, couches, lamps, wipe boards, cubicles, shelving units, and lobby lounge furniture. Certain customizable items – such as carpeting / flooring and custom lighting arrays – can sometimes be negotiated into the "build out" component of your office lease agreement. More often than not, however, customizable items are your full responsibility – from selection to installment to careful removal . . . upon reaching the end of your lease term.

U) Establish multiple leased or purchased software site licenses for the entire studio, where each development discipline and the supporting management staff reasonably receive all of the necessary commercial software tools they require.

NOTE: You must also be prepared to have – as an ideal part of your everyday staff – a small-but-capable development tools team to bridge any usability gaps that often exist between software packages that must regularly be used in combination. Many (but not all) development teams traditionally attempt to get by with a single tools programmer but – with untimely funding shortages being common place – one is better than none.

V) Establish a contract for group health coverage and life insurance plans, including such options as HMO, PPO, dental, vision, pre-tax medical spending . . . as well as standard free coverage for employees and offering at least 50-75% coverage, paid for by you – for standard employee dependants (spouses and children).

NOTE: When negotiating with a health coverage provider, do not allow the concept of an attractively low premiums – and high deductibles – to completely cloud your judgment on a proper health plan. You and "Team Night Owl" may – currently – be at the very pinnacle of youth and health. All it takes is one instance of "INSERT UNTIMELY ILLNESS HERE" or an unexpected emergency room visit . . . for those high deductibles to suddenly look like cruel and unusual punishment. Healthcare – particularly the good kind – has never been cheap. While you do not want to scare yourself into getting a good health plan, you do not want to fool yourself into getting a bad one, either.

W) Establish a contract for comprehensive financial services involving payroll, retirement plans, expense management, time-and-attendance, tax-and-compliance management, and benefit administration. Depending upon the current status of your studio (established, reconfigured, or start-up), you may be willing-and-able to offer at least 3% matching towards employee participation in a company retirement plan.

NOTE: You may also wish to establish who among you and your executive teammates should have access to company bank accounts . . . as well as who should have expense accounts (or access to a group expense account). Expense accounts – of course – come in handy when business partners or interested investors wish to pay a visit to your office.

NOTE: You will also want to ideally establish someone – external to your team – as the point-of-contact for all initial-and-forthcoming financial inquiries (who is completely unrelated to your funding source or publishing partner). You may wish to add an Office Manager – depending upon the perceived office infrastructure workload – to partner with your Human Resources Manager. Acknowledging and solving “small” issues like these – before establishing a company and taking on a project – will help prevent your maiden voyage from becoming too perilous too soon.

X) Hire the best-available development resources, with great respect to your project requirements and available budget. You allow each of your new partners / team members / employees – depending upon their level of responsibility / assigned tasks – to thoroughly study the product concept, design document, and associated schedules you originally presented to your funding source. You will also give your new employees a now-or-never opportunity – with your blessing and oversight – to fine tune any deficiencies that may exist within your various production schedules before production begins.

Y) Project pre-production period begins, including refinement and lock-down of all product elements established by the game concept and design document – where the refinement and lock-down processes also confirm and identify areas for enhancement . . . within the presumed production schedules for each development discipline.

NOTE: It is incredibly important to understand, know, and remember that pre-production is ideally only available for establishing individual finished-quality examples of every type of asset promised within the various project specifications (for art, design, programming, audio, and even QA). These examples, production techniques, naming conventions, and delivery procedures will be the formal basis for generating all other assets until project completion. If you find your team researching major creative and technical software packages during pre-production, then, you have already jeopardized your achievable level of success.

Z) Project full-production period begins, during which there is iteratively-staged QA all the way through Gold Mastering – all wrapped in a cozy blanket of market-research-supported “reasonable expectations” for product development quality and sales profit. You may be banking on “futures,” but reasonable expectations are far more flexible . . . allowing for “better than expected” rather than "a lot worse.” While your finished product can be somewhat enhanced or endangered by the artificial sweeteners of advertising, the true success of your product comes down to (viral) consumer opinion and not much else.

02) Encourages confident-and-in-depth sub-schedule planning (per day, per week, per month, or per milestone) by project managers.

03) Encourages a confident-and-focused development staff.

04) Encourages proper-and-productive working hours.

05) Encourages the creation of a quality product.

06) Encourages a smart, forward-thinking market strategy and ad campaign.

07) Encourages great sales for the product and high profits for the company.

08) Encourages the timely payout of all remaining external vendor costs.

09) Encourages reasonable financial rewards for the employees.

10) Everything is coming together nicely. Everyone on your team – from top to bottom – is of the same mindset with the same goals from start to finish. Your funding source has a strong track record of reliability. Your target consumer base agrees with your multi-pronged marketing scheme and thinks your product is a winner.

Now – take that glass of ice cold water you were supposed to get at the beginning of this list, splash it on your face, and WAKE UP!

Even the best-laid, most-exhaustive plans can get derailed . . . and the single element that can halt this pathway – outside of a lack of (enough) funds and unpredictable external forces – is the depth of employee belief, which encourages employee interest, which drives employee effort.

It is amazing what can happen to any development team that is operating with a sound and logical plan . . . when even one person decides that shortcuts should be routine rather than rare.

While the pathway I have outlined does not involve reinvention of the wheel, it does reinforce the need to respect each spoke of that wheel . . . and maintain a reasonable amount of tread on the tire that protects the rim from ruin. Run-flat tires are a luxury, rather than the norm. A reasonably good, forward-thinking development team will opt for a smooth suspension . . . and leave the bumpy ride to mountain bikers and rally car drivers.

If – after reading through this step-by-step process – you think running your own game development studio is simply about the act of making games and nothing more, then studio and project management is NOT for you. Your objectivity (when facing healthy debate among team members) and your decision-making ability (when facing a well-reasoned choice) will either help or harm your entire operation.

The Games industry is still an industry. This is why so many starry-eyed studio starters immediately or eventually hire a real business person (ideally from an entertainment products background) to handle all the "grown-up stuff," while the kiddies handle all the "fun stuff." After all – if your true goal is to have your own game development studio in title only – someone has to be responsible for actually creating and maintaining your studio as "an attractive place to work."

Go To Part 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6