Trying to start a games company

Curly Campbell

I'm trying to get a new games company started but I really need some programmers to come on board who know what they're doing. I'm working on a design for a strategy game at the moment and would like to set up a development team to get it made. If anyone here thinks they would be able to help out please reply or else PM me.

satchmo

Well first of all, how much money are you willing to pay? If this is one of these 'well I've no money now, but you'll get a share of the profits from the game we haven't made yet', then don't expect to get too many proper replies. Posts like this have come up around here before, and it's generally someone who has 5 pages of a half-assed design document (if that), little to no programming experience, but the idea stuck in their head that "I have a great idea, and I want to make a game!".

Unfortunately, pretty much anyone you care to ask has a "great idea for a game". Putting in the long arduous hours to make the game a reality is quite a different thing, and requires more than a little investment (time and €€€) if you want to do it properly.

Now no offense, but it strikes me from your post that you haven't really thought this out all that much. If you expect a few people to give up alot of their time for your idea, you'd better have a pretty damned detailed design for your game. Especially if you're not going to be doing any of the programming. And especially if you expect them to do it for free. Starting to catch my drift?

On the other hand, I could have you completely wrong, and you could already have a well though out and complete design document, with a good idea how to fund your company and the full intention of following through to the end of the development - not just until it gets difficult. If this is the case, please expand on your above comments, and good luck to you.

Otherwise...

Curly Campbell

Hehe, you're pretty much correct in your suspicions. I've written way more than 5 pages of my design doc but it's nowhere near finished yet and the business plan is a bit sketchy. But if I get these things sorted out do you think there is a chance that people would come on board? I really do appreciate the advice.

satchmo

Well as long as you're deadly serious about the whole thing then of course there's a chance. After reading my first post again I may have been a bit pessimistic - I didn't mean to burst your bubble!

You haven't cleared up yet whether you're going to pay people or not. If you don't plan to, it's best to be as honest and up front as possible. You can't get people involved first only for them to find out later that there's no money, cause they'll leave. But if you do plan to pay them, your only concern is where that money's going to come from

I reckon your best bet is to get a bunch of school/college mates (what age are you?) and put a small game together. Even if it's Asteroids or Arkanoid, you'll get a very good idea of how it is to work in a group, from a common design, meeting deadlines (which you'll have to set yourself - setting realistic deadlines and sticking to them is a lot harder than it sounds) etc. If it all falls apart, then all it's been is a learning experience and no-ones the worse off. And if you do manage to get it together, then it's time to kick it up a notch. BAM!

Hobbes

If you don't plan to pay and you don't plan to make money then you could set it up as a sourceforge project and then advertise for programmers there.