To All The Pseudo-Companies

i think you guys are missing the point

what RookieDev is pointing is not against the creation of a company/team/studio.

i think what he is trying to say is this: the same passion we have building our project, we could put some of this care in the business/non-programming side

and i agree, taking the leap from a hobby to a job is really important and should be something you have to think about carefully; and is really complicated when you have a "team" and need to be more organized about the paper work (think about it, you want to spend months on a project and in the end you have nothing since you are not registered as one of the creators?)

this is a little off but the 6th topic is very accurate:

Derek Yu - Finishing a Game

<img src="http://www.derekyu.com/tumblr/finishgame01.jpg" border="0">

Very Well Said and thats exactly what i ment.I have nothing bad to say about people who create anything for the first time.Just be knowledgable about what your getting yourself into,Dont be so quick to jump in the pool full of sharks.We all gotta start at the bottom and most of the time success is all about making the right decision.This is a great topic and IMHO i felt like it will get people thinking.

Great Feedback Guys!

I still don�t see what�s wrong with making a "company", even it�s crappy!

Your first game, I�m pretty sure was extremely bad as well. If you would transfer your example to that you would probably say.

"Don�t make that game, it looks so unserious..."

"Why do you do those small example/learning-games? They are not worth to be published... etc."

Am I right?

Beaverlicious

you are totally right, and don't get me wrong i'm totally pro the vibe "make thing happen no matter how" and "learning by your mistakes" but, if you are alone/solo-dev you know well your limitations, you know well what will work for you and what parts you need to improve, the only one you have to talk is yourself, you can ask others for opinions but the last word is yours.

the thing gets tricky when teams are formed:

-what a team mate means to you?

-your goals are the same as your team mates?

-all your team REALLY like this project idea to stick with it for months with no cash involved?

-did they have the same philosophy as you with game design?

-and what if you don't want to work with then anymore but want to keep working in the project yourself alone?

-and if some of your team mates don't want to work with YOU anymore, but want to keep working in the project alone?

game jams are a brilliant way to test this company side of things; and getting your feet wet is not a bad thing, just have a little consideration before the jump

Haha I guess most of us have gone through being part of a game group and it not ending well.

After reading all that RookieDev wrote, I think I understand what he really means and I have to agree with him. It is not about setting up a company, branding, or boasting to make yourself feel good. It is about misleading people.

Many times these ambitious game developers will use titles like "rapidly expanding International company" (just because they have 1 member from another continent), "game company that has produced plenty of game titles"(most in the development stages and then replaced by the next big idea, never finished a game). "Run by an ambitious professional with over 15 years experience in the field".....(I've been playing games for more than 15 years <img src="smileys/smiley17.gif" border="0" align="middle" />)

As everyone mentioned, there is nothing wrong with setting up your own company and group, but almost always it is the recruits and members that are fooled. I think many of us at one point has fallen for something like this, and it is an annoying and demotivating experience.

But that being said, perhaps out of 20 startups, maybe 1 might succeed, and that would still be a great thing to the gaming community. Haha I guess in the end, we just need to be careful in trusting what others say, and who we choose to work together with.

That is why I started my company with my wife. She is the financial genius, and I am the developer. Our tasks are different but our goal is the same, make our company successful by creating good games and being good members of the community.

Well, we're a group of 1 man and a half (part time), embarking on our dreams to be a game developer.

We've started from nowhere, not even with any programming knowledge OR artistic talent (and still no artistic talent! <img src="smileys/smiley36.gif" border="0" align="middle" />), but its been a long learning process. So we're under no illusions of grandeur, and haven't even come up with a Company name, logo or such yet. Just operating under my name for the moment, if and when success comes, we can figure the rest later. Thats our approach. But we're all different.