next »

[insyzygy]

Hi, my name is Nic. I want to build a video game studio from scratch, and I want you to be a part of it. Yes, you.

I want you because I know that you, like me, are tired of starting projects but never finishing them. You’re tired of having great ideas but never feeling like you have the time/skills/resources/whatever to bring them to reality. You’re tired of not being challenged in your everyday life, be it school, your job, whatever.

You’re tired of doing things other than making awesome games.

But before I talk more about that, let me tell you a little bit about myself, since at this point I’m nothing but one of many rambling anons on the internet to you.

I’m a 20 year old male living in Portland, Oregon, USA. I've been programming computers since approximately age 14, but I've never had any formal education in computer science past a year of university. However I can confidently say I am proficient in a number of programming languages, and can pick up new languages, tools, libraries etc with ease and speed. Along with coding, I've been a musician for my entire life and consider myself a competent writer and a mediocre artist. I have excellent researching skills and can become well versed in a topic in a very short amount of time. I’m a master of no trade, but adept in the art of learning.

Like hopefully everyone else here, video games are my passion. Where other mediums excel at evoking emotion, or telling a good story, video games are unique in that they have the potential to communicate entire experiences. They are also unique in that they require a metric fuckton of work. I have worked on a few large-scale projects with groups over the internet, but pretty much all of them have failed. You could blame bad luck, poor management, marketing, whatever. I take my share of the responsibility for every failure, separate what went right from what went wrong and apply it to whatever my next project is. The people I meet and the skills I learn make it worthwhile.

 I seem to be alone in thinking that we are currently living in a golden age of gaming. The indie scene is an unbridled fountain of innovation and creativity, and AAA titles continue to raise the bar in technical excellence and beauty. Games like Bioshock Infinite, though it’s not without its faults, show that big-name developers and publishers aren’t afraid to push the envelope and bring difficult topics into discussion through our medium. The retail success of games like Dark Souls show that consumers will reward those developers who pour their hearts and souls into a games design and mechanics and stay true to a singular, unwavering vision. And new technologies like the Oculus Rift hint at an exciting future. Maybe I’m crazy, but to me it feels like a really good time to give this video game development thing another go. For real this time. I have no budget and no assets. We will have to commit with unrelenting fervor and work like dogs with nothing but our skills as artists, engineers and entrepreneurs to aid us. I am confident that this will be enough. But it’s dangerous to go alone. I have great ideas and I probably even have the skills to execute some of them, but I want other like-minded sympaticos to work with. I want to work with people who aren’t afraid to call out bullshit and have a knack for finding solutions to impossible problems.

If any of what I’ve said resonates with you, please email me at [email protected]. I would love to share some ideas with you.

Please don't send me your resume. This isn't a job application. Just write a paragraph explaining your skills and what you bring to the table, and why you want to join me. If I find just one like-minded person, writing this stupidly long autobiography will be worth it.

[Ant]

1. what gams have you made?
2. what gams do you want to make?
3. wrong forum

[moi]

I want you because I know that you, like me, are tired of starting projects but never finishing them. You’re tired of having great ideas but never feeling like you have the time/skills/resources/whatever to bring them to reality. You’re tired of not being challenged in your everyday life, be it school, your job, whatever.

You’re tired of doing things other than making awesome games.

I don't see how this couldn't work.

[uselessffs]

1. what gams have you made?
2. what gams do you want to make?
3. wrong forum

+1,
although i'm not so sure about the "wrong forum" part, seeing as being tired of not finishing projects and doing boring sh** instead of making games describes the business of making indie games quite well.

[insyzygy]

I'm the type of person that gets excited from the prospect of attempting something "from scratch". No salary, absolutely no guarantee of success, just hard work. If this idea doesn't excite you, if you're the type of person that needs to see a salary before you get involved with something, that's fine, I respect that. But obviously this post isn't for you. Probably the more experienced among you are closing the tab right now. That's fine, I value intelligence and work ethic over experience anyway(Should go without saying, but this doesn't mean that I think experienced people can't be intelligent or that they don't have good work ethics or something ridiculous like that).

Oh, and to answer the "what games do you want to make" question, good ideas are cheap. I have enough of them. Chances are so do you. What I'm interested in is people willing to do what it takes to turn good ideas into reality.

[Udderdude]

Shouldn't this be in Unpaid Work? 

[insyzygy]

I wasn't sure where to put it since it's not a traditional "job" type thing. If this isn't the correct place, then mods feel free to move the topic.

[FamousAspect]

I want to work with people who aren’t afraid to call out bullshit and have a knack for finding solutions to impossible problems.

+1 for what caiys said. The no bullshit answer is that you are unlikely to get anyone with follow through to join your crusade until you have proven that you can ship games. Your post shows a lot of passion and I in no way want to squash that. But, you have to finish some games, put them in front of players, see how they react, adapt to their feedback and improve the quality of the game you have made.

If you can prove the ability to do all that on your own, you will have acquired the skill to follow through on your impassioned post, and will have gained the experience that will convince others to join you.

[Konidias]

I've honestly never heard of this sort of scenario working out. If anyone can think of a team that formed "from scratch" and went on to be successful, please post.

I think you're trying to run before you can walk. In that situation, you will fall directly on your face. You need to start small and join an existing team, or make a simple game on your own. I know it isn't what you want to hear, but it's the truth.

Either that, or throw a bunch of money at people and you can make whatever game you can afford to make. But trying to get a bunch of randoms together to work for free on a yet to be decided game is just not going to work. As far as I know, it never has and it more than likely never will.

[Udderdude]

I'm the type of person that gets excited from the prospect of attempting something "from scratch". No salary, absolutely no guarantee of success, just hard work.

While it's somewhat romanticized to drop everything you're doing and follow your dreams, to work your ass off and make what you want, if all you are is excited from the prospect of attempting it, you aren't going to get far.  You need to be able to handle all the bullshit that's going to pop up, amongst over things.  If you've never even finished a single game before attempting your masterpiece or whatever, chances are you can't handle it.

[Impmaster]

I agree with the others that you have to ship a game before you make this ultra-passionate-hard working team or whatever. Just get an idea, program a bit, get an artist to help... If you start from scratch, you may be with people who you don't work well with.

Also, who would go work with a guy with cock in his email address?

[Xienen]

Also, who would go work with a guy with cock in his email address?

That looks to be his last name, though I could be wrong...

[Zaphos]

Oh, and to answer the "what games do you want to make" question, good ideas are cheap. I have enough of them. Chances are so do you. What I'm interested in is people willing to do what it takes to turn good ideas into reality.

... but people joining your team would presumably want to know that their "good ideas" have some overlap with your "good ideas."

Anyway, I recommend Derek Yu's post on making a game -- especially point 6: http://makegames.tumblr.com/post/1136623767/finishing-a-game

[uselessffs]

I want to build a video game studio from scratch

An entire studio worthy of this title is a bit too much for a start. I suggest a more modest choice of words, or else people will react like they do in these answers.

I am proficient in a number of programming languages

Which ones?

and can pick up new languages, tools, libraries etc with ease and speed.

Only examples of past experience would allow someone reading you to believe you on that.

I've been a musician for my entire life and consider myself a competent writer and a mediocre artist.

Composers are what people on here need the most. Are you one?

I have excellent researching skills and can become well versed in a topic in a very short amount of time. I’m a master of no trade, but adept in the art of learning.

See quote number 3 above.

I have worked on a few large-scale projects with groups over the internet, but pretty much all of them have failed.

Describe the projects. What were your tasks? Code portfolio?

AAA titles... Games like Bioshock Infinite... Dark Souls... the Oculus Rift

That's where you start to sound really over ambitious. You don't want to produce that kind of title and harness that kind of hardware from the get go now do you? See the other answers, some people think you do.

I have great ideas and I probably even have the skills to execute some of them, but I want other like-minded sympaticos to work with.

Well, make the games first, and then you'll have people wanting to join you to make them! (wait a minute...)

Just write a paragraph explaining your skills and what you bring to the table

No you first!

[SterlingDee]

Harsh crowd 

[Impmaster]

Just like the game dev world. 

[Mister Dave]

It can and has worked. It's very rare though. It starts with good leadership. By the time you ship you may have gone through a number of team members. Not everyone is cut out for this or shares your vision. No one will work harder or be more enthusiastic than the team leader. Keep that in mind.

It also starts with a high level of professionalism, which includes demonstrating some business sense. That's something not heavily demonstrated here (you may have noticed). Before you start enlisting partners get your contracts worked out. No one makes an intelligent decision on joining your team without clear contract terms. I'd be weary of enlisting anyone not insisting on seeing a contract first.

While you don't necessarily need to have prior shipped titles, it helps. You should have some way to clearly demonstrate what you as the team leader have to offer your prosepctive team mates. For all they know, you're a code hack. Prove otherwise in advance.

If the negative posts here dissuade you at all, then rethink it. Else, just do what you do. And yes, this is probably the wrong forum.

[Konidias]

It can and has worked. It's very rare though.

Examples? Not saying you're wrong, but these sorts of statements really need to be backed up with evidence. Otherwise people take from this as "OMG I CAN DO IT! IT HAS WORKED BEFORE!" when there are actually no examples of it ever working.

[Udderdude]

Most of them crash precisely because it's a bunch of greens trying to work together on something big, when they really need to start smaller .. like Ludum Dare game small.

I wouldn't doubt it has succeeded at least once, but who knows if the finished result was any good?

[RudyTheDev]

It can and has worked. It's very rare though.

Examples? Not saying you're wrong, but these sorts of statements really need to be backed up with evidence. Otherwise people take from this as "OMG I CAN DO IT! IT HAS WORKED BEFORE!" when there are actually no examples of it ever working.

It's not easy coming up with examples. Can you give examples of studios that didn't work out? Because I'm sure there is even less evidence for that, as they have minimal online presence if any at all. Going by hard facts alone, you would grossly underestimate the number of failed ones.

I've honestly never heard of this sort of scenario working out. If anyone can think of a team that formed "from scratch" and went on to be successful, please post.

As for an example, thatgamecompany is a good one - two start-up students from Uni on to make Sony-published games.