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[AlexVsCoding]

Indie vs Twindie - Why working on a game with another person is awesome

For the last year, I have worked as a sole trader building games for a living. This summer I had the opportunity to work with a traditional artist to build a video game called CHIGUN. Here is a reflective comparison between working alone and together.



My first involvement in designing a game was at University.

Whilst it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience designing characters and artwork for the game, relying on others meant that the project didn't get done. This was consistent each year until I had enough and decided to just develop my own games instead. I produced all the artwork and programming for each project and the result was I actually started getting games pumped out, instead of "some nice artwork and a couple of dodgy prototypes" for a years work. As of September last year, I started up my own business and continued development on projects as a sole trader, doing all roles myself with the exception of outsourcing the music for my games.


Here are some of the benefits that came from doing this:

1. 100% of the profits - working alone means if you build everything, you get everything.
2. Full creative freedom - Whatever crazy idea for a project popped into my head e.g. Sword swallowing sword fight, I could develop without being shot down by others.
3. Doing everything yourself means you don't have to rely on others and you know the work will get done.
4. You have to do many more jobs, so you learn a plethora of skills.
5. You don't have anyone to support so as long as you can sustain yourself, you can take all the time you need with your projects.
6. You don't have to pay any staff!
7. Completing a project all by yourself is a massive achievement.


Despite the benefits of building my own products, there came a variety of drawbacks and counter arguments for the above:

1. All on you: whilst learning new skills is great, there is a lot to do in games development. There is a often a feeling of being overwhelmed with the variety and urgency of things to do.
2. Working alone: being the only one working on a project means you miss out on a large quantity of the best part- sharing the experience of building a game with someone else.
3. Doing everything yourself means that you can't rely on others to lighten the workload.
4. Although there is just you to sustain, the lack of workforce means that projects take longer to develop, offsetting the living costs of having another person. Although Narcissus so far has been well received, the project has taken 3 years to finish.
5. Having full creative freedom meant I would work on other projects that popped into my head instead of maintaining the discipline to focus on current ones.
6. It's a lot harder to justify to people that the work you are doing is genuine if it's just you (Just a unsociable nerd in his room).
One thing that came to mind whilst writing this list was the reasons for working alone are mostly down to selfishness and greed. I really had to think hard to try and think of positive reasons to work on projects alone, but there really isn't many. There was a wonderful TED talk I watched recently about how investing in others provided a greater satisfaction than the option of a selfish investment. I wonder if the same applies for games development...

This summer, I went to the states again and was reunited with an old friend, Tyler Giordano. During a night out to catch up on what either of us had been up to in the last year, the subject of video games came up. We'd worked on projects together before in the past (A 60ft festival poster made up from sheets of standard office paper) and after several more drinks we agreed it'd be a smart idea to build a video game together (essentially dooming the pair of us to a cold windowless room for the rest of the summer). CHIGUN was the idea that we went with; a short but sweet 5 stage battle arena game in which you are a chicken who pecks up bullets and launches them from the pistol that you hold in your genetically modified comb hand.

Having been through the process of working with Tyler on the project, coming up with reasons to collaborate with another individual was easy to do:


Arguing is good

Whilst working with another may deny you total creative control, having to discuss and argue your vision with another individual means you actually have to fight and justify each idea you have. This sounds like a disadvantage, but it means only the best ideas make it into the final product and it improves your negotiation skills. Tyler and I arguing over features was a day to day routine, but the blend of Tyler's unchained creative mind and my technically realistic mind got just the right balance of insane stuff (that I probably would have thought impossible in the software) and sane technical stuff (that still allowed the game to run smoothly).


Your Teamate Sure Looks Thin...

Working with another person drives you forward since you're aware that the other person has to eat. In the situation that me and Tyler were working together we had catering included, but if CHIGUN flopped it would be much harder to justify building another game (since for us to continue building video games, we want to move Tyler to the UK so we can work in the same office space).


Sharing Awesome Stuff

To accompany the financial drives, there's also the enthusiasm of the other individual. We would set each other objectives and then re-convene to see what we had created - usually mutually blowing each others minds with the likes of painted dancing chickens and programmed hologram effects. It'd be a treat to create cool stuff just to see the reaction of the other person - you'd see a little motivation bar above their head fill back up to the top and you'd spend the rest of the evening hammering on with work with big stupid grins on your faces.


The Old "Shift Guilt Trip Trick"

Additionally, working in an office environment, if you're working alone you can leave whenever you want, but if you're in a team, nobody wants to be that guy that leaves early so you tend to work for longer hours together e.g. 6pm till 2am every night. Whilst this means your hours go up, so much gets done!


Sharing of Knowledge, Skills and Culture

Working with another person gives you entirely new skills and interests.
a. Before the project, Tyler had never worked in the games industry before and had very little knowledge of modern video games. From working on CHIGUN, he gained a greater understanding for technical constraints of building video games. Normally he works in traditional painting and sculpture, so he had to learn how the audience in the games industry consume and interact with media compared to in the art world e.g. Optimization of artwork isn't an issue in the art world, but is essential in the games industry. Also with his understanding of cinematography, having to learn how the dynamic structure of video games differed from the linear structure of film. Working on CHIGUN also got the chance to show him other games with other artistic styles that appealed to him.
b. Before working on CHIGUN, I had focused my games (like many game developers) towards using pixel art. Originally Narcissus featured hand painted visuals, but when redesigning artwork hindered the level design iteration process, I moved away from traditional methods and used simple placeholder artwork. When me and Tyler started working together, the prospect of moving back to highly stylized artwork was daunting, but by doing so breathed new life into the games development process. I also learnt about traditional painting, composition and colour theory from Tyler along with finding out about lots of amazing artists/musicians. Constructing all of the assets for CHIGUN out of bits and bobs from around the place and working in a bunch of different mediums introduced new challenges for me to tackle. Without making the decision to work with Tyler, I wouldn't have taken that step out of the comfort zone and the game would likely not be a 10th as visually insane as what you see today.


The Outcome of Collaboration

The result of the above meant CHIGUN was built in two and a half months, compared to Narcissus plodding on in development for 3 years. It blew my mind how quickly the project came together, especially since we were able to document the development process simultaneously



In short, if you team up with another person, you get 50% of the pie, but it's a much tastier pie. Even though you have to give up a decent share of the game profits for working with another person, the difference that makes to the quality of the game offsets the money you would lose. Not to mention that the reason you give up that money is so you can keep working with that person on projects! Along with financial value, the shared experience of building a video game together holds enough value in itself for enriching a friendship.

When Tyler is finished with his masters, we plan to continue building games together and with the blend of our very different minds should continue to operate as a far more functional team than I alone.

Thank you for reading the article! I hope that many of you working together can appreciate some of the comments made in it and as for those working alone, you'll consider collaborating.

[baconman]

 

The hardest part is finding that someone to create along with. I know I work better in pair-ups, because I'm headbutting reality trying to solo something from scratch.

[locknic]

Hey man, just wanted to say I love your little illustrations and advice. I saw your other two on being a designer and the daily dev promo. They're super cool.

[AlexVsCoding]

Hey man, just wanted to say I love your little illustrations and advice. I saw your other two on being a designer and the daily dev promo. They're super cool.

Cheers mate! I appreciate the feedback! I'm looking to put more of my illustrations in my video games. Recently did this little fella at a game jam I ran in the local area:

[EpicVesselGames]

Great article and well done. The images to support each topic was a great touch and made it that much more interesting.

Thanks for sharing and good luck to you guys!

[Siilk]

Well, yea, working with someone else is probably great and all that, no arguments there. But the main problem here is, finding someone to work with is actually bloody hard. Especially so if you're just starting and have little or no experience. The only option here is hiring but it's not exactly the same and obviously not for everyone.

[Sik]

Finding someone to work with is not that hard actually, finding someone you can't trust to not leave mid-proect (or, more usually, early on) is the real issue. In some cases the one with the idea of the project will be the one leaving.

The problem with hiring is money, but if you can afford it then you're going to have things much easier.

[Siilk]

Finding someone to work with is not that hard actually

I strongly disagree. Can't find anyone to work with unless you have a decent portfolio. Can't get make a decent portfolio unless you cooperate with someone or already quite good as it is. So obviously, that's not something novice indie devs can do.

The problem with hiring is money, but if you can afford it then you're going to have things much easier.

I can hardly imagine an aspiring indie having enough money to hire someone full-time(or even part-time for that matter).

[Pteriforever]

I really don't agree with anything in here at all.

You've downplayed the sacrifices of working in a team, but really, they mean a lot -- the whole appeal of being indie is that I can do exactly what I want on my own terms, and that's shattered by the introduction of a second person. In addition, you need to waste time on planning, formatting, documentation, and so on.

So yeah. I work alone entirely out of choice.

[Netsu]

If you have a friend you can dev with, then it is truly amazing, especially if you share the same vision. But if all you do is outsource work or, even worse, share the game with someone who has a different vision, then I don't think it's really that beneficial.

[knifeySpoonie]

This entire subject is completely subjective to your own situation...

For myself.. working on my own is massively counter productive.. Without another person and a shared goal (or a client/paid project etc), my motivation drifts like a leaf in the wind.. changing direction and focus at a whim.. When I'm in a team I'm focused like an arrow...

Also I can't code for shit... I have no desire to learn a skill I will be "below average at best" at whilst I already have skills I'm good at going under used and that I can improve further. I'm an artist(well used) and a designer(under used).. I can't make a game without a Coder. I have lofty goals and ambitions also, that drvie me to making the games I want to, rather than what I can achieve with a limited tool set. And I'm lucky enough to have plenty of good coders who will work with me in my network.

But then I'm coming from a strong position, I have 8 years and 5 AAA games on my CV plus a lot of DLC, 4 of them as a lead artist.. I've always delivered at work and am generally a nice guy to be around and work with. This expereince has let me get involved with a lot of really top notch people whether it's seeing their projects earlier than others or giving feedback etc. But it's been useful. And it also means I can spot the signs of a good dedicated team member and know their strengths and skills. and whaere there might be issues in the future etc.. A newbie or a kid isn't going to have the same knowledge base or understanding of making games, or network to attract the best coders to a game.

Another thing I always put in favour of small teams over individual, is the "sounding board effect" being able to ping ideas around an office is worth it's weight in gold..

Anyways.. At the end of the week It's my last day at The Creative Assembly, and then I will be announcing my own Indie stuff, and somthing else that will be a bit bigger :D but fits with my rehetoric that working in teams is great.. but being a solo dev with god freinds is also a valid path If you got the skills.

 

[EpicVesselGames]

I really don't agree with anything in here at all.

You've downplayed the sacrifices of working in a team, but really, they mean a lot -- the whole appeal of being indie is that I can do exactly what I want on my own terms, and that's shattered by the introduction of a second person. In addition, you need to waste time on planning, formatting, documentation, and so on.

So yeah. I work alone entirely out of choice.

If you can solve every issue and complete every aspect of a project yourself, then more power to you. However, I find that I waste a lot of time trying to do remedial art stuff (like simple edits or small icons) that a real artist could do very quickly. This is usually a big setback for me and one reason why I constantly try to find a dedicated artist.

Like other comments made in this thread, I have found it very difficult to find someone who is interested in a solid partnership unless there is some preexisting relationship, like a friend or a relative. We all have lives and different expectations. And sometimes, like I posted recently about our game The 9th Wizard, it doesn't work out well (although I should mention that we did have 3 successful projects prior to 9W).

Aside from filling in holes and bouncing ideas, I think knifeySpoonie (well, read Tom's latest blog post) really touched on the most important aspect of motivation and focus. The very reason I'm writing this reply is because, after a long day of work, I'm having trouble focusing! If I knew that I was skyping with a team or another person, I'd be a little more in gear.

[AlexVsCoding]

I really don't agree with anything in here at all.

You've downplayed the sacrifices of working in a team, but really, they mean a lot -- the whole appeal of being indie is that I can do exactly what I want on my own terms, and that's shattered by the introduction of a second person. In addition, you need to waste time on planning, formatting, documentation, and so on.

So yeah. I work alone entirely out of choice.

For 3 years I was exactly the same - every collaboration up till working with Tyler was either soured or unfruitful (or both) and I didn't see any reason to consider working with others as an option. I cover a lot of the issues with working in a team (and how to address them) in another article I recently wrote. Whilst I enjoy artistic and design control (and wouldn't have had it any other way for Narcissus) not having another team member on board has meant the project has taken a lot longer than it should have. Narcissus could've/should've been shipped in March but distractions from other projects have meant it's only being wrapped up now.

Planning, formatting and documentation were pretty limited between me and Tyler - most stuff we did was either visual or verbal. We worked on a night by night basis - start the night at 6pm, draw out the basic objectives then at the end of the night set the daytime objectives (stuff to be getting on with till we started work at 6pm again). Other than that, there wasn't much else to it. The most we did to paperwork was doing the social updates and posts on the development log.

I would strongly suggest (if you haven't already) to get involved in game jams working with other individuals - this gives you opportunity to mix with people who are as determined and who you work well with.

With working alone there's also the risk of getting too lost in your own ways (sticking to what you know). I've just started collaborating with a programmer on a new project and from which I'm introducing myself to Unity (with the support of the team mate for advice as we develop the game).

Having gone back to primarily working alone again, I can tell you I much prefer the collaborative alternative.

Hope you'll consider it!

[boz_float]

Extremely happy you wrote this.

From my point of view, collaboration done right can be the key to amazing creations because it allows for specialization. I'm thinking of John Lennon and Paul McCartney (lyricism and musicianship) or the two Johns, Carmack and Romero (cutting-edge programming and game/level design). I've even specifically joined this forum to scout out potential collaborators and build relationships.

In college I majored in Communication Design with a focus in Art Direction. In my advertising courses they often forced us to work in groups of people they knew we were unlikely to get along with. They specifically aimed to teach us to collaborate. They said the number one comment they received from employers who hired graduates of our design program was how well we jumped into group collaboration. They said often the instinct of a new hires fresh out of college was to prove his or herself and avoid help and outside ideas.

Since college then I've worked several years as an art director and interactive designer and four years ago started my own small freelance interactive design business. The whole time I've worked in countless teams of developers and designers. Not once have I felt an idea was entirely my own and always encourage teammates to throw down on the drawing board.

A little over two years ago I decided to cut my freelance work in half and take on the goal of learning development so I could create games. Once I reached a certain level of proficiency, I began hosting a 48hr game jam event every few months where I asked friends of varying talents to throw down on one game together. The results (and process) have always been extremely rewarding.

However, when it comes to larger projects, any seemingly motivated friends can't seem to find the time and energy to devote to a larger project, no matter how I frame it or set it up for them. I end up getting 50 - 75% into the development and then lose heart when the other members of the team have made little to no effort to advance and move on to new opportunity.

Like AlexVsCoding, I've resigned myself to doing it all on my own. Resigned to creating on a game in which I will draw on my design background and complete the art myself just so I know the game can be completed without waiting on laggard teammates. And in doing this, my primary hope is the result will yield more collaboration opportunities.

But I can't shake the feeling that while developing my skills as a programmer (something I will likely be in the midst of for unforeseen years to come), doing the art myself is a waste of my time. I can't shake the feeling that working in the right team of specialists will produce better results faster. Doing the art myself means being forced to use my designerly style, which isn't apt for many of the games I want to make. Furthermore, developing a new style means dragging the timeline out more months (which means splitting more and more days between development and freelance design gigs).

And because of this, despite any previous disappointments, I will still take on projects with potential artists and other teammates until I find the right ones of similar skill levels and motivations to work with because I believe it is for the best. But until then, as anyone starting out and looking for collaborators, I will trudge forward, mired in the swamp of lackluster relationships and failed hopes, staring wearily at the horizon daydreaming of a brighter future.

---

Two other related topics:
1. Wealth and Social Wealth
2. Wearing many hats

1. Wealth and Social Wealth: In the beginning on the indie endeavor, you are low on two types of wealth that can be leveraged to make your collaborations begin. Wealth and Social Wealth. Wealth can be spent to buy collaborators. They stay on your project because they're running after that dangling monetary carrot. Social Wealth you build over time through your continued prototypes, successful/failed games, and experiments - could also be considered your portfolio. If you build up enough of these examples to show and tell, a successful collaborator is that much easier to find. In the very beginning your collaborators of similar skill levels could very well be anyone, they don't have to even prove that they can take a project from start to finish. And that's exactly the gamble you take when you collaborate.

2. Wearing many hats: A topic I know well from starting my own business 4 years ago. When you're on your own, all tasks are your own to complete. For example: In my business I am the Account Executive, Designer, Art Director, User Experience Designer, New Business person, Production Department, IT guy, Project Manager, Accountant, Illustrator, New Technology Research,  Copywriter,  Intern, and Janitor for every project (while finding a partner for development). You can begin to subdivide all the necessary skills required to complete the task into multiple people for (ideally) enhanced performance. In beginning game development we often start by subdividing two diametrically opposed tasks quite naturally into Art and Code. We greatly respect the person who can pull off both  ( ) but I think we overlook the amount of time it took for them to reach that point and that unique situations that allow for it. I find that while necessary to have a firm understanding of each task, a team can pull off amazing dynamics when each is a specialist in their own category or role. But when you first start, I guess you just have to wear all of those hats. Then start splitting up the hats as you build wealth and social wealth.

Anyway, here's hoping the dating world of video game collaboration one day yields us partners that leave us so smitten we'll want put a metaphorical ring on her/his finger. To collaboration 

[oahda]

Finding someone to work with is not that hard actually

I strongly disagree. Can't find anyone to work with unless you have a decent portfolio. Can't get make a decent portfolio unless you cooperate with someone or already quite good as it is. So obviously, that's not something novice indie devs can do.

pls sometimes you just have friends who are good at what they do, or learn how to apply their skills to game making as they excitedly let you introduce them to some dev

And IMO finding someone from your pool of friends, with whom you've already established a good chemistry, is often so much better than going about it in a more professional kind of way and recruiting strangers based on their portfolio. Chemistry is so very important.

[Netsu]

Chemistry is so very important.

Yes. I can't imagine working with someone I don't even know in person as partners.