| , Picking a good game teaIntroduction to Game Development | |
| Instructor: Lindsay Grace |
Top 10: Teams
Spilling over from last week, it's a good idea to read the 10 ten game design innovations list from the edge (2007). It might remind you that there are still plenty of places to innovate in your own game designs.
Now, if you can remember picking people for your team in gym class, you might remember a few attributes that established who got picked first. Past performance, may not indicate future successes, but you usually don't beg for the kid who never caught a ball. If you were that person, I apologize - but the same rules apply in your careers. If your peer never does any work, are you likely to ask them to be on your team in class? If their portfolio is a poorly assembled list of almost complete assignments, are you likely to hire them? What most people try to do is align themselves with successes, but putting themselves among successful people.
Here are a couple of people you might want on your team, Top 10 Game Designers from IGN. They are a sort of video game dream team. And, if your dream team was assembled anyplace on earth, it might just be near one of the top 10 video game developers on the planet. Any guess which household name holds number 1?
I've given plugs for the indie game space for weeks, so I won't beat that horse again. However, keep in mind that innovations don't always come from the "establishment" - they often come from places that are lean, quick to adapt, and willing to take risks. That's one important aspect of indie development.
While you are reading and thinking about roles on a video game development team, it might help to view a couple of actual job listings:
And of course, you could view the jobs available on game company sites:
Provided by Lindsay Grace for students of the Illinois Institute of Art, Chicago. These documents may be used by others when properly credited. Please email lgrace at aii edu for more information.