Hello, Ducklings! Have you missed me? Madame Evil has returned to provide another studio update! This update will specifically be about the ending of our first major milestone. Before I go further, I feel the need to provide some knowledge for those who are reading this who are probably not familiar with the studio's inner workings or lingo. 1.) It's important to remember that every duck on the Evil Quacks team is currently working full-time jobs in addition to their work for our studio. Our studio is still getting off the ground and can't afford to fully support our team on its own. Everyone on the team was made aware of this prior to joining the team. However, because everyone is also working full-time jobs, it's important that our timeline and schedule reflect that. The last thing I want to do is cause unnecessary stress or burnout on my team for a project that may or may not be successful in the end. 2.) When I mark Alpha on our internal team schedule, it is not the "Alpha" the general gaming community expects. Most games released for "Alpha Testing" to the public have long passed the internal "Alpha" phase. For our team Alpha 1 consisted of ironing out the core systems, design, finalizing UI mockups, and having the first narrative draft reviewed.
Now that I have explained that, let's continue...
All of our Milestones are six-month blocks and the team is estimated to contribute 5-10 hours a week of work to the project. This was the first six-month block in the revival/redesign of Project S.A.M. For these 6 months we wanted to accomplish the following:
Core Chat System
Core Gameplay Response System
Adjustments/Improvements on Existing System Structures
UI Screen Flow Finalized
UI Mockups Completed
First User Feedback - UI Survey
Narrative Structure Rework
Narrative Beat List
Narrative First Draft - Reviewed
Here's our metrics, provided by our HacknPlan board, for how we did!
What do these metrics tell me?
As the studio owner, I am tasked with also considering the business side of the project. How much did we invest in Project S.A.M during this phase? Here's the current cost break down:
Labor: $4,330 - $10,825
This is considering a $20/hr - $50/hr pay range for the ducks.
Unity Asset Licenses: $198
Writing Contract: $100 - $500
$0.10 per word - word count requires an update
Studio Upkeep: $250
Website hosting, domain purchases, business tax, virtual address...etc
This means the current cost to produce this game is $11,773 on the high end. These metrics are useful for when the studio starts taking on external contracts. It gives me an idea of how much we can do for what price when competing for a contract or when we're approached.
"That's great but I don't really care about the numbers, Madame."
Well, that is A-OK random duck number 27! Are you more interested in what we've learned as a team when it comes to game development?
I knew that taking Project S.A.M which had largely been abandoned for a year or two and reviving it would have an extra dose of chaos in the mix. This was an entirely new team. They haven't worked together in the past and the studio doesn't have a pipeline flushed out that would support this project. I was also bringing on external contractors to help in areas that aren't my expertise.
What have I learned?
1.) Flush out core systems and designs for the game first and foremost.
Since we were completely overhauling Project S.A.M a lot was changing all at once. This caused confusion among the team and frustration as tasks were added or adjusted mid milestone. I should have done more to mitigate how much was changing at the same time to prevent this. Ironing out the Game Design Document ( GDD ) prior to bringing on additional team members or external members would have helped.
I don't mean the entire GDD needed to be completed, since the GDD is a living document, however, the theming and core gameplay loop should have been ironed out and locked in prior to bringing on additional team members.
2.) You can't include everything | Scope | UX Payoff
Later on, in the milestone, I began asking team members, "Is this feature worth it?" Would the amount of time, effort, and stress to complete this feature or task be worth the payoff in the end? For clarification, I don't mean monetary payoff, I more often talk about it from a user experience perspective. Is the response from the player we're going to invoke by doing this worth the cost to produce it? I talked to my team a lot about this. I encouraged them to give me their honest answers. I think it really helped me pinpoint what can be cut entirely and what can be purchased as an asset from the Unity Asset Store. I hope in the future to continue to discuss matters like this with my team. I appreciate their honesty and feedback on the matter and believe it's a key piece of communication.
3.) You can't do everything yourself
So often I find myself falling into this trap. It's easy for someone from an outsider's perspective to look at a problem where the solution has just been repeatedly missed and say "I'll just handle it myself." or "It's just easier if I do it." but that's not the case. It's important to trust in your team, take a step back, and talk out the problem with your team members. More often than not the solution my team members provided was better than my own and they had their own valuable insight to provide as well after it was talked out. In addition to it being required for a healthy team dynamic, it's also important for your own mental health. You can't do everything. There is not enough time, energy, and sanity to do it. If you do take on everything yourself and somehow manage to complete it, you undoubtedly sacrificed quality in some areas to reach that point. In the end, the result is a weaker project and a damaged trust in the team.
Overall...
I'm incredibly proud of the team for what they've accomplished during this milestone. We met our goals, we learned some valuable lessons, and came out with a stronger team in the end for it. If I had to pick the most important thing to take away from this milestone it would be a healthy team dynamic.
Make sure your team members are ok. Make sure you give your team members space to talk. Make sure they know that their feedback and opinions are valuable. Make sure they know that you don't know everything. Communication & Encouragement
With that, I must return to the abyss of the internet, Ducklings! I'm sure I'll be back for another update in the future. If you want more consistent updates consider following us on Twitter @EvilQuacks or catch our community ducks live on Twitch on Tuesdays & Thursdays at 8 pm EST. An episode that talks about what I've learned in more detail will be recorded and released sometime in the future as well! Be sure to check out our podcast on Google, Pandora, Spotify, Itunes, TuneIn, and more recently, YouTube!
Comments