Chapter 2.3: Strategies for Staffing a Startup


Overview

Grant Stanton

<grant@TSCsearch.com>

Perhaps in no other industry short of motion pictures is there such a direct correlation between the success of the product and the staff involved. There is a vital creative element involved in games development that sets it apart from other software products, and being successful in this young and volatile industry requires brilliant and fanatically dedicated staff. The most promising game concept or license can fail as a product in the hands of a lackluster studio.

As recently as the early 1990s, the industry was witness to successful startups born at home by a few young entrepreneurial spirits that created games like Castle Wolfenstein and Myst. In recent years, rocketing development costs and the size of the teams required to create a sophisticated competitive product have created a substantial barrier to entry for this form of venture. Most often, today's startup falls into one of two broad categories.

The most common genesis of a developer is when a few key employees depart from an established studio to form their own company. In this case, they typically capitalize on their contribution to a successful title to secure funding and contracts. The most common error made by the first type is that they don't take the management responsibilities seriously enough. They just created a hit game, how hard could managing a studio be?

The other less common origin for a studio is when a company well established in a similar field—like motion pictures or software application development—decides to expand into games development. The latter type usually puts too much faith in the management techniques that have served them well in other industries.

In staffing a new venture, your candidate pool (available applicants to choose from) will consist chiefly of two groups: active candidates, people who are unemployed or actively looking for a new job, and passive candidates, candidates who aren't actively looking to change jobs but are still interested in opportunities to advance or improve their careers.

In this article we discuss strategies for sourcing, screening, interviewing, and hiring both types, as well as how to avoid some of the common staffing pitfalls that young studios face.




Secrets of the Game Business
Secrets of the Game Business (Game Development Series)
ISBN: 1584502827
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 275

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