1 of 6

The Designer Usually Works with a Team

The Art of Game Design A Book of Lenses

Liang Du

2 of 6

The Secret of Successful Teamwork

The secret to successful teamwork is love.

Love the game you are making

Team members incapable of loving any game.
Team members in love with a different game than the one they are making.
Team members in love with different visions of the same game.

A level designer who only loves first-person shooters, forced to work on a role-playing game; an

engineer who only loves games with cutting-edge graphics, forced to work on a

simple Web-based game. The team has to find a way to love the game they are making. Maybe they have to change their original perspective.

In this situation, a team is full of people passionate about building a game, but everyone

has very different ideas about what the game will be like. The key to avoiding

this problem is to get everyone on the same page about what the design is as

soon as possible. There will be arguments, and disagreements, but if everyone

hears them out, and respectfully considers the ideas that others present, the team

can work toward that all important thing

So what do you guys think? In the beginning, did your team have conflicts like what I just said?

3 of 6

The Secret of Successful Teamwork

Love the audience

To search long and hard, for something in the game that you love.
If you cannot find one thing to love, don't think of it as a game for you - think of it as what it really is, a game for the intended audience.
Even if this does not work for you, pretend.

4 of 6

Designing Together

If everyone on the team loves the project.

Have more ideas to choose from
Weed out flawed ideas quickly
Be forced to view the game from many perspectives
Make everyone on the team feel like they own the design

5 of 6

Designing Together

How a design should work

Initial Brainstorming
Independent Design
Design Discussion
Design Presentation

It takes both time and energy to involve the whole team in the design, but you will find that it makes the game stronger in the long run, provided team is able to communicate.

6 of 6

Team Communication

Nine Key Issues:

Objectivity
Clarity
Persistence (Write things down)
Comfort
Respect
Trust
Honesty
Privacy
Unity

Objectivity: We're passionate about our ideas, but your team doesn't like your idea, what do you do? Stay objective. Personal likes and dislikes is not important. The important part is if the idea solves your problem. Don't say "my" idea. Say "the cave idea." Or the "memory idea." This gives the idea to the team and makes the idea clearer.

Clarity: When you explain something, check to see if people understand what you mean. Don't ever pretend you understand what they mean, even if you're shy. Say "I will turn in 3 pieces of concept art by 5 o'clock on Thursday" instead of "I will give you art on Thursday."

Persistence: Write Things Down! On notebooks, emails, boards, etc. People easily forget what is said. Recorded items can be checked later by everyone on the team. Make sure someone in every meeting is taking notes that can be shared with the team.

Comfort: When people are comfortable, they are less distracted and communicate more freely. Make sure your team is comfortable and not tired, hungry, or thirsty. Uncomfortable people do not communicate well.

Respect: Good designers need to be good listeners. Good listeners respect others. Be polite and patient. If you insult others, don't rush to defend yourself. Rush to apologize to them. People who feel respected communicate better.

Trust: Trust build up slowly over time. People who see each other often will slowly learn how much they can trust each other. Digital communication is not enough. Make time to communicate face to face.

Honesty: If you are known to be dishonest on your team, others will be afraid to be honest with you. Communication on the team will suffer. You must always do your best to tell other people the truth.

Privacy: Sometimes it is hard to talk about things honestly in public. People will be more likely to tell you their true feelings in one-on-one meetings so make time for private conversations with your team.

Unity: Conflicts will happen in the design process. This is healthy and natural. However, in the end, the team must agree to one decision. Work until your team can find a compromise. If nothing works, a good question to ask is "What would it take to bring you in?"

The goal is unity, so don't ignore conflicts.