In another panel led by Unity evangelist Oscar Clark, a group of developers sat down to talk about the new ways that teams can work.
The panel consisted of:
- Barry Meade, Director, Fireproof Studios
- Derk De Geus, CEO, Paladin Studios
- Jon Hare, Founder, Tower Studios
- Oliver Clarke, Director, Modern Dream
- Simon Barratt, Director, Barog Game Labs
Meade said that the structure of their studio, with no kind of career progression due to a flat structure, means that it can be hard for new hires, such as graduates, to find anywhere to go within the company and in the future.
But Fireproof are "happy to see them go" if the "juniors" in their team move on to bigger and better things, because the company is happy in the way it's structured already and won't be changing for others.
De Geus, however, argued that if a team is larger, for example with more than 30 members of the team, then there "should be structures in place for progression."
Hare spoke about how we liked the approach to not employ anyone, but offer them percentages of the revenue so that they'll always earn the same amount of money no matter how long the project runs for.
The floor then opened to a couple of "indie heroes", consisting of:
- Albert Marshall, Commercial Director, QuizTix
- Mark Backler, Lead Designer, The Last Word
Backler asked for advice on the best ways to work remotely as a team, which Barratt responded to by suggesting online service Trello, as well as regular meetings both online and in person where possible.
On the topic of motivating small teams, as brought up by Marshall, Clarke recommends "finding the passion" for the game and focusing on that, and finding people who are passionate too.
