Steps To Recruit For Commercial Game

[SilverSpook]

Hi guys,

I'm going to be looking to recruit some help with music, voice acting, and such soon for Neofeud, which I plan to sell commercially when completed.  I've never worked with other developers on an indie commercial project and was wondering if I can get some advice or like a basic checklist of steps to take to make sure everything goes smoothly.

Thanks.

[Mouth for war]

I never worked with other people too but I think, if you work with people you mostly know from the internet for example, you should be careful and write some sort of contract with them. Otherwise, they might sue you further down the path maybe saying "He sold "insert number here" games and I have only received "Insert amount of money here" hehe. I could be wrong...but just in case I would feel that a deal was made before starting a commercial project with other people. Friends can also become enemies when money is involved. I'm not saying that's the case here. Just be a little careful that's all But...I don't know how that stuff works...only speaking my mind here. Good luck with everything

[Nikolas]

• Make a contract between the people you work with and yourself.
• Put a strict timeline and milestones for the development of anything
• Make sure you have all contact information of the other people

But, generally speaking, people are not out to get you really. I've worked (as a composer), with a number of people from here, in AGS, and never ever had an issue with them. With or without a contract. Of course it helps that I've been a member since 2004 or something, but...

[Mandle]

My advice would be to get in touch with Mods...He does this kind of stuff professionally and knows his shit...

Might have to wait until after AdventureX though...

[SilverSpook]

Nikolas, could you by chance point me to a sample contract for a small game developer and musician?

Also, did you do a revenue split or a one-time-fee type of deal?

[KodiakBehr]

Late to the party.  But here's my advice:

• If you have the capital to invest, and you are confident that your project is commercially viable, you will want to pay somebody for their work in cash.  If you don't have one or both of these, I strongly advise sharing project equity instead, assuming you are willing to make your dream a collective dream.  The indie market gets more crowded all the time, and if you're a new entrant at this stage of things, talent alone will probably not be enough to make it.  (http://kotaku.com/when-two-best-friends-make-video-games-and-only-one-se-1748226383)
• Contracts are great, not because they're going to legally protect you, but because they set clear expectations.  Look them over carefully and/or be prepared with your own.  Missing a little detail in a contract has cost me dearly, but that's the price of being sloppy.
• The music and voice acting market is way more elastic than pretty much any other service you'll be contracting, so it pays to shop around there.
• Being a project manager is a full time job in of itself.  Be diplomatic and flexible, and find ways of keeping unreliable stakeholders focused.

[m0ds]

Yup good advice above. Haha Mandle... maybe maybe not If you have a specific question I may be able to help but for now just some thoughts on hiring. People do it differently, so be sure to ask what other people do. Do what works best for you, the following is what has worked best for me so far but wouldn't say it's the end-all solution... even I would rather be paying in-house employees sometime rather than outside contracts still...

For many of the jobs simple re-wording a normal film actors release form will be sufficient. Those forms/contracts basically state that someone will do work and any that they do will then be owned by the project and not them. I'd also avoid royalty shares, although at your discretion - you want to pay as many people as you can up front on completion of their work and reserve royalty share for perhaps key people. You may want to defer the payment (ie pay them after release, though you must be reasonable in your contract as making people wait 6 months for some money is not fair) but indie games really aren't the kind of industry you want to be offering royalty shares (and paying many individuals every month, does that sound like fun to you?? maybe your accountant ) to all those who contribute to your project esp when they're only making "some assets". So as others have said, write up a basic contract - film actor release forms give you almost everything you could need if you're just sourcing team members to create assets of some nature for a project. Approach people and make them offers (and make sure your contract notes that they will only be paid the agreed amount) and then you're good to go - of course, pay these people when they've done their work for you!! As Kodiak says a little capital can help you make sure there are no payment delays. You are also not being unfair by asking for a sample or two before a contract is agreed etc and that your decisions are final. Other basic things apply like, have something to show them to instill their confidence.

5 years ago though I wouldn't have had the capital myself to even consider up-front payments. Would I have gone through the process with just a promise to people they would would get paid when the game was completed, released and selling? This is why in that and this day and age, such a question can be answered with Kickstarter or similar, useful to create a small budget to help fund your potential team in the very early stages. 500 dollars isn't a huge risky sum and can get you some stuff made, you'd be surprised good luck!

[SilverSpook]

Thanks guys for the pro tips!

[Nikolas]

Nikolas, could you by chance point me to a sample contract for a small game developer and musician?

Also, did you do a revenue split or a one-time-fee type of deal?

Sorry, I just saw this reply...

I'll start with the bottom question: In indie situations I usually go for a combination of both. It's very understandable that indie developers can't pay upfront fees (without the game being released I mean) of several thousand $$$$, but if the game sells well, then a small % of the sale's profits are not a huge deal to the developer (who, after all, is not paying anything further, as games move through digital means by large), but can be a great asset to a musician...

And I'd have to search around for a sample contract, but I probably can help you there as well...

If you want contact me at nikolas@musica-ferrum.com for more info and a private talk!

[LindaBelle]

You posted here a lot of advice, my one will be just to look through their portfolios and to check it`s    
utensils to the person you are hiring.