Great companies like Voodoo, King, and Supercell focus on their people and culture because the goal is not to make amazing games, but to create an environment for effective teams to make amazing games. Creative Game Lead Sophie Vo discusses the nuances of team selection and defining your mission.
Define Your Mission
- Determine your ikigai (the Japanese concept meaning “reason for being”) and shape your new studio around it.
- Maximize adaptability by defining your product later in the process.
Build Your Team
- Select for cognitive diversity, not harmony.
- A nurtured network is the best source of talent.
- Use inversion to identify preferred values.
- The Lead’s involvement in these steps will maximize long term efficiency.
- Screen candidates individually, then with your peers, and finally in a casual setting.
- Assess candidates in three areas:
- Motivation
- Values
- Let your mission guide value selection, not personal preference.
- To freely develop ideas, each team member should have these values:
- Growth mindset
- Intellectual humility
- Team player
- Player-centric
- Technical Ability
- Ascertain ability through tests.
- Focus on delivery in tests, not just accuracy.
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