Team Request/Recruitment Guidelines - Read Before Posting

Hello all,

The following are the guideline set out for team requests and recruitment.
If these rules are not followed, your post will be locked. End of story.

This may sound harsh, but on many forums I've been on, there are countless posts with ridiculous requests that just annoy people, and so this is something that we want to avoid on this forum. If you want to make ridiculous requests, go to the Old Forum and have your post hijacked by some Romanian guy advertising Viagra and hair straighteners. Your choice!



Rule 1 - Show some signs of progress
We do not accept Team Requests for projects that are yet to start. You MUST have something to show for the project so far. This can be in the form of: screen shots, source code, game downloads / test programs, illustrations, design documents and design concepts.

But my art/code sucks! That's why I want to form a team!
If you're not capable of doing *something* then we're not willing to accept your team request, and we don't include "being the planner / organiser of the team" as a valid role, sorry. The reason? because that entails you getting everyone else to actually do the work for you, and we despise those sort of team requests the most (second only to "fake company" requests, see rule 3).

Let us put it another way - it's about respect. It doesn't matter if your code isn't the best or your graphics utterly suck, what forum readers will appreciate is the fact that you actually put some effort and time into your project BEFORE you requested help with it. A badly drawn game that actually plays and works with a team request saying "I really need someone to help with graphics / music, here is what I've got working so far" is perfectly allowed - you must actually SHOW what you've got working (and it must be significant), but these sort of requests we like. They show your commitment to the project, the fact you've invested time into it already and they show where you'd like help most of all. They are realistic. We'll approve them.


Rule 2 - Be realistic
Team Requests that say things along the lines of "We need 6 animators, 10 3D artists, 4 programers and 2 musicians" are locked and/or deleted on sight, right after we've had a good laugh at them. You may THINK you need a team this size, but really - get over it, because it's not going to happen and unfortunately does nothing but highlight your inexperience. Back down here in the real world most indie games are created with a mere handful of people. Some of the very best are the end result of only 2 or 3 people - bear that in mind.

Rule 3 - Drop the "company" crap
Please please please do NOT post messages along the lines of "I'm the CEO of BS Games Corporation and we're hiring X,Y,Z". Why? because 99% of the time you are not actually a CEO at all, 99% of the time you do not own a proper legally licensed and registered company and most importantly of all, it makes you sound kinda like a d*ck - and people do not respond well to team request posts like that.

But I really do run this company!
Very well, in that case you need to talk to the site administrator (Tristan) first, because we don't allow the recruitment of paid employees without prior arrangement.


Rule 4 - Long plot lines / stories do NOT qualify
Ok, so you may have the next killer idea encapsulated in your 10 page long story about the Vogon rebels invading a lawless planet on the outskirts of the solar system, but to be utterly honest with you, no one really cares. Stories / plots do NOT make good team requests for a number of reasons. The first is that to be honest unless your writing skills are on par with J.R.R Tolkein, Stephen King and Jeffrey Archer, the story you type out into the forum will rarely actually portray the mega episode that is going on in your head. That doesn't mean don't write it down, far from it - get every last possible thought on paper and keep on refining them. Just don't expect everyone else to be able to share that same dream/passion or even to understand what on earth your story is about. Unfortunately we will reject team requests that are nothing but ideas/concepts/plots for games with no tangible work to show for it. However, ff you want to share your storyline concepts for people to read and critique, we strongly encourage you to post it in the Game Design Theory section.


Rule 5 - Do not offer money or the promise of "future riches"
Nothing turns people away faster than "I can't afford to pay you, but I will split the money with you when the game goes on sale". Don't ask us why, but for some reason this phrase and variations of it seem to draw out the deepest darkest flaming elements of our forum dwellers, and they latch onto it like a plague. It's probably the sense of false hope that it embodies - that golden chalice of "having the game published", when in actual fact very very few games ever reach that stage. If a team is working on a game they wish to sell then go for it - but discuss it internally, not on the forums and not in your team request posts.


Rule 6 - No quasi-legal mumbo jumbo please
This falls into the same category as the "no company talk" one really. Forget things like "if you are interested you must sign this NDA" or variations of that. Forget trying to request working hours, or minimum levels of commitment from people.



How to actually get people on your side

1. Be nice. Be courteous. Be friendly. If you want someone to invest their hard earned and fought-over free time to your project, you have to appeal to them on a personal level. That means don't act like a jackass elsewhere on the forums and don't get instantly riled if someone dares question the validity of your project. Answer questions tactfully. Always remember - it is THEY who are helping YOU.
   
2. Show AS MUCH of your project as possible, ideally on your own web site, to actually prove you are serious. If you're looking for a graphic artist then you should provide them with a playable demo of the game, or a whole load of screen shots of things in action (even with your poor graphics in place). People need convincing this isn't going to be a waste of their time. If you're unable to provide this, then it probably will actually be a waste of their time. They can sense this from far away! Convince them.
   
3. Spell check your message before posting it! There is nothing that shouts noob louder than "leet speak", typos and spelling mistakes. If you can't be bothered to form your request well, why should anyone else be bothered to help you out?
   
4. Make sure all of your links work! If you post links to content then test them. Make sure your web site is up and running and your email not bouncing. We do not accept "web site coming soon". If it's not there to be seen, either don't mention it (and pray the rest of your content was good enough to carry you) or don't post until it is.
   
5. Include contact details somewhere in the message. The best way to do this without giving your email address out is to link them to a working web site with a feedback form on it. Or perhaps give out a hotmail account you set-up specially for this project. We don't advocate plastering your email address all over the forums (it just attracts too much spam) but people do need to be able to contact you. NEVER EVER expect them to post their email addresses and let you contact them - that is the WRONG WAY AROUND. You're the one needing help with your project, you should be the one providing the means for them to get in touch with you. Simple really.
   

Examples of GOOD Team Requests
A well formed team request post will contain the following. Obviously it will vary depending on your actual needs, but the following is expected in some form or another:

• Clearly state what you need. "I need a team" doesn't count. If you need someone to help with sprites, or sound effects or a title page or code then explicitly say so.
  
• Show what you have done so far. Concept drawings, screen shots, sprite sheets, game demo downloads, etc. Prove this project is serious.
  
• Place everything you've got onto a web site somewhere and link to it.
  
• Provide a clear means for interested parties to contact you and check it works.
  
• Spell check and proof read your post
  
• Keep it realistic and obey the rules given