You're leading a team of game developers. How do you keep them motivated throughout the project?

Ensuring that communication is open and transparent helps in building trust and makes it easier for team members to voice concerns or suggest improvements.

Keep your team of game developers motivated by fostering a positive and collaborative work environment. Set clear goals and milestones, celebrating achievements to maintain momentum. Encourage open communication and regular feedback, ensuring team members feel heard and valued. Provide opportunities for professional growth through training and skill development. Recognize and reward individual and team contributions. Maintain a balance between challenging tasks and manageable workloads to prevent burnout. Involve the team in decision-making processes to boost ownership and engagement. Ensure a healthy work-life balance and offer flexibility when needed.

Estar al cargo de un proyecto tan complejo como crear un videojuego puede desmoralizar fácilmente, y generar incertidumbre por el futuro del mismo. Es importante proveer de feedback (positivo y respetuoso) a los desarrolladores, poniéndote en su posición si algo puede ser mejorado o cambiado, siendo proactivo en el desarrollo de ideas. También es importante tener una meta plausible al tiempo asignado, para evitar el estrés que tanto caracteriza a los desarrollos de videojuegos. Por último, en la medida de lo posible, evitar explotar a los desarrolladores. Todos queremos que el producto salga lo mejor posible, pero si es a costa de la salud de las personas, no merece la pena.

Set a vision they can believe in Communicate with the team daily as a senior you have to push them to think creatively. Each and everyone's opinion matters, trust them. You have to invest time to know their barriers, know the points which affect team success and try to get rid of them ASAP. C'mon guys you're game developers you are not working on any boring project. Gaming is always fun whether you are young or old.

There are many ways this can be done, I try to consider people's personalities, some like structure and planning, while others prefer creative freedom and thrive in different bubbles. One thing I encourage is giving people a sense of ownership in the project, it helps enormously and encourages in a rewarding way. I try to involve the entire team and ask them to contribute/generate ideas for game mechanics / key decisions along the project lifecycle. The result is a great motivator when the team sees their ideas or concepts come to life in the game. Strengthened when they see end users play the game and comment specifically on how much they enjoyed x, y and z feature or idea. You are a team, work as one, help as one, grow as one.

I couldn’t agree more. One issue I’ve seen far too often in game development is this notion that the “top brass” knows best and to question any ideas in the form of feedback is either stepping out of line or generally not appropriate. Good management knows that the best feedback could come from anyone and anywhere. I firmly believe that every member of a team, from the highest ranking and those with the most seniority, to the new guy who just started should be taken into consideration equally.

Feedback should work in both ways and you should ask for feedback from up, around and below your level frequently. Keep the feedback sessions short and focus on just a single topic at a time.

Similar to how communication is key for a successful relationship, feedback from your peers, juniors, and seniors works the same way. It gives you a chance to grow and improve yourself. Now, if getting feedback improves you, why wouldn't you give feedback to others as well? The best part is, the feedback will help to create a very productive relationship between you and your colleagues. It should not be the only thing though, your meetings should not become sermons or lectures on improvement. A well timed and focused feedback is 100x more powerful than everyday banter.

Giving feedback regularly is super important. It shows your team that you see and appreciate their hard work. Constructive criticism helps everyone get better, and positive feedback gives everyone a boost. Make sure to have structured and timely feedback sessions, and focus on specific things they've done. This way, you create an environment where everyone keeps improving and stays motivated throughout the project. Remember, regular feedback keeps the team motivated, recognition shows appreciation, constructive criticism helps everyone grow, positive feedback boosts morale, structured sessions keep things organized, and continuous improvement is the goal!

Build Play Test Rebuild play test Repeat Build again Meet feedback Build test Play test Meet feedback Build test Play test Meet feedback Build Play test Meet feedback Repeat Again Don’t stop repeating Till it feels like butter N smells like fresh za You might be close then

Investing in your team's personal growth can boost motivation and job satisfaction. Offer opportunities for skill development, such as access to new tools and technologies, and see what they think. Encourage them to explore areas of interest within the project that can further their careers. When team members feel they are growing professionally, their engagement and enthusiasm for the projects will increase. Personal growth: Help team members develop their skills. Skill development: Provide new tools and let them look at them. You could even provide AI tools. Career advancement: Encourage exploring interests that help their careers. Pro growth: Ensure team members feel they are improving. Your team is your family.

Freedom to decide how to do the task, within an agreed upon framework, should be a given in todays world. You provide them with the Why, When, What and possibly Who and your team and the experts in your team should always own the How.

I've learned that there's always time for personal growth and improvement. Whether it is learning new programs and tools, going out on a walk, or even making the healthier food option can boost your mood and get those brain juices going. Make sure you're not overwhelming yourself with things to do by making a schedule and following your pace.

We can direct our team members towards areas where they excel and, if necessary, adjust their workload to create a schedule that allows them to transform their talents into a high-quality product.

This happened to be of one the biggest issues I had with a role that I filled. It felt like they did not WANT me to pick up any new skillsets or learn anything new aside from anything strictly needed for my role. It left me feeling trapped, unfulfilled, and like my career would just become stagnant were I to remain in that position for too long. By contrast, another role that I filled was chock full of people more than willing to talk me through any skillsets, platforms, technology, etc that they could regardless of its relation to my role. It boosted the comradery I felt within the team, furthered my appreciation for them, improved the fulfillment that said role delivered, and made me strive to do the best work I could within my role!

Technology is an ever evolving beast and the only way to conquer it is by staying ahead of the curve. Many companies offer learning opportunities by collaborating with various educational websites like Udemy and Coursera. Making them available and encouraging green developers to use these tools is definitely a huge help in advancing their careers. One more thing that always works is having developers be part of senior management meetings whenever possible. These meetings increase their curiosity while also provide an insight into the high level business functions.

Having a motivated and cohesive team is every leader's aspiration. However, achieving this requires hard work. A leader must not only make a team but also actively contribute to its strength. Team bonding plays a crucial role in motivating members during projects. In my experience, effective leadership involves assisting team members with work-related matters and being attentive to their personal concerns (with appropriate boundaries). I've found that gaming with the team can be particularly rewarding. Whether you win or lose in a multiplayer game, the subsequent conversations and analyses contribute to team cohesion. Over time, this practice translates into motivation for the projects you're working on, creating a positive feedback loop.

Regular checking up and understanding each team member helps them feel motivated and feel part of the team. Team games and events where people can work together helps open up communication and comradery. This helps the bonding process as well as opening the door for team members to support each other through tasks and projects.

There are a couple of rewards that seem to align with the characteristics of happy game developers: A. Developers who are Passionate about the work, because of which they are always charged up. Such game developers need unique and fun game ideas to work upon. B. Inquisitive developers find gaming an ideal domain as the potential to learn is immense. Ensure these developers have new challenges to lean from.

La motivation est le moteur qui fait avancer une équipe, bien plus que les technologies et les expertises. Un seul individu motivé peut redresser un projet tandis qu'une absence de motivation donnera un jeu que l'histoire oubliera. Mais la motivation n'est pas magique : il faut la faire na?tre et surtout la nourrir. Pour ?a, la communication est la clé. Chacun a sa propre source de motivation et conna?tre son équipe c'est savoir comment les motiver.

In this line of work passion is important, and making it a point to delegate work that either 1) is something that the person is more passionate about 2) gives a little more autonomy to the person to experiment and challenge themselves appropriately is ideal. If a team member finds meaning in what they do, they will go above and beyond to deliver the best quality.

Como lider de desarrollo es limitado el tipo de gratificación que puede ofrecerse a los miembros del equipo, a pesar de eso, creo que es importante impulsarlos y guiarlos a areas donde puedan sobresalir con las habilidades que tienen y porsupuesto dar el mérito de cada miembro.

One of the things that I believe adds value to a game dev team is valuing team members’ creativity; it’s true that the team has to stick to certain standards and principles in how they move things forward, but keeping team members’ solutions, workarounds and insights in the project can go a long way. Although this is more tangible in game design rather than development, team members would nevertheless feel valued and important when their specific code or design gets recognized and accepted into the project.

I know you're the CEO, president, CTO a boss and all those nicknames. JUST remember, you're dealing with real people here, not just employees. They have feelings and emotions, just like you. So, take care of them. Just because you pay them doesn't mean you own them. They're like your second family, and they're the ones who help you succeed. Don't take them for granted, because without them, you're nothing.