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General: Developer Perspectives: Start Ups - Do It Youself
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
In a new Developer Perspectives series, Pitchblack Studios' Sanya Weathers offers her thoughts about the dev side of things. Today, Sanya talks start up companies and what it means to work at one. Sanya is currently the Director of Community for Pitchblack Games, a startup MMO company working on Prime Battle For Dominus. She has been working in the MMO industry since 2000, either as a journalist, a writer, or a community weenie. Read on!
You can’t be a specialist and work at a startup. You need to be able to do a little of everything, or at least be willing to take a swing at everything. Can you write stories? Can you boil documents down into interesting blurbs? Can you think methodically enough to simulate the QA person your company can’t afford? Are you willing to run cable, take out the trash, host a podcast, and troubleshoot a patcher, all in one afternoon? Are you willing to be paid in goodwill and have faith?
Read more of Sanya Weathers' Developer Perspectives: Start Ups - Do It Youself.
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Comments
I would like to know what kind of business startups actually do. Do they make money and how? What does it actually cost to run one, and do they ever make money?
http://www.primeonline.com/
is what they're currently working on. PvP focused, three-faction based, SF theme. Probably the closest thing to DAoC's spiritual successor coming up in the market right now.
Will they make money? I would assume so, there are certainly enough DAoC vets that would like to see that style of play make a return. But the lack of promotion (pandemic to indies) means that not many people will hear of it until well after launch.
Self-pity imprisons us in the walls of our own self-absorption. The whole world shrinks down to the size of our problem, and the more we dwell on it, the smaller we are and the larger the problem seems to grow.
A 'startup' company is just a new tech-sector company that's active but in development phase. Basically, the comapny is established but they are still researching and developing their product. They are no different from any other new business other than their lack of something sellable.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
Well, to be fair, we're just getting started. Once we are in a position to start releasing video, and open up the beta to more than a hundred testers, you'll start seeing some promotion.
A company that starts hyping six months before release needs to deliver content so polished that is justifies the six months of waiting - waiting from the perspective of a player, I mean.
Player sees game --> Player likes game --> Player can't play game --> Feeling of blue balls nearly kills player --> Player gets game --> Player thinks "I waited six months for THIS? OMG HATEZOR."
This kills launches for gigantic budget projects. What do you think it'll do to a company that doesn't have the money to polish for a year, or even three months?
Futhermore, hype leads to big splashy opening days. If you already know you won't have the staff or equipment to cope with a big opener, you actually want a quiet, word of mouth kind of scenario. An indie can't afford a giant marketing campaign a year after launch to tell everyone "no, really, we fixed it."
You know, this is turning into a column, I should shut up and save it.
Sanya M. Weathers
Director of Community
Undead Labs
Hey Sanya,
I've allways been intrigued by how these MMOgames made it into existence, since they require loads of people, time and money. I read somewhere that the absolute minimum to do the first steps would require about 15 people, mostly coders. (unless you're going for some Indie experiment) So I'm wondering what the importance is of a community manager is at this stage, i.e. what are your tasks now when there even isn't a community yet? When do startups decide to hire people for the not-core, yet all-important bits?
thanks for your time and sharing your experience!
Currently playing: Skyrim, SWTOR
Looking forward to: Guildwars 2 ! modestly excited for: The Secret World
Have played intensely: Rift, Eve, AoC, WoW, Conquer 2.0, Astonia 3
Have played less intensely: just about everything else
I had a very good friend that worked on Vanguard. He put in very long hours and ended up getting paid very little in return, MacQuaid pretty much took the money and ran on that one and left many people hanging. It all depends on who the developers are.
Grats on the project, and great article. Looking forward to checking it out.
Holy crap, it's Sanya Weathers from DAOC O___O!
Speaking of "PitchBlack Games", are testers allowed to divulge that they ARE testers, but NOT what kind of experience they're having other than positive
?
The Theory of Conservative Conservation of Ignorant Stupidity:
Having a different opinion must mean you're a troll.
Gee, I never thought I'd see the day it was alright to sarcastically pick on a thirteen year old girl interested in the industry on MMORPG.com...
Interesting article, looking forward to reading more of your stuff. Hope this thread turns into something cool, too.
Sanyo, cool post.
Wait what?! You do realize that shes the director of community at PBG? On top of that, that line doesnt seem like sarcasm to me.