When you decide to work with your friends, it can be hugely exciting. However, it’s also important to establish some clear boundaries if and where you can in order to prevent potential conflicts arising during your project.
Who’s doing what?
Establish clear roles i.e. who’s responsible for what and who is taking charge of what. Make it clear who is the lead on different aspects of the project and respect the lead and their decisions.
Work mode vs. social mode
Also establish when you are in ‘work mode’ and when you’re in ‘social mode’ so that you are clear when things are purely professional and when you can let your hair down.
Working Well Together
Try to understand why each person is involved in the project and what want out of it. Each of your reasons for being there may be slightly different. Don’t assume that the reason you’re there is the same as your friends. The more you understand what your friends are hoping to get out this, the more likely you’ll be able to help each other get the things that are most important to you, and thus work well together.
Conflicts and awkwardness
There may be times when you disagree with your friends or when they disagree with you. You may get irritated with them or them with you. This is certainly not uncommon but can be very challenging especially if you haven’t had any conflicts with your friends before.
How you handle each situation really depends on what has happened and why it’s happening and so it’s hard to offer advice on what to do generally but here are a few things to watch out for which I’ve often seen trigger various troubles within teams:
- Differences in motivation (if some people are more motivated than others to work, it can definitely cause bad feelings amongst the team. Try to figure out why there are differences or what has changed if suddenly one person is no longer pulling their weight)
- Different styles of working (different people like to work in different ways. It can be hard to adjust to each other but just focus on whether the work is getting done or not. When you or they choose to work, how long for, what time, where etc. shouldn’t matter too much as long as things are getting done, when you need them)
- Jealousy or resentment (Did one person want to do a task but another ended up getting it? Is one person doing more than another? Is someone getting more credit / renumeration / time off, than another? These types of things can cause issues to arise. Be aware of these sorts of things so that you can hopefully prevent bad feelings arising or at least not be taken by surprise when an issue surfaces)
- Creative tension (it’s healthy for talented people to have different ideas and to discuss and debate them. These disagreements don’t need to be a massive blow up. Respect each others opinions and maybe the best solution is a combination of the various ideas. Or, just try to enjoy the fact that everyone is contributing ideas and are wanting to make the best game/film/product possible)
About the author: Ninichi is an experienced game music composer and supporter of indie projects. She creates music for games, film and other media, and would be delighted to help you create the music for your game or project.
Contact Ninichi to explore working with her now and follow her @ninichimusic
When you decide to work with your friends, it can be hugely exciting. However, it’s also important to establish some clear boundaries if and where you can in order to prevent potential conflicts arising during your project.
When you decide to work with your friends, it can be hugely exciting. However, it’s also important to establish some clear boundaries if and where you can in order to prevent potential conflicts arising during your project.
Are you a game designer, game artist or indie game developer? If so, welcome to my blog! I’m Ninichi and I’m a game music composer. I make music for indie games, films, shows and anything that needs music really! I also run this blog on my website, which tries to offer a place for people to learn, get inspired, share experiences, get tips and much much more.
I’m delighted to be sharing with you some thoughtful tips and insights today, from Lucy Jamie - a super friendly game artist and designer based in Melbourne. She has over 5 years of professional experience in the field and is currently
Are you an indie game developer wondering how to fund your game? Perhaps some of these organisations and indie developer funds could be worth looking at. I’m Ninichi - a freelance game music composer (see my homepage) and as such have worked with many different indie developers and indie game studios on their projects. One big challenge that I’ve noticed is often the financial side of game development. There are many options available to you, including self-financing, crowd-funding, finding a publisher and so on, but one area that is sometimes overlooked or not really considered is that of grants and other funding sources.
It is very easy as a keen indie game developer, to spend more and more time on your game and to overwork yourself into the ground. You have a vision for your game, you have an impossible number of things to do, there’s lots to learn and to try out and to fix and to design, code, get modelled, integrated and so on. The list is endless but your energy is not. As an indie game music composer (see my stuff!) working alongside many game developers, I've seen this happen many times.
It is so easy for anyone keen to succeed in any industry and/or in any job, or working on any project of significance, to burn out – but we must do all that we can to prevent this. If you burn out, your energy levels deplete, your enthusiasm and positivity vanishes, your work becomes suboptimal and ultimately even if you finish the project, it won’t be your best work.It is so easy for anyone keen to succeed in any industry and/or in any job, or working on any project of significance, to burn out – but we must do all that we can to prevent this.
After having connected with various indie game developers (often supporting them with their game music), I’ve discovered that there are many challenges that one faces in the game development journey.
It can be a tricky road to travel and it’s always good to know what to avoid if you can and so I’ve tried here to highlight some common issues and mistakes that I’ve heard/seen/witnessed people going through. I hope that you will be able to take something away from this and that you find these useful. So here are some key mistakes to note and avoid as you develop your game…After having connected with various indie game developers (often supporting them with their game music), I’ve discovered that there are many challenges that one faces in the game development journey.
So, you have a great idea and maybe even an awesome team working on it already! That is an excellent start, however, the often tricky issue of financing your project may be something you have yet to decide on and to have set up for you.
Are you sure that you have the funds to see your exciting project through? If not, then crowdfunding may be something for you to consider.
If this is your first time visiting my blog, welcome! I’m a game music composer and believe that communication is key to a strong working relationship. In order to ensure that you get the best music for your project, whether it’s a game music soundtrack, film score or anything else – knowing how to communicate effectively with your chosen composer can really help. Here are a few tips that I hope will help you to get the most out of your working relationship with your composer.If this is your first time visiting my blog, welcome! I’m a game music composer and believe that communication is key to a strong working relationship. In order to ensure that you get the best music for your project, whether it’s a game music soundtrack, film score or anything else – knowing how to communicate effectively with your chosen composer can really help.
If you’re thinking about hiring a composer for your project – whether it’s a game, a commercial, a film or anything else, it’s important to find the right person to work with. There are many composers around, however, unfortunately we are not all the same! As with other industries, there are good ones and bad ones and it’s important to know what to look out for when doing your due diligence and deciding who’s best for your project.
Do you need some music for your game, film or media project? You may be at that key stage of weighing up your options, contacting music composers and exploring music production libraries online. I've been composing for a while now and have supported many indie game developers and indie filmmakers with their projects - and so I understand some of the dilemmas that you may be tackling. If you want to chat about it, I'd be happy to hear from you. Feel free to email me at ninichimusic@gmail.com to explore working together and your options further.
Knowing which route to take and which platform to use to distribute your game to the world can be challenging. Maybe you’ve done it before, maybe you haven’t – but the aim of this article is to try and offer a little bit of help in laying out what the main options are and could be for you.
In order to ensure that you get the very best game music soundtrack for your game, you will need to brief your composer as well as you can. As a game music composer myself (learn more about me), I have experience in working with many different types of people and clients – from indie game developers, small game studios, filmmakers, podcasters, tv producers and more.
If you’re working on your first game or perhaps you’ve done a few already but now you’re considering hiring a composer to work with you, this may feel like a big step! It could feel like a risk or a bit daunting to be bringing on someone new to the team, but it doesn’t have to be difficult or scary.
I’m a game music composer (see some of my music) and have worked with various indie game developers on their projects and have found it a very rewarding, fun and simple process. It could be this for you as well!
As a game music composer, I believe that the music that one chooses and includes in a game is really important. I think that in some cases, it is easy to underestimate the impact that great game music can have on a players experience and perception of a game. This is an easy mistake to make but I am hoping that this article will help to convince you of the real potential that well chosen and well placed music can have in your game.
As a composer for games, film and other media, I am often asked about sound effects and where to find some for various projects. I myself specialise in music only and so I don't create sound effects - however, there are many resources online which offer great audio clips for various uses. Many of these are free to use, some requiring creator attribution and some not at all. Others do charge for the sound effects but they don't charge much, so they're worth exploring too. I've attempted to list some of these sound effect libraries in the hope that this is a helpful reference for you...
There are many things to think about when considering what music to put alongside your game. Getting it right, however, is really important as the music can really bring a game to life. It can enhance the user experience and get them in the right 'zone' for playing and enjoying your game. Read on to find out more...