Hey everyone. I don't post much, but I frequent the collaboration board out of interest. I've been programming for a few years and I like to see what else is out there. Throughout the months that I've browsed, I can safely say that I can count the number of appealing threads on here on one hand. Almost every thread is rushed, excluding necessary information, or not offering good return. Here are my thoughts on how to make a good collaboration thread. I'll be speaking with bias as a programmer who mostly reads the artist's threads, but hopefully this can help people.
1. Who are you?
An introduction to your post. If you're looking to work with someone else, establish yourself. Your skillset, a bit about your history, who you are seeking and why.
2. What are you looking for?
Threads often lack essential detail in what they seek. So many times a thread will say "Seeking VA" or "Looking for programmer" without any further detail. What exactly are you looking for? Or at the very least, a rough idea. If you're looking for a programmer, what do you want the programmer to do? Flash games? HTML 5? Something else? Do you have a code base that you want a programmer to start working from? If you're looking for a voice actor, who are they playing? What do they sound like? What's their character. Specifying "male" and "female" doesn't cut it. Voice acting is such a wide field that you need to give more details for what you're looking for. If you're not sure and want to leave it a bit open, that's fine, but something more than "Looking for male VA" would work well.
3. What are you offering?
There needs to be some give and take in this process. There are a number of threads where someone asks:
- "Looking for a programmer to make my game"
- "What are you offering?"
- "Well, I don't have money."
You don't have to offer payment, but there needs to be some kind of two way process here. If you're looking for someone to work with you for free, why should they? Are you a passionate individual who is looking to make a kickass portfolio piece with a likeminded individual? Are you an established person who is offering a good place for someone to make a mark in a good product?
One big problem that I see from some artists and designers "Looking for someone to make my game", for free. People looking for a code monkey who will work for the purpose of working. Not going to happen. If you don't have money, again, that's fine. Just be prepared to offer up something else. Maybe sharing the design process of a game.
If you are offering payment, specify at least roughly how the work process will go. Are you offering X amount of money for X amount of work? Clarify! Are you looking to develop a mobile game for which the profit will come from ad revenue? Are you looking to make a game that you think might not work, but ideally you would like to monetise it? Specifying these things is important. Even if it's a worst case scenario, frankness and honesty is better than trying to pull someone in to a failing project with no expectation of how it will go?
4. Why work with you?
There's something here that baffles me. People come here and seek a type of person without offering anything about themselves. Bear in mind that for a lot of the collaborative projects here, it's quite an even process between all parties involved, so you need to show how you're pulling your weight. If you're an artist, include your work! A post where you mention a great idea that you have without any art won't win anybody over. If you're a programmer, mention the languages you work in and link to some past projects. If you're a designer, show some games you've made.
None of the things you've made have to be successful, or big, or important. They just have to show your skillset and how you apply yourself. And that's important for when you're working with someone.
5. Details!
Details! Details! Lots of details. Information about what the project is. If it's a Flash animation you want an animator for, talk about its characters, its setting, the style (link to something similar to what you're envisioning!). Same goes for a game. The genre, gameplay mechanics, how the player will be interacting with the game, etc. Make sure to also mention the scope of the project. The time you expect it to take, how many people will need to work on it, whether you'll be seeking any extra people etc. It's all important.
Some people have secret projects. That's fine. But whilst you're making a request thread, ask yourself why it's secret. Quite often, whole projects (or at least large parts of them) really don't need to be kept secret, so just re-evaluate. Posting the details in the manner described in this thread is MUCH better than "PM for info". If the project is hush-hush, just think about it and try to talk about what you can.
6. Contact information
This is normally covered, but it does without saying. Will a reply to the thread suffice? A PM? Skype? Email? Post any way you'd like to be contacted.
That more or less covers the most important things to include. Bear in mind everything you'd feel comfortable replying to in someone else's shoes. Before you post "Looking for VA", ask if that's something you'd want to reply to based on only that information. Think about what you'd need to know about the role, about the time you'd need to spend, about possible payment etc.
This thread largely covers people who are seeking others for existing project, but the same applies for if you're trying to sell yourself as someone willing to work. "Will program for free" sounds nice, but doesn't explain much. Portfolio! No matter what your domain, a portfolio will work wonders. Make your thread appealing and worthwhile, and don't force people to have to interrogate you for details. It should all be there for someone to make a justified decision on whether the project or role seems like it's for them.
Hope this helps some people. Happy collaborating, everyone.
