Hi all, I'm already working in the industry as a designer - however a friend whose skills primarily lie in the web development field is interested in developing an MMOG and asked me if I wanted to design it. I already have several interesting design ideas which I jotted down months ago, and one of them could be adapted very well into a browser-based MMOG that could most likely be completed by just the two of us, although a support team will eventually be needed if the player base grows big. My question is: how does the industry as a whole view these kinds of side projects? I am working on a pretty big budget title at the company I work for, and the MMOG would be a low budget hobbyist project (with potential to earn more if it's popular). Could it adversely affect my career/reputation if my name is associated with the project and it is not successful? Although game designers are not quite yet advertised as brands in the same way that Hollywood promotes directors and film stars, I'd like to build my career on commercial hits, and I'm not sure if a failed side project has the potential to come back and bite me in the future (as I plan on building a name for myself). I'm not *expecting* the project to fail, but I consider my actual job to be my highest priority so I might not be able to devote all the spare time needed for the MMOG to be a success - I fully recognise that life may get in the way, and if it comes down to crunch time at my work then that will be my first and foremost focus, and the quality of the side project might suffer. My main concern is whether it's a bad career decision to work on something like this when I'm working full-time on a AAA title. Thanks.

Far,
The issue of side projects has been discussed recently, not only here, but also on the IGDA business/legal forum. Basically, you have to tread carefully. Check your employment agreement and see if it contains an inventions clause or a non-compete clause. And you also have to talk to your employer about your desire to work on a side project, and see if there's any problem.
If the side project is something that would compete with your employer's business, then you shouldn't work on it while employed.

True, but he's not asking about legal implications. He's asking if a failed side project would tarnish his reputation as a designer of amazing games.

I don't think it would be a big problem. If the side project flops, nobody will ever hear about it, for one thing. And if they do, you can describe it as an "experimental project".

Quote: Original post by d000hg
True, but he's not asking about legal implications. He's asking if a failed side project would tarnish his reputation as a designer of amazing games.

I saw two questions. That one, and also "how does the industry as a whole view these kinds of side projects?"

> Could it adversely affect my career/reputation if my
> name is associated with the project and it is not successful?

Many factors can lead to a failed project; bad execution occurs far more frequently in those cases than bad designs.

> My main concern is whether it's a bad career decision
> to work on something like this when I'm working full-time
> on a AAA title.

Some employers see the benefit of employees honing skills on their own free time. Others might be worried that you might come in late & tired every morning because you spend too much time on pet projects at night. Then there are the few who see anything outside work as competition and/or potential IP leak points, no matter how you present your case. As Tom pointed out, this need be discussed with your employer. Make things clear with an agreement if you have to.

This situation happened to me some time ago and the employer and I had to negotiate a side agreement besides the employment contract whereby I owned all the code written in my pet project while the employer had the right to audit my source code through an independent third party to make sure I didn't steal anything.

Hope this helps.

-cb

Thanks for all the advice - I don't believe there would be legal problems as my contract doesn't mention anything about stuff done outside of work with my own equipment, and also since a few people at the office are quite open about hobby projects they're working on in their free time. The game I'm working on professionally is also a very different genre, and it is unlikely that the company will be developing any MMOGs in the near future. I've decided against working on the MMOG, mainly due to the level of extra commitment involved in these types of games, as even after completion I imagine there would be a significant amount of time involved with maintenance and community management. My main question was the one that d000hg referred to, as I was concerned that browser-based games in particular may be viewed as 'trashy' by those in the industry (the dozens of 'Top 100 Free MMOGs' websites spring to mind), and more the domain of college students looking for a quick buck.

Since we moved onto the legal side, I would NOT take "other people are doing it and management know" as a safe bet. Companies would typically be fine in any event, until it affects them somehow. It is much safer to check formally if you think this will go anywhere other than fun.