I''m just full of questions tonight. :o) I''m looking to form a software development team. I''m located in San Diego. Does it really matter if all memebers of the team are local? How hard would it be to manage a team that is split up? Is it possible? or am I just looking at one big headache? Pondering, Shannon

When I was working ''properly'', I only talked to management once or twice a day anyway. And my other colleagues, maybe 10 times, although a lot of that was pointless unrelated banter. So I think that, so long as you have good lines of communication available, you''ll be ok. Basically, you need to be able to all get into the same place for meetings (ICQ chat? IRC? Java web-based chatroom?), you need to be able to leave asynchronous messages (mailing list, web message board), and presumably somewhere to store common resources such as files (FTP, Yahoo Briefcase, etc). I think reasonably regular ''meetings'' online will help to ensure that everybody is keeping up.

I''ve spent a great deal of time working with teams online both in my sparetime and professionally, so I feel that I''ve been around the block on that one. And the number one thing to keep in mind when doing a project across the internet is communications. In the design I''m currently writing I''ve included an entire section on internal communication and guidelines. I think it''s of vital importance that everyone always knows where to go and who to ask for any questions they might have.

Here''s the 3 main rules I''ve asked my team members to always remember:

The 3 rules of internal communication

1. Keep me updated
I hate not knowing how progress is coming along on the project to which I have spent so many nights, days and in betweens creating. If you get sick, if you’re going on vacation, if you need a break, if you’re on a roll, if you’ve solved a problem, whatever you do, let me know! I can’t keep track of advancement if I don’t get this information, so PLEASE: contact me!

2. Keep yourself updated
Doing level design, programming or whatever for Singularity is more than just a hobby as such. It’s a commitment to the game and to the team. It’s also a commitment to me, and as said, I’ve poured countless hours into creating this design, and there’s nothing in the world I would rather do than tell you how things are looking, what I’m expecting or whatever else you would like to know. Ask, please ask!

3. Keep the team updated
The team is mostly Internet-based. In practical terms that means that people are thousands of miles apart. And creating anything across such distances, let alone staying motivated is a feat in itself, and I have the greatest of respect for anyone who can do it, honestly I do! I know this from personal experience with working on Medal of Honor; there’s nothing like seeing the progress made by other team members. Especially if it beats the competition out there, and that’s what we’re here for. To blow them the hell out of the water! So never hesitate to hit the forums and show off your new model or sound effect or explain about your latest piece of code. They, we, would love to see it. It’s an inspiration to everyone to see the game development advance.


Michael Heilemann
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Designer on Singularity - Sysop at Nerve Impulse
Let us never allow ourselves the sin of forgetting our dreams!

Oh yeah, almost forgot. Check out http://www.eproject.com, it''s an online collaboration site which basically functions as an Outlook alternative on team-basis. You can store documents, hand out tasks, send messages and have a group calender.

I haven''t actually used it in a project yet, but I''m currently preparing it for when we start production on Singularity

Michael Heilemann
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Designer on Singularity - Sysop at Nerve Impulse
Let us never allow ourselves the sin of forgetting our dreams!