What makes a game special is not the graphics, the gameplay, or the plot … it's the people that work tirelessly behind the scenes. Having the right people in place at your studio is the difference between a smash-hit game and a forgotten one. This week on Mastering Retention, Tom speaks with Kunal Mordekar (COO at YOOZOO Games) about finding the right people, the hiring process, and how important good workplace relationships are for sustained success in the video game industry.
Here are your cheat codes:
- 0:57 How did Kunal Mordekar get into the video game industry?
- 4:19 The difficulties of finding and vetting potential employees.
- 9:42 When and how to test potential hires during the interview process.
- 14:08 What tests have been successful in identifying game programmers?
- 17:01 How to properly test candidates for a more artistic or creative role.
- 19:06 How to set expectations for new hires if you anticipate your new start-up changing its mission and/or goals.
- 22:00 What is a producer and what does a producer do?
- 28:13 A successful producer knows their team members.
- 31:22 How to mitigate production delays.
- 33:42 Properly rolling out your game.
- 41:48 Testing a new feature before rolling it out to everyone.
- 47:05 How to keep more people around for longer.
Ep. 77: Finding & Hiring The Right People