posted 08-14-03 10:56 AM EDT (US)
Do you really want to start a design group? There are many responsibilities, but there are also many rewards. A Design Group requires work, oh yes. There are websites to be thought about, forums are an almost absolute must have, and you must maintain a good number of quality scenarios or campaigns. If you are not willing to make a website, sign up for (free or paid for) forums, shamelessly advertise your group through signatures and posts, and lead by example by creating projects yourself, then this guide may not be for you. Now then, if you are willing to that, you're going to have to commit to the idea if you want to succeed. Recruitees do not like a leader that announces a new site but never finishes it, or declares a new project but also, never finishes it. It is also up to the leader to make sure that once some quality projects are released and rated, the design group's name spreads. Visit other Heavens, and forummers there may see your signature, play your scenarios, and think "Hmmm, these people are pretty good." When leading a design group, remember this also: "Never hesitate to do the little things, for it is out of the little things that come the big things." - Joseph Stalin If you are ready to be a working, friendly leader, I would say your answer is yes. If so, move on to the next section, please. Now then, any good design group needs place where the members can congregate and chat about things outside of their local heaven. Before announcing your design group, it is always nice to have everything necessary done in advance, so as not to keep new members waiting for forums and a site. This section will give you a few ideas as to what website and forum host you should use. Your first goal should be a forum. Forums are a big reason why your members visit your site. The forum is the basis of communication inside your design group, therefore it must be delt with first. First, you should think of what your forum might look like. Do you want a complicated, elaborate-looking forum? Or perhaps a simple, colored forum? If you're going for a simple look, hosts like Aimoo, EzBoard, and Proboards work quite well. For the complicated design group leader, PHP is an excellent option. PHP is a type of code used to make more elaborate forums. Some good PHP Learning sites are the following: Now that you have a good idea as to your forum host, let's find a good website provider. Now, website hosts are only as good as your needs, so think about how elaborate the site will be. For a simple look but completely customized look, I recommend GeoCities. If you want to work from an existing template, FreeWebs is right for you. Now, for a more complicated site, you may want to use a host that costs money. Names like One last thinking threshold has yet to be crossed. The Name. A Design Group MUST have a name, or so be muddled in confusion. Essentially, names have the ending Games, Studios, Design(optional: Masters), etc. However, most good design groups draw upon real life situations or events. Let's take SCN Punk for example. The founders, Ex-T and Mark-T, both considered themselves to be punks in real life. Tsunami Studios was named so because of it's original interest in only Asian History and Asian Projects. Dragon Gaming Design Network was originaly AoK Dragon, named so because they designed only for AoK, and their first project was Dragon City. Draw upon these kinds of things for a name. Also, be sure to make it catchy and original. Noone much likes a copycat. After forming your ideas and finishing your website and forums, proceed to this chapter... Ah, here it is...Recruiting Day. Today your design group begins its long trek towards respect and dignity, today is one of the most important days. However, before beginning recruitment, it suggested, however only suggested, that you release a project. This project should be your very best, and show the world that you are a good designer, and are cable of maintaining a design group. Recruiting is the one thing that can boost a design group, but also destroy it. When typing your recruitment thread, be sure to include all information about your design group. Provide the website address, forum address, your email address, a detailed description of your group, the name of course, and perhaps a sentence asking recruitees to send a piece of their work to you to test their skill. Focus on recruiting designers, you needn't worry about flash and html experts yet. The title is also important in a recruiting thread. Do not make the title in huge letters, asking "WHO WANST TO JIN MY GRUP???", make it simple, civilized, and straight to the point, such as this one: "(Name of Group) - Now Recruiting". Once you've recruited your members, advertisement and production are two key factors in your design group's future. First I'll explain the world of subtle advertising. Now, if you're thinking about going to another Heaven and posting "Hey guys this is my design group and it rocks", don't. Blatant up-front advertising usually gives you replies claiming that your post is spam, and people like Ah, Work Ethic. Work Ethic is the standard of scenarios and scenario production that you enforce on your group, to keep its respect and good 'health', so to speak, intact. I suggest for any new design team to focus solely on scenario design, and not html for a flashies site, or flash either. Think about what kind of projects you'd want your group to release, within the bounds of reason. Would you like a standard of great scenarios(4.0 rating or higher), a standard of good scenarios(3.0 and higher), or a standard of something lower. Remember, don't be over-ambitious and work your members to the breaking point trying to make a huge, 1000-trigger incredible scenario. First of all, a relaxed atmosphere is always welcomed by members. It is never good to tell your members to release their projects by a certain time. I remember the group SWGB One(Anyone Remember Tekster?) did this sort of thing and they failed to uphold a design group. What standard of scenarios you want your group to make can also depend on who you recruited. It may be a good idea to adjust the rules to fit all needs, after all, perhaps not all of your members are as good as the next. Above all else, cultivate their needs. They're the body of the snake, you're merely the head. One of the harder aspects of running a design group is the very keeping of it's integrity and happiness. Often times, the leader begins to do nothing for the group. He simply talks and talks and talks, but never does anything. Whatever you do, always do the little things to keep your design group running. Update the site, help others with their projects if they need help, advertise(as always), and be an active member of your local Heaven. It's all in a day's work for a design group captain. To uphold content or pleased attitude radiating from your members, simply stay active, always. Ah yes, and always post on the team's forums when you get a chance, and advertise them through your signature also. There's not much more I can say in this section, it's just all about maintaining activity within your group, and not letting it's productivity be nullified. I'm going to close out this guide with a short section stressing the necessity of staying in contact. Every day when you get online, your first stop should be your team forums. Always reply to emails from other members. Always help others in need of assistance. Plus, remain in contact with your local Heaven; this too is important. Make sure to reflect your group's quality in your posts. By that I mean make good posts for good impressions. It took a long while, but just look at DFD, they're running mainly because of staying in contact always. Their members are very well associated with each other, and chat often. Alot of maintaining a design group is about staying in contact with your members and peers. Well, I hope you all enjoyed my How to Maintain a Design Group Guide. I do not doubt that I have made countless spelling errors, so please feel free to point them out to me when you find them. I hope that this may help young design groups, or experienced ones going through a little difficulty. I will be open to any complaints or suggestions(or praise if it's humanly possible) in this thread. As a final, final note, this is my parting gift to you all. [This message has been edited by Master Echuu (edited 08-14-2003 @ 11:09 AM).]
After all, if a member causes trouble on HeavenGames, it can look bad for your group. Now, back to contacting possible recruits. When contacting them, your goal is, essentially, to make them like you(which can be very difficult), but one of the best ways to get them to like you is to act to them how you would act to the King of England. Now, don't overuse(or even use) sir, or your highness, of course, but keep the conversation light and nice if you wish. After you've made a good impression, pop the question. "Might you wish to join (Name of Design Group)?" I find that these strategies work well often.
My signature.
Because everyone else has one.
.
