Game development outsourcing is the practice of hiring external professionals or companies to handle some aspects of a game project, such as art, design, programming, testing, or marketing. Outsourcing can offer many benefits for game studios, such as reducing costs, saving time, accessing specialized talent, and increasing productivity.
However, outsourcing also comes with some challenges and risks, such as miscommunication, quality issues, cultural differences, and legal disputes. Therefore, choosing the right outsourcing partner is crucial for the success of any game project. In this article, we will provide a checklist of factors to consider when selecting an outsourcing partner for your game development needs.
Section 1: Define your project scope and requirements
Before you start looking for an outsourcing partner, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve with your game project. This means defining your game vision, goals, budget, timeline, and quality standards. These factors will help you narrow down your search and filter out the partners that are not suitable for your needs.
For example, if you have a game vision that involves a realistic 3D open-world environment with dynamic lighting and physics, you need to find a partner that has the expertise and resources to create such assets. If you have a goal of launching your game on multiple platforms within a year, you need to find a partner that can work fast and efficiently. If you have a budget of $100,000 for outsourcing art and design work, you need to find a partner that can offer competitive rates and deliver high-quality results.
To communicate your expectations and specifications to potential partners, you should prepare a detailed project brief that outlines the scope and requirements of your game project. The project brief should include information such as:
- The genre, theme, story, and gameplay of your game
- The target audience and platform(s) of your game
- The art style and technical specifications of your game
- The deliverables and milestones of your game
- The roles and responsibilities of each party
- The payment terms and conditions
You should also provide some reference materials such as concept art, sketches, screenshots, videos, or prototypes that illustrate your game vision. These materials will help the potential partners understand your expectations better and provide more accurate estimates.
One of the most important factors to consider when choosing an outsourcing partner is their compatibility with your project size and complexity. You should avoid partnering with someone who is either too big or too small for your project. For example,
- If you partner with someone who is too big for your project,
- You may end up paying more than necessary for their services
- You may not get enough attention or priority from them
- You may face communication issues due to their hierarchical structure or bureaucracy
- If you partner with someone who is too small for your project,
- You may end up compromising on quality or scope due to their limited capabilities or resources
- You may not get enough reliability or security from them
- You may face collaboration issues due to their lack of experience or professionalism
Therefore, you should find a partner that matches your project size and complexity in terms of their team size, skill set, portfolio, and reputation.
Section 2: Evaluate the partner’s portfolio and expertise
Once you have defined your project scope and requirements, you need to evaluate the partner’s portfolio and expertise. This means reviewing their previous work and feedback from clients. This will help you determine their quality of work and level of satisfaction.
To review the partner’s previous work, you should look at their website, social media accounts, online portfolios, or demo reels. You should pay attention to aspects such as:
- The quality of graphics, sound, animation, and user interface
- The variety of genres, styles, and platforms they have worked on
- The complexity and scale of the projects they have completed
- The originality and creativity of their ideas and solutions
To review the feedback from clients, you should look at their testimonials, ratings, reviews, or case studies. You should pay attention to aspects such as:
- The timeliness and accuracy of their deliveries
- The responsiveness and professionalism of their communication
- The flexibility and adaptability of their approach
- The satisfaction and loyalty of their clients
One of the most important factors to consider when choosing an outsourcing partner is their ability to deliver high-quality results and add value to your game. You should avoid partnering with someone who is either too low or too high for your expectations. For example,
- If you partner with someone who is too low for your expectations,
- You may end up wasting time and money on fixing errors or redoing work
- You may not get enough differentiation or competitive advantage from your game
- You may face reputation issues due to poor quality or performance of your game
- If you partner with someone who is too high for your expectations,
- You may end up overpaying for features or services that are not necessary or relevant for your game
- You may not get enough alignment or collaboration from them
- You may face compatibility issues due to different standards or preferences
Therefore, you should find a partner that can deliver high-quality results and add value to your game in terms of their technical skills, artistic style, genre experience, and innovation potential.
Section 3: Assess the partner’s communication and collaboration skills
After you have evaluated the partner’s portfolio and expertise, you need to assess their communication and collaboration skills. This means testing their responsiveness, transparency, flexibility, and problem-solving abilities. This will help you determine their compatibility and reliability.
To test the partner’s responsiveness, you should observe how quickly and clearly they reply to your messages or calls. You should also check how often and consistently they update you on the progress and status of your project. You should expect a partner that can respond within a reasonable time frame and provide relevant information.
To test the partner’s transparency, you should verify how honestly and openly they share their opinions, challenges, risks, or issues with you. You should also check how accurately and fairly they report their costs, hours, or resources. You should expect a partner that can communicate with integrity and accountability.
To test the partner’s flexibility, you should evaluate how well they adapt to your changes, requests, or feedback. You should also check how willing and able they are to offer alternative solutions or suggestions. You should expect a partner that can work with agility and creativity.
To test the partner’s problem-solving abilities, you should examine how effectively they handle any difficulties, conflicts, or errors that may arise during your project.
You should also check how proactively and positively they resolve any disputes,
complaints, or misunderstandings with you.
You should expect a partner that can work with resilience and professionalism.
One of the most important factors to consider when choosing an outsourcing partner is their ability to work well with your team and culture. You should avoid partnering with someone who is either too different or too similar to you. For example,
- If you partner with someone who is too different from you,
- You may end up having communication barriers due to language, accent, or jargon
- You may not get enough trust or respect from them
- You may face cultural clashes due to values, norms, or habits
- If you partner with someone who is too similar to you,
- You may end up having redundancy or overlap in your skills, roles, or tasks
- You may not get enough diversity or perspective from them
- You may face complacency issues due to familiarity, comfort, or bias
Therefore, you should find a partner that can work well with your team and culture in terms of their communication style, work ethic, personality type, and vision alignment.
The Bottom Line
In conclusion, outsourcing game development can be a great way to save time, money and resources while creating high-quality games. However, choosing the right outsourcing partner requires careful planning and research. Some of the key factors to consider are:
- The scope of work and budget
- The expertise and reputation of the outsourcing company
- The data and intellectual property protection
- The communication and collaboration methods
- The flexibility and adaptability of the outsourcing partner
The thesis statement of the article is: Outsourcing game development can be a smart move for many game studios, but it also comes with some challenges and risks that need to be addressed before signing a contract with an outsourcing partner.