Training & Mentorship

Learnings of a Solo Game Developer — Wacky Drivers video game

The author shares their journey of creating a video game called "Wacky Drivers" for Android and iOS. They had the idea for the game since they were a teenager and decided to use Unity as their development tool. They emphasize the importance of having a Game Design Document (GDD) to stay on track and discuss the development process, including creating reusable components and optimizing performance. They also highlight the importance of refining aspects such as controllers, game balancing, settings, and particles. The author advises releasing a minimum viable product (MVP) and gathering feedback early on. They also discuss their marketing efforts and future plans for expanding the game. The author encourages readers to try the game and provide feedback, and concludes by emphasizing the importance of consistency and sharing their enthusiasm for video game development.

Training a developer to fill a management role

When a company grows quickly, it can be difficult to find someone with the right leadership skills to fill a new managerial role. In this case, the team leader hired a senior developer and spent eight months training them for the role before officially promoting them. This allowed the team to get used to the new manager and accept them as a legitimate leader. The lesson learned is that it is important to take the time to delegate properly and understand the impact that a new layer of management can have.

Organizational Scalability

When a company grows to the point where multiple teams are needed, it is important to ensure that each team has a clear vision and scope, and that there is minimal friction between teams. This can be done by breaking the company up into teams of six to ten people, setting up two levels of management, and preventing duplication of efforts or fights. This type of organizational scalability is key to a company's success.

Handling the Difficulties of Wearing Many Hats

In small companies and growing startups, it is common for a few people to wear multiple hats due to financial restraints. This can lead to burnout and confusion about roles, as well as a power struggle. To avoid these issues, it is important to be aware of the power dynamics and be clear about which hat is being worn when communicating with others. Additionally, it is important to take time to relax and recharge in order to avoid burnout.

Why Would Anyone Mob Program? (an intro)

Mob Programming is a concept where a team of ~3-5 works together on a single feature, with only one person typing at a time. It is a difficult process to go from troll-coding to mobbing, but it is an incredibly valuable and efficient experience. It is slow, but the quality of work produced is multiple times better than what a single developer can create. It also allows for full domain knowledge of the system developed, and one member of the mob can represent the team in meetings.

You’re Probably Not Reviewing Your OKRs Enough

This article discusses the importance of running a formal weekly goals review to set the tempo for a team. It suggests collecting a "confidence score" for each goal or key result, along with a qualitative assessment, and using the review process as an opportunity to review and update the quantitative metrics for key results. Doing this behavior every week will help teams ask important questions, understand patterns around success and failure, and set the tempo for the team.