Your team is at odds over game features. How can you facilitate collaboration and compromise effectively?

2 Set Objectives

Next, define clear objectives for your game. What is the core experience you want to deliver to players? By setting these goals, you give your team a common target to aim for. This doesn't mean stifling creativity; rather, it helps to focus it. When team members understand the game's overarching goals, they can better evaluate how their proposed features serve these ends. This shared vision can help to align differing opinions and serve as a guide for decision-making throughout the development process.

3 Prioritize Features

Once objectives are set, prioritize the features that best achieve these goals. This means making tough choices and sometimes putting personal favorites aside for the good of the game. Encourage your team to consider the impact of each feature on the player experience and the game's overall vision. This process can be facilitated by using a feature matrix or a similar tool to visually represent and evaluate the importance and feasibility of each feature, helping to foster a sense of objectivity.

4 Encourage Dialogue

Encourage open dialogue within your team. This means creating a safe space where everyone feels comfortable sharing their ideas and concerns without fear of dismissal or ridicule. Facilitate regular meetings where team members can discuss game features constructively and brainstorm solutions to any points of contention. This can lead to innovative compromises that might not have been reached in a more confrontational environment.

5 Explore Alternatives

Don't be afraid to explore alternative solutions. If there's a deadlock over a particular feature, look for different ways to achieve the same objective. Perhaps there's a middle ground that satisfies both the artistic vision and the technical constraints. Invite your team to think outside the box and consider how different disciplines within the team can contribute to a solution that works for everyone.

6 Implement Decisions

Finally, once decisions have been made, it's time to implement them with conviction. Make sure that everyone understands the rationale behind each decision and their role in bringing the game features to life. This not only ensures that the team moves forward with a united front but also helps maintain momentum and morale as you work towards completing your game.