Managing Remote Teams: Tips for Indie Studios
In October 2022, I founded Mikan House Inc., an indie game studio. Our team started out small, just myself and two others. Since we all lived in different areas, working remotely made perfect sense. I couldn’t justify renting a facility, buying extra equipment, and making us all commute when we could just as easily work from our own homes.
From the beginning, we used Discord for our communication needs. It allowed us to have real-time conversations, organize our discussions into different channels, and even have video calls when needed. This setup helped us feel connected despite the physical distance. For our development work, we chose Plastic SCM on Unity. While we could have used GitHub, Plastic SCM allowed us to work on the same project simultaneously, and it was much easier to keep track of updates. It also provided a backup in case we needed to revert to a previous version, which proved to be incredibly useful.
As the months went by, we started to add more people to the team. This brought new challenges and opportunities. One of the downsides of remote work is the lack of spontaneous interactions that often spark creativity. We scheduled regular video meetings to maintain a sense of camaraderie and keep the creative juices flowing. I might consider virtual coffee breaks too, since we’re all kind of workaholics to an extent.
On the positive side, remote work offered flexibility that we wouldn’t have had otherwise. Team members could work from anywhere, which allowed us to attract talent without geographical limitations. It also meant that everyone could work during their most productive hours, whether they were early birds or night owls. This flexibility helped us maintain a healthy work-life balance, which is crucial in the demanding world of game development.