Feature: The Case For A Pure R&D Team

Author: by Staff

Blitz Game Studios' art director Jolyon Webb argues the case for founding a pure research and development team in Gamasutra's latest feature, which examines how the developer has solved problems and got new business with the effort. "What differentiates it from other teams is its broad remit and a mindset focused on problem-solving away from core engine technology or game specifics," writes Webb, urging developers to expand their studios to encompass a purely research-based team. While Blitz, like any "strong dev studio", has both a core technology team and game development teams, that's only part of the picture, Webb argues. While the core tech team handles "hardcore tech work" and the development teams "focus on their immediate project specifics and their ongoing milestone deliverables," a reasearch and development team can have a tangible business benefit, too. The team's work can be "used as a business development tool; publishers will always be happier with what they can see than with what you are telling them you can do. This allows you to pitch for projects that previously you would not have been able to go for, and equally to add value to projects that you would probably already have got, but perhaps now with a higher budget," writes Webb. To find out more about Blitz's implementation of this structure and the benefits and pitfalls of doing it, read the full feature, Art For Art's Sake: Why Your Studio Needs An R&D Team, live now on Gamasutra.