Novice guide on starting a team on Roblox

AirStrategy · April 21, 2019, 2:18pm

Overview

Many studio groups on Roblox are founded. Some succeed and some fail. In AirStrategy’s guide to creating a studio, I will cover how to make a successful studio on Roblox.

Your Team

My ideal team for a studio goes like this:

x2 programmers
x1 builder
x1 UI designer
x1 modeler

Why do I only have one builder but two programmers?

I believe the contractor direction for building, which I will get into in a second. Two programmers because I myself cannot program.

Well, what is a contractor?

A contractor is someone that will get one job done. Maybe you want a model or a map to be built, hire a contractor. Contractors usually receive a one-time payout for their job instead of percentage. There are multiple benefits of hiring a contractor over a builder:

Break up the work between other builders
Not necessarily giving a permanent percentage

The main point is not giving a percentage. Most contractors will receive a one-time payout other than a percentage. If you want a map built, you can pay $40 - 45 for a detailed 128x128 map instead of giving 5% of game revenue. This tactic helps you in the long run and allows you to keep your game’s earnings.

So, why would I need a builder?

Every game needs props, wether it’s a sword, a pet, a stapler—any small object. Finding a contractor for these small jobs is illogical. In the end, you can promise a 5% if all the objectives are done.

Is there another way of payment for a full-time developer?

You can break it up into milestones. I can demonstrate here:

$85 USD - 10,000 part map
$5 USD - modeled raccoon
so on so forth

This also works for scripters/programmers, modelers and UI designers.

Do the same conditions apply for scripters, modelers and UI designers?

Yes. You can get contracted work for scripting, modeling and UI design. All the conditions are the same.

Note for contracted work: To authorize a payment, always sign a contract!

Payment

The payment segment is the most critical part of the whole studio.

Can I create a studio without money or Robux?

The simple answer is no. Even when splitting payment in percentage, you must make space for contracted work. For all of the game’s building (including contracted work), you may pay 50%. I believe this rate is low for building a huge game. You cannot give percentage for contracted work at this rate, because you need to give at least 60% to builders, 40% to UI designers and 60% to scripters, and that’s impossible!

PayPal or Robux?

Unless you are a trader with millions of Robux, or a game developer with millions of Robux, I prefer sticking with PayPal. With Robux, you must pay for tax and get 30% of your funds cut off. It gets worse from there, because when the person you hire converts his Robux to the DevEx, he will get much less. Even though you can un-authorize a payment on PayPal, you should still use it. That is why I believe in signing a contract.

If I am under 18, should I start my own studio?

Go ahead, I am not stopping you. Personally, I would recommend you not to, as there may be scamming, and you cannot take legal action if a contract is broken if you are under 18.

What if I find people who will work for free?

I am not targeting anyone who works for free or requests for free work, but all I am going to say is I cannot guarantee the quality of people who work for free.

So, what’s a rough budget for my studio?

Well, if you are thinking only 20k - 50k, your entirely mistaken. 20k is not even enough for an investment. You’re looking at at least 2.5M Robux, or a few thousand dollars. In this post:

You can see that someone is willing to offer 50k Robux for each skin, and he requires 20 skins. For all the skins in total, he is willing to offer one million Robux.

Quote Regarding Payment

– @SteadyOn

I hope this tutorial was helpful for you.

rogchamp · April 25, 2019, 8:25pm

Most of your post is great, but there’s one thing I disagree with:

While you can get contracted scripts, I strongly disagree that you should. If a bug comes up with a script, it’s much better to have a permanent scripter on team who wrote the code and know how/why it works. It’s super difficult for a contractor to write perfect code that works in every condition, especially when considering having it fit with the rest of your game. Plus, if you’re contracting someone, all the different code styles will make it very annoying if you do decide to get a scripter on team; working with other people’s code can be hard enough, but if every single script uses all different conventions it can easily become a headache.

AirStrategy · April 25, 2019, 9:38pm

I agree with your statement, and it is a possibility. Like I said with the builder…

This also applies with a scripter or programmer. If there is a big project that involves lots of scripting, a contractor may also work. The contract can also include…

That if there are any malfunctions with the code, the contractor must fix it.

I fully agree with you, it is a hassle to get contracted scripters, but it is still a feature.

rogchamp · April 25, 2019, 9:40pm

A contracted scripter probably isn’t going to want to stick with your project for years fixing bugs as they pop up. Plus, it might not be a bug in the script itself but a bug caused by what the script does and its interactions with other scripts.

Sentross · April 25, 2019, 10:10pm

Great advice!

The only thing that I disagree with is the 1 builder part. Building can get stressful, especially when your on the clock and have to do an entire game by your self. 1 builder may work for smaller games, but the amount of builders you need should really depend on the game your making.

1 builder to make the map, props, and everything may be a bit too much. It should rather be anywhere from 1-3 builders based on the size of your game.

(Just my opinion)

AirStrategy · April 25, 2019, 10:14pm

I would personally hire a contractor when it comes to maps and bigger projects. I wouldn’t recommend a single builder, but looking for contractors to build things as small as an animal, or a tree, or anything along those lines, is too small for a contractor.

Sentross · April 25, 2019, 10:18pm

Oh yeah, definitely agree with that last part. Maybe in that case hire 1-2 general builders that have a high range of skills in building. That way its not just 1 builder doing it all, but its like a team effort kind of thing.

T0ny · April 25, 2019, 10:28pm

If you hire a bunch of contractors, you’ll end up with a bunch of different art styles clashing for your game. You can argue that they can adapt their style for your game. But every person is different, so there’s bound to be some variation somewhere.

Contract work isn’t a bad thing. I’ll start to refer to them as freelancers. It’s good as a leader of a project to be aware of every aspect of development in your game. What it takes to do A, B, and C. That way you can understand the hassle the developer has to go through, and have a general idea on the time frame and how much its worth. Now you are not a pro at this new profound knowledge you just learned. (Unless you actually are a pro).

Personally I prefer bringing on permanent developers. Not freelancers. I want a consistent feel, with consistent work. Someone who can learn the team, and eventually know what quality it is that we aim for. Something you have to re-iterate to freelancers as they change.

Me. I specialize in programming. I program everything I need for my game, and if its beyond me I reach out for help, or just a nice conversation on the topic. If I can’t find a builder, I’ll build it myself. If I can’t find an animator I’ll animate it myself. And so on and so forth.

I’ve been fortunate enough to find a builder that builds for me (albeit for free) but I’m happy with his quality, And when I’m not I can give feedback and generally watch as his skills improve as the project progresses. Nevertheless in my 2 man team, I more than cover the areas that need to be covered.

About the part where “Can I create a studio without money or Robux?”

You said no… That’s not true. Even if the studio is JUST you. YOU ARE your studio. And by being the sole developer in your studio its only worth what you’re worth. With that being said you might not have a team for quite some time.

The quality of a project… depends on how dedicated you are to spending the time finding out what you don’t know. How much you really want to continue to re-iterate on your project until you achieve the quality you’re looking for. With that being said, you can make a game by yourself. But your overall quality is limited. More time spent on a project doesn’t necessarily mean an increase in quality. And no matter what, you might be a jack of all trades. But you’re the master of none. A team will always be able to achieve a better quality than you, in less time than you.

Iteration 1:

Iteration 2:

Iteration 3:

I’m aware I practically progressed backwards on iteration 2 lol.

OmgItsDark · December 16, 2023, 1:36am

Hey, this is a very old thread so I apologize for reviving it but I am interested in this bit.

Could you perhaps show an example of a contract? What should be in it and how does each party sign it?