PFD Week 8: Researching optimal team collaboration techniques in Games Development

Researching optimal team collaboration techniques in Games Development

In this final (8th) blog of my series, I’ve taken a deep dive into what makes a game development team work efficiently. As an undergraduate student aspiring to become a games developer, I’ve seen first-hand how clear communication, structured workflows, and genuine trust can make or break a project. Drawing on both my personal experiences and research from industry experts, I’ve decided to present academic findings from my research to round off the blog series. This will be conducted by referencing professional guidance to benefit my game development skills in a team environment.


Clear Communication & Agile Practices

One of the main causes for team success is maintaining and having open lines of communication. Effective communication in Agile Kanban environments is critical for fostering transparency and trust among team members, leading to more efficient collaboration and faster issue resolution (Crudu and MoldStud Research Team, 2024). As further supported by Atlassian (n.d.), Kanban methodologies enhance workflow visualization and accountability, thereby reinforcing team communication.


Trust and Open Collaboration

It is equally important to establish trust among the team members. Mayer, Davis and Schoorman (1995) argue that trust is established when team members are perceived as both competent and ethically reliable, which in turn encourages open collaboration. This trust creates an environment where individuals feel safe to share ideas and constructive feedback without fear of negative repercussions, leading to improved problem-solving and enhanced overall team performance (Mayer, Davis and Schoorman, 1995). Similarly, Duhigg (2016) highlights that teams which cultivate psychological safety are better positioned to innovate and resolve issues collaboratively.


Applying the Research in Our Team

Over the course of the blog-series, our team has tried various methods to improve collaboration:

  • Regular Check-Ins: Organising formal and informal meetings assisted us in addressing possible problems at an early stage. Physical meetups, while less frequent, were incredibly helpful for in-depth conversations and establishing trust.

  • Agile Methodologies: Moving to a Kanban board enabled us to see tasks and deadlines easily. This not only made our development process transparent but also allowed accountability and credibility.

  • Central Documentation: Having and keeping our GDD and TDD ensured all team members had access to standard, up-to-date information critical to preventing misunderstandings.

  • Iterative Feedback: Encouraging feedback enabled us to shape and refine our ideas and features step by step, ensuring each development phase was in line with the vision of the whole team.

These best practices significantly improved our workflow, almost always coming down to communication, a part of team-based development that I have realised is critically important. Moreover, the Agile Alliance (n.d.) notes that agile practices not only streamline development processes but also significantly boost team morale and adaptability.


Final Thoughts

Finally, after two months of trying, failing, learning and improving, I can confirm that the most important aspect for the most efficient teamwork in games development is the balance between structure and flexibility. Using agile methodology, having rich documentation and trusting team members all improve the workflow of the team.

As I finish this series, I am grateful for the learnings and the real-world knowledge gained through both our team and the industry research. These principles will definitely shape my future projects and game development career.


End-Of-Series Note

This blog series has been so much more fulfilling than I initially anticipated, and I hope my professional developments were as clear to read as much as it personally felt to me. I enjoyed working with my team and can't wait to continue working with them. Below is a direct quote from the team-lead, endorsing how I integrated myself within the team.

"Oliver has been a great member of the team, showing great strengths in initiative, understanding team dynamics, and a hunger to work on what he is passionate about. Team focus and drive has a tendency to drop off when people need to focus on educational requirements first, and yet Oliver has shown a constant will to continue working on the projects. He also has the ability to have his own, genuinely insightful, opinions on topics he isn't even expected to be knowledgeable on. He's a great force and asset to the team, showing how much effort he can bring to a project, and have that effort be streamlined and nuanced." - JustSpirit (Team-lead)

 

References

Crudu, V. and MoldStud Research Team (2024) ‘Enhancing Team Collaboration in Agile Environments Through the Kanban Methodology’, MoldStud, 5 December. Available at: https://moldstud.com/articles/p-enhancing-team-collaboration-in-agile-environments-through-the-kanban-methodology (Accessed: 31 March 2025).

Mayer, R.C., Davis, J.H. and Schoorman, F.D. (1995) 'An Integrative Model of Organizational Trust', Academy of Management Review, 20(3), pp. 709–734.

Atlassian (n.d.) Kanban. Available at: https://www.atlassian.com/agile/kanban (Accessed: 31 March 2025).

Agile Alliance (n.d.) Agile 101. Available at: https://www.agilealliance.org/agile101/ (Accessed: 31 March 2025).

Duhigg, C. (2016) ‘What Google Learned From Its Quest to Build the Perfect Team’, Harvard Business Review, November. Available at: https://hbr.org/2016/11/what-google-learned-from-its-quest-to-build-the-perfect-team (Accessed: 31 March 2025).

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