by officiallymrdev | Nov 19, 2017 | Blog, Business, Developers, Tutorials
Imagine this. There are two Roblox game development groups. The owners of the groups are both trying to hire one builder so that they can focus on scripting and not building. Both of the groups get 1 application. The application suggests that the person is serious about developing but doesn’t necessarily have a good skill when it comes to developing. The first group owner reads the application, talks to the person and fires him because he doesn’t want to hire someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing. But the second owner does it differently. The second person hires him.
The second owner hires him and decides to mentor him instead of forgetting about him. He sets a goal for that person he has just hired to do in one month. That is to listen to what he says and don’t ignore him, always try your best and keep on going even when the road gets tough. So he shows the new hiree some good building techniques and shows them how to keep motivated. He then asks the hiree to build a small house with the techniques that he just learned on his own in 20 minutes in front of him and to ask for advice if he needs it.
Sure enough, he asks for advice and the owner gives it to him. They build it with time to spare. He then tells them what could happen if they keep their head down and work hard. He tells them how much robux he could make and how many people will play their game if they work hard, quick and professionally and get the game out. Sure they both worked hard for 6 months on the game and released it into beta testing.
Soon enough they had 10,000 concurrent players daily and were breaking Roblox records of robux earned and concurrent players. They were legends of Roblox game development.
Meanwhile, the owner that turned down the application spent ages trying to hire people and by the time he hired someone 6 months had passed. They had lost all their fans that they got who were excited by the game they promised would come out soon and they had lost the motivation to develop.
The moral of this story that everyone has potential, even those who don’t have any experience when they apply to work in your group. Most of the time it will probably take you longer to find an experienced builder who suits your exact needs that it will to mentor someone to your specific needs with no experience and develop a game with you.
There are many ways of mentoring someone but I have done lots of research on mentoring and the best method I have found is:
Giving the person a time limit and a goal and let them know you’re counting on them. – If you give them a time limit and a goal then you will make them want to impress you and they won’t want to let you down. They will work hard to do what you ask them to do and you will get the best out of them.
Train them – There are many ways of training someone. You could show them a good website or youtube channel that has tutorials on that topic and look at it yourself and quiz them after they complete it to check they’re taking the information in or you could teach them yourself and give them your tips and tricks that you know. You could then challenge them to make something in front of you and see if they are using the skills you have taught them. Then you can go over the ones they could have used more often and challenge them again till they use each tip and trick at the perfect time.
Point them in the right direction – Once you think they have learned enough give them a medium-sized project that you can enter into the game and get them to make it in front of you. You could also once again give them a time limit so they don’t spend days on a project. See how they do then give them another thing to make that is slightly more challenging. At this point, you could leave them to their own devices or you could watch them do it again but always make sure that if they ask for advice give it to them and don’t question them. To you, a question may sound stupid but to them, it might not. That could destroy their motivation.
Motivate them – The key to making a good game is being motivated to work on it. If you’re not motivated then you’re not going to work to the best of your ability. A good way to motivate them is to talk to them about how many players could join your game if you work hard and fast and how the fans are relying on you to make this game and make it good. They’re all looking at you. Also, when you motivate them, make sure you speak to them directly by using you and not we. If you use you instead of we then they will think that they have more of a responsibility because it reminds them that it’s their job, not anybody else’s.
If you do this, it will surely lead to success and robux if that’s what you’re aiming for.
by pyrothefast | Jun 8, 2017 | Business
Money (Robux); what most developers, group owners, and ROBLOXians alike thrive on. The backbone of any company is the financial branch, without financing a group cannot grow and support itself. Groups have expenses such as paying developers, marketing, bidding on advertisements, game sponsoring, and so much more.
It is crucial to understand that for you to see a change in your business you need to have some sort of way to generate profits. For groups that cannot exactly nail down a good source of revenue, they simply create content like clothing. For example, a medical group cannot sell much, however they can make different colored scrubs (medical/surgical uniforms) for the group store, this will eventually pay off from ROBLOXians purchasing these items. If you lack a profit source you’ll find yourself pitching in all of your funds and losing your personal finances. It is not to say that you shouldn’t invest in your own company, because you should, but you should never have to suffer through economic depression so your group can grow.
“A good group will make funds for itself, therefore relieving you of utilizing personal finances.”
On a side note, even though the CEO, Owner, Founder or whatever you see fit to call the owner of the group should always be interested in the wellbeing of the group’s financial safety, it is beyond smart to hire a person designated to this. Often these are referred to as ‘CFOs’ which stands for Chief Financial Officer. This person’s sole responsibility is to safeguard your hard earned money. You should look to your CFO for most of your finance related transactions.
Why should you be worried about finance? You should be careful with your finances because without group finances your personal account will dry up, your investments will dry up, and without money a group can’t go too far.
So how do I finance my group safely? This can vary greatly on the kind of group you run, I have worked/am working at one of the largest Hospitals on ROBLOX, one of the best known clothing companies, and large scale cafés. The universal thing I always do is:
- Set-up a Google Sheets outlining your income, expenses, and where the money currently is (all of this information can be retrieved from Audit Logs).
- I provide comprehensive reports to the CEO/Board outlining the current status of the funds, what I think would be a smart move (example: running an ad campaign while we have a fluid source of profit).
- I keep track of finance over long periods of time to track group growth.
- I work on financial projects to create boosts in profits (example: run a clothing sale for a limited time).
Do I have to do the same steps? Of course not, this is just what I do to make sure I am covering all of my bases.
I hope this article was helpful!
Follow me on Twitter @RBLX_Chilly
Add me on Discord if you have any questions at @Maxwell // Graphic Designer#1447
by pyrothefast | Jun 5, 2017 | Business
ROBLOX is a very complex platform empowering users to earn virtual currency by the means of providing a product. Mostly on ROBLOX we see businesses (groups) like clothing stores, roleplaying, food and beverage, etc. However with the growth of the advertisement market, games, and other developmental ventures, graphic design is ever so present.
There is a striking population of Graphic Designers on ROBLOX, and it can be hard to be seen out from the crowd of Graphic Designers. Yes, there are some that do streamlined modern graphics, that nearly look the same to others, and they make great funds, however this is not recommended. You want to have your own style, your own graphic personality. Why? Because you want to fill a gap in the graphics market, thus when a client is looking for graphics that ‘fall into’ that gap, you are there to collect.
Aside from the graphics, you want to market yourself publicly. This can mean attaining a Twitter and uploading your work, tweeting about your work, and finding work. It is very beneficial to have a group that is the analogical home base for your graphics business. Here you can have T-Shirts in the group store for payments, have a great looking logo for customers to see, and make shouts according to current news on your growing business.
Getting orders is the entirety of being a Graphic Designer on ROBLOX. I can’t stress how important it is to at first, search for your orders. Orders won’t come to you until you’ve built yourself a name. Some might advertise their group, but really, the more effective thing to do is join a discord like Hidden Developers because in that discord is where developers post jobs that need to be done. It is also recommended to have some sort of Ordering System, whether that is a ordering GUI you found or a Trello, etc. Be sure to have an advertisement (or do it yourself at first to save on money) message these people upon ordering to show that you really do care about their order and that you’ve made note on it.
Lastly, make sure that you are a responsible designer, meaning, don’t take part in scamming, theft, etc. Be the designer that everyone wants to use because of your kindness, dependability, and outright skill. Don’t take to shameful business practices, be an example to other developers in the community.
Thanks for reading!
Follow me on Twitter @RBLX_Chilly
Add me on Discord @Maxwell // Graphic Designer#1447
by pyrothefast | May 15, 2017 | Business
How To
Article 1: Success to a great group
Welcome, today I’ll be speaking about a popular request from some of you in the community. First I should introduce myself, I am TimeValuez. Community Expert and writer at Komune.
This article is all about creating a Successful group. There are many different groups and ideas floating around the Ro-Sphere. The Ro-Sphere is what I like to call the little voice in all our heads that’s constantly thinking about what to do or make in Roblox. Luckily most of you want a successful group. I’ve been around the block a few times to tell you it’s not as easy I make it look. Making a successful group is everything but easy.
You need time and dedication when it comes to groups. It’s not always something someone is ready to do. However, in this case, let’s assume you’re ready. The first step to making a successful group is having an idea. Ideas are golden plated little things in your head and could potentially be worth hundreds maybe thousands of Robux. So keep the idea to yourself. Once you have your idea plan ahead.
It’s always a good idea to plan ahead. Don’t get stuck in the mud with the group and not have anything ready. Good things come with time, just remember that having a plan is always a good idea. Once you’ve planned out what you want to do and you have the idea fleshed out, start gathering a team. Preferably, people, you trust with the idea and group. I usually choose friends of mine who I’ve known throughout my career in Roblox.
So let’s assume you have your idea, plan, and a team set. Great! You’re almost ready. Now it’s time to start development. Be it a Salon, Cafe, Game production, or another type of group. It’s always good to have cheap but skilled developers. Mainly people who build and people who script. Sometimes games and general places to hang out are good for group activity and it all depends on the type of group. There are endless possibilities in Roblox. You just need to find that one thing that you’ve decided on and go with it.
I understand that some of these things aren’t necessarily easy to do or find, but this is where the quote “Good things come with time and patience.” comes in. Just wait and work with the idea and the rest will come with ease. It all about the work you put into the group in the first place. A lazy person doesn’t come up with the best group. The hard working individuals do. A person once told me “Be lazy all you want, but one day you’ll look back and see the wrong decisions you’ve made and you’ll be ultimately disappointed”. Sometimes it’s easier to be active with your group. Don’t be lazy and let the others do everything for you. It’s always a good idea to go ahead and offer help.
Most of the people I’ve taught had to learn that lesson the hard way and lose workers and friends in the process. Anyways getting back on topic. Now that you’ve got the group Idea, Name, Team, and Development Team. It’s time to start production. A group can hold up to 19 roles including the default locked Guest role. It’s good to have sufficient roles that are needed for your group to distinguish those who work with different things from those who are just there to visit.
But once you have your roles and development started, remember it’s all about the activity and getting people to join the group and start to notice how good the group is as a community. People like active and understanding communities. An inactive and rude community loses the interest of the public and will ultimately fail in the near future. Gathering good staff and workers is important, they represent the group and are the first thing the group sees when joining the game or group itself.
I believe this a good part to start explaining staff discipline. Staff punishment and overall rule enforcement keep the group looking clean and professional. Unruly staff are a nuisance to the group and are the main reason a group is dragged down in rating and likability. When someone joins your group and sees a rude staff member or someone breaking a rule they automatically think it’s normal and is allowed or that the HRs (High Ranks) just don’t care. Good group management is key to keeping the group and community looking professional.
Something else worth mentioning is having HRs in the group. People who are charged with managing the group for multiple reasons. Mainly division management. Some roles to mention are CEO, COO, CCO, Supervisor, and Manager. CEO being Chief Executive Officer. One of your most trusted workers and someone who is willing to watch the group while you’re away. COO being Chief Operational Officer. The main person in-charge of managing activity and the assistant to the CEO. CCO being Chief Communications Officer. The person in charge of customer/member interaction and group alliances.
This brings me to another subject. It’s always good to have allies when it comes to groups. People or other groups that are willing to help increase your player base and help with activity. Allies don’t always help out but more often than not people pay attention to a group’s allies and look to see if the groups there are worth paying attention and looking into. People always like to have a place to go, somewhere they can succeed and get praise for it.
It’s a good idea to keep not only keep the group active but to keep yourself in tune with the activities of the group and it’s workers. People like an active owner, someone that takes the time to join in on the day to day activities. Playing your own game and talking with the staff and members of the group is always a good idea. It not only boosts the morale of the group but also the confidence of the workers. It also gives you a good look at what’s going on in your group.
Overall it’s not an easy task, but it’s sometimes worth the time and work you put into it. To recap you need an Idea, Plan, Trusted Staff team, development team, activity, understanding and respectable workers and for yourself to be a figure to look up to. Without these a group is nothing.
One thing to mention before I go is advertising, ads are a great way to grab the attention of anyone in Roblox. Having a good professional ad or more than one is one of the best ways of getting people to get to notice the hard work you’ve put into making such a great group. This doesn’t always work, but it doesn’t hurt to try.
Thank you all for reading Komune’s First “How To” Article!
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding this Article please email TimeValuez @ timevaluezofficial@gmail.com
