LogInFounder and CEO at Bazooka Tango Bo Daly told us about the company's history, discussed their approach to hiring new team members, and shared some advice on avoiding burnouts.
Images shared by Shardbound / Immutable Games
Bazooka Tango
I'm Bo Daly, Founder and CEO at Bazooka Tango. I founded the studio with my long-time friend and partner, Stephan Sherman (our Chief Product Officer). Stephan and I go way back, we first started working together in or around 2007, working for John Romero's MMORPG startup company. Stephan and I went on to found Super Evil Megacorp in 2012 and built a pretty successful mobile MOBA called Vainglory. We started Bazooka Tango in 2019 and since, have been focused on our main project - the revival of one of our favorite games, Shardbound.
We run a pretty tight ship with a larger-than-life crew here at Bazooka Tango. Stephan oversees the development work, while I am responsible for the important, but arguably less colorful legal and business stuff. Stephan works closely with our engineers and artists and also manages a large number of external vendors. Our Principal Technical Artist also does a lot of work with our external partners to manage quality and ensure that everything comes together right in the end.
Hiring New Team Members
We tend to like to hire quite senior staff that are very broad in their skillset. As a small studio, we rely on our team to be flexible and creative in solving problems. It helps to be comfortable with ambiguity and to be a strong communicator.
Creating a welcoming atmosphere for beginners has been really difficult in the age where everybody works from home. That said, we really try to foster a culture of experimentation, where the team is encouraged to take risks and to learn from our mistakes. We try to approach ideas in a scientific way, whenever possible, and we tend to look to our community to tell us whether we're on the right path.
Images shared by Shardbound / Immutable Games
How to Manage Burnout?
Burnout is a major problem in the games industry and can be devastating for those affected. From what I've learned, burnout is caused by a combination of fatigue (e.g., long hours) and frustration caused by (real or perceived) lack of agency.
It's always a good practice to try to set realistic goals - that goes without saying, but it's something that we've emphasized in our current development of Shardbound. However, when people do need to put in long hours for whatever reason, it's critical that they be given the freedom to solve problems on their own, that they're listened to, and that they feel respected. If you can do all of that, you can reduce the risk of real burnout.
Approach to Education
It's really important to provide employees with a clear sense of how they can grow and advance their careers. For each employee, understand what they want, identify any skill gaps, and provide resources to help them get where they need to be. This can range from buying them a book to getting them a coach/mentor. But having that clear sense of where they see themselves in 3-5 to 10 years is the foundation.
Images shared by Shardbound / Immutable Games
Advice to Beginners
I'd say the big thing is to be passionate about your work, your craft, and your ongoing education. It takes a special kind of person to be dedicated and to have vision while also being flexible in how they realize their goals. Know what matters most to you and where you can compromise.