HVREdev

This (our fourth) year of HVRE will be focused on "role-playing" specific roles in a hierarchy similar to a small to medium sized studio. The program is designed to help members get at least an introductory "feel" for positions they are thinking about pursuing and gain valuable experience in a subject they would like to add to their work experience, resume, and/or portfolio. 

 

We are making the project as transparent as possible so members are allowed to show all of their experiences during the program, including examples of their work.

 

We are also going to be holding peer-workshops throughout the project. The basic idea is to allow members to present short workshops on subjects related to their roles. This reinforces their understanding of the subject and gives them experience presenting. It also allows other members an opportunity to learn something they didn't know. We will be building an online library of the workshops for future use as well.

 

We currently have 6 departments including:

Design,

Technical,

Art,

Sound,

Marketing, and

QA/Testing.

 

In addition to production roles under each department, we will have at least one Team Lead for each department and one or more Project Leads. You can find further descriptions and information on our Trello Board.

 

Along with a brief description of the "typical roles," we've posted a few examples of job postings in each department so members can get a feel for what industry needs they want to focus on. Ideally, members can "create their own position" to focus on what matters to their own portfolio and resume. Members will be "applying" to the ideal roles they need for their future goals, submitting a "goal resume" of the experience they hope to have by the end of the project, and a "commitment cover letter" describing what they want to do and why, their goal priorities, as well as their level of commitment to their goals. We will be molding the project around their needs as much as possible. I'm encouraging members and interested individuals to start researching and identifying what they need to get out of the project.

 

It's exciting because the project and product will be a direct result of human goals! Throughout the project, members will learn to track their time and productivity. They will be asked to self-reflect about the project & their goals either by video during meetings, or whatever method they prefer. At the end of their time, we will encourage participants to rewrite their cover letter and resume to include the experience they've gained and to reflect on how they've accomplished their goals.

 

We are asking for at least one semester of commitment for each role, and a consistent minimum number of hours each week ranging from a suggested (not required) 5-15 hours depending on the role and time available to each member. We are budgeting according to members tracked-hours so a consistent minimum is important to maintain. Hour commitments can be changed during monthly team meetings but should be done with as much notice as possible for planning/budgeting.

 

We will likely have unbalanced teams for a standard studio and an inability to "hire" for those we lack since the project is voluntary and driven by the goals of its members. This makes standard development impossible. Our solution to working with this is a modular planning approach. Our "modules" are packages that are designed to be as small and compartmentalized as possible. It's preferable to contain as much of each module in a single department as possible so that department would be responsible for implementation.  Modules are planned by Team Leads and Project Leads during bi-weekly Lead Meetings. Modules include a plan for how they affect the project now and down the line, how they affect other proposed modules,  as well as cost estimates for each department needed to incorporate the module into the project, taking into consideration how it interacts with other modules. Modules are presented for approval monthly at Milestone Meetings with the project's "Client". 

 

 

 

Currently our project is in three parts:

Spring semester our goal is working Alpha.

Summer semester we are testing the Alpha build and working towards a more refined Beta.

Fall semester we are refining the final build, publishing it, and making a plan for maintaining or continuing work for the next season.

 

For more dates watch our calendar.