Hiring External Creators

Working in a team is part of the fun. Here are some roles you might consider.

Whether you are a solo creator, a small team or a studio, you might decide that you’d like to take on and work with another artist, game designer or level designer on your project.

The Sandbox is all about building community and creating opportunities, so we encourage you to reach out and find like-minded creators to collaborate with.

Working with a team does come with an added layer of complexity, so before you leap into it, here are some points to consider when deciding on how to approach building and engaging with a team.

Building a Team

If you decide to hire external help to design an experience, you will need to set up some roles and responsibilities so that expectations are clear from the start.

Here are some examples based on specific team roles:

Project Manager

A person who manages the overall planning and execution of the project.

Content Creator & Marketing Manager

A person who designs and produces content to promote the experience across social media. (This role could also be assigned to the Project Manager depending on the size and budget of your project).

Game Designer / Level Designer

Someone dedicated to creating your experience in the Game Maker. This includes using blocks to map out the terrain, adding assets, and building applying logic using behaviours and components.

Modeller / Animator

Modellers create ASSETs in VoxEdit that can be used in the Game Maker and published to The Sandbox Marketplace. Having distinct ASSETs will add a lot to your experiences. An Animator can make ASSETs dynamic by adding movements that can be triggered in the Game Maker.

Quality Assurance

Quality Assurance is focused on stress testing a product to identify any bugs and issues so that they can be resolved before publishing.

Web Designer

A Web Designer focuses on creating a landing page or website that helps users find your project and learn more about it. With a whole Metaverse of projects being created in The Sandbox, make sure there is enough information available for users to identify your experience.

You could, of course, take on all of these roles yourself as an individual, which is fantastic! Do keep in mind that addressing each of these tasks solo will push out your timeline, so make sure you accommodate for this when planning your production process.

Contracts

If you do decide to hire some team members to assist in building your experience, then we recommend you have prospective team members sign contracts with you.

While trust is always a big factor when collaborating with others, it is essential that you have a clear agreement that outlines terms and conditions such as:

• What the person's role is and what they will do.

• How many hours they will work per week or month.

• How much they will be paid for their work and when and in which currency.

• Model and method of payment.

• Copyright licences (usage, drafts, concepts and final art).

• Royalties (if applicable).

• Duration of the contract (2 months, 1 year, until services are no longer needed, etc).

• Establish the type of working relationship. For example freelancer versus company employees.

• A sentence explaining that their contract can be cancelled by you before it expires if they breach the terms and conditions of the agreement.

Unfortunately, The Sandbox cannot offer you legal advice, as the accuracy of such advice differs by nation and even local jurisdictions within those nations.

There are plenty of resources that can be found via search engines to help you write up a professional contract, and we recommend you take the time to do the research appropriate to your activity.

Alternatively, seek advice from an expert, such as a lawyer or volunteer government advisors.

Payments

It is your (or your project manager's) responsibility to ensure that all external creators, hired studios and team members are paid in full and on time.

Note that the vast majority of nations have laws protecting their citizens from late working/freelancing payments. You must pay any hired individuals or studios in a timely manner to avoid any issues.

Finding Creators & Studios for Hire

Website

You can find individuals or studios for hire by visiting the Creators / Studios For Hire page on The Sandbox’s official knowledge base.

Discord Call-Out

You can also post call-outs for people to hire on our official Discord in the Artists / Game Designers For Hire channels.