   Im starting a company -- Mephis -- and i need Members --
Name:Mephis (note: we are NOT yet registered in the us, but i will be filling out the forms and we will be a Limited Liability Corp.)Brief description:Mephis is too be a computer design and graphic design company for the video game industry, we may have a office and dedicated building in the near future.Target aim:Retail is our main aim, but freeware and shareware are good starting points this will depend on the game and if we can intrest a publisher.Compensation:For the time being you will not get paid for your work but we have plans for hourly wages and biweekly checks after we sell enough games.Technology:i am aiming to opengl as i have come to like it and its easy to under stand code as well as its powerhaul. for the moment all of our artists will be given a full version of milkshape a handy and powerful modeler and animatior we will look into all online products and find a medium priced programs for our employees, and if we cant find a good priced product we shall make one ourselfs.Talent needed:webdesignersgame programmersnetwork prgrammersgraphics designerssound/midi designbeta testersteamleadersgame producers/writersand artistsTeam structure:at the moment its just me and i know:sqlmysqlwindows programmingdos command linephpasp.net 1.0c++javajsp&#106avascriptsome amuteur modeling and animation + graphic designc++windows programmingonpenglwindows computer strucperlhtml/xhtmlcsshttp 1.0asp.net 2.0Website:Mehpis.net (domain may not be working i purcahsed it today)EssentialsDisk Space (MB)  10 GB  Traffic - Bandwidth (GB)  500 GB   DomainPre-registered domain transfer  Free Domain Registration (new or renewal)  $15.00 Custom Name/DNS Server  no Edit DNS Record  no  EmailPOP3/IMAP/SMTP  unlimited Aliases  unlimited Forwarders  unlimited Auto-Responders  unlimited Customise Web Based Email  no Mail Lists - List server  2 List Server members  500 Web Sites & ServicesIIS Web Sites  5 Custom Error Pages  yes Virtual Directories  unlimited Separate Application space   no Site ManagementUsers / FTP Logins  5 Customer Supportwithin 24 hour response  yes within 12 hour response guaranteed  no Statistics & PromotionStats Server  5 Search Engine Submission  yes ScriptingASP  Yes ASP.NET Framework  Yes CGI BIN  Yes PERL  Yes PHP  Yes ApplicationISAPI  no Custom Components  no Custom Applications (install software)   no Scheduled Applications (task scheduler)   no DatabaseODBC   unlimited MS-Access 97/2000/XP/2003   unlimited MS-SQL ServerServer 2000    1 Additional SQL Setup-fee    n\a MS-SQL Server Space    account size  MS-SQL Server Backups    2 version  MySQL   10 MultimediaWindows Media Streams  no SecurityFREE Shared SSL 128Bit  Yes Password Protected Directories  Yes Contacts:stromham@mephis.net stromham@yahoo.comAdditional Info:i am willing to pay for most services need for the company but we should be able to develop everything we need and we wont have to deal with 3rd party expenses and contracts.Feedback:anything i want to make this perfect so gimme what ever you want to though at me.please note i am dedicated to this company and will be here untill i die, i will put all of my extra time and effort into it, people may come and go but i will always have the company running and pumping out great games![Edited by - stromham on June 11, 2006 12:43:22 PM]
  No.Companies don't have members. They have employees, and share/stakeholders. If you want to put together a team, put together a team. If you want to put together a company, get the capital (take a loan if you can provide the collateral or have the credit, assuming you don't have the cash) and start a real company. The idea of someone spending the money on incorporation and legal counsel and registering a name but not being willing/able to pay even a token amount for work done screams "unprofessional." Or if you want to "shaft" people, be clever about it: offer internships!There are more problems: Many, many, many companies are run by people who had/gathered the capital to found the company and care passionately about its purpose, but have no business capability whatsoever. My suggestion is that you put your plans to start a company on the back burner for now, and focus on building a team of volunteers. In doing so, you will learn a lot about managing egos and about the challenges that come with collaboration - and that's before money gets involved!I plan to start my own company in 2008. That was the date I set for myself when graduating last year, and I'm sticking to it. In the meantime, I'm working in the business development unit of a company in the game industry, gaining significant insight into how and how not to run a media business. Repeat after me: Ownership is not synonymous with Management. (Thanks, Dan!)Good luck, whatever you choose. [smile]   ;  well thanks for your insight, i am willing to pay but my budget is about 600 usd a month, i am willing to pay for all programs ex. milkshape, borland compiler, vbrush etc. but i cant really figure out a way to give salary to people if i cant tell if they are working.... i will look into this more, and i put employee in the first post but member in the topic i know this is bad wording but if i put employee they instantly think its a monthly paycheck. why is this differnt than a team that promises royalties when they sell it? by copyright laws each user owns his or her own work and will get compinsated at the end accordingly.do you instantly tag me as a "noob""My suggestion is that you put your plans to start a company on the back burner for now, and focus on building a team of volunteers. In doing so, you will learn a lot about managing egos and about the challenges that come with collaboration - and that's before money gets involved!"you have no clue if i can manage people or not in fact you dont know my capabilitys at all. maybe im ready for the next step.;Quote:Mephis is too be a computer design and graphic design company for the video game industryQuote:after we sell enough games.so which is it?  are you a design outsourcing shop for the games industry or are you making games?It's going to be extremely difficult to get clients if you aren't actually a company with credentialed employees.  If you don't have anyone who's ever worked on a commercial game, you won't get any commercial games' contracts.  And you're not going to get credentialed employees without paying them a salary.If you're really serious about a company start hooking up with venture capitalists, get some investment and hire a team.  A handy by-product of dealing with the venture folks is that they will critique your business plan and help you figure out if there's actually money to be made with your plan.  The nice rule of thumb working there: if no one wants to invest in you, then it's a bad idea.-me   ;  well i plan to make games and programs for the gaming industry. i have decided to further my plans and start a team instead of a company and when i can afford the leap from team to company i will you guys have pointed out very intersting things i had not thought about... so untill that day i will further plan and make my "team" a company and when i make the leap i will already have members i have worked with and games already to show our work untill then please close and lock this topic. i will make a new one for a team instead.   ;  What type of game are you looking to design? I'm an experienced musician, and I'd like to learn more about your project. Please check out my portfolio at www.2eastmusic.com and shoot me back a heads up. Additionally, I work in marketing for a company that promotes indie games, so I may be of some use there.Maybe we'll work together in the future. Good luck!-Matt   ;  While this sounds interesting and all, I cringe when I look at your unprofessional typing skills. No offense, but clear communication and clarity of your intentions are very important if you're trying to convince someone to join you for any endeavor, paid or unpaid.If you come up with some sort of solid project and develop a sound business plan, or even if you just find an actual business partner who can set things up for you, then I may be interested. Check out my work here: www.coreyannis.comBut if I get the same impression of you I already have in the future, I'm not sure how well your business is going to work. I agree with the above statements. If you are going to start a company, start a company. Money and compensation are what keep the world turning after all.Oh, and to combat your problem of "paying people without knowing they are working." Contracts...pure and simple. Contracts are good. They are the only way anything ever gets done in the entertainment industry.So think it over, and contact me if you like. I like meeting any fellow developer with a good head on his shoulders. But whether or not I'd be willing to hop on board for a business, I'm not so sure. I would need to see something more solid than a flaky post on gamedev.net.   ;  well sorry to say i have figured out what im doing with mephis and i am currently sponsoring a game in development that will complete soon, mephis's will now focus on helping indie devs and hoobiests compete with the big giys thank you all for your time.   ;  I liked this:Quote:Name:Mephis (note: we are NOT yet registered in the us, but i will be filling out the forms and we will be a Limited Liability Corp.)Team structure:at the moment its just me and i know:;  I'm willing to be a concept artist and a beta tester! My aim:jawdude1234   