Team Culture

I think a great team culture is built off of consistency, trust, and opportunities for connection. At Polyarc we often worked on finding ways to improve connections or create space for the team members to make connections.

Team Rituals

Weekly Playtests

I participated in weekly team playtesting to gather fresh feedback on a regular schedule. This kept the team progressing with a clear feedback & progress iteration loop and gave us a scheduled time and place to request more feedback on specific work.

Showcase Fridays

On Fridays we would encourage chat threads specifically for showing off new work or any new ideas people were working on. This was a great way for the team to see progress across the project or to share cool new tech that someone might be testing out. These shares were usually just for enouragement without a focus on feedback or iteration.

One-to-one Meetings

We would prioritize our regular, structured check-ins between a manager and their direct report. These were aimed at building trust, discussing career development, and removing roadblocks, rather than just providing status updates. Having these on a regular bases gave team members a structured time and place to address any issues before they grew into bigger problems.

Customer/Player Support

I would regularly respond to player questions, issues and bug reports. Quite often I was able to pass on positive feedback to the rest of the team. Hearing how our work is actively being appreciated by players was always a welcome reassurance that our talents were being appreciated and bringing someone enjoyment.