Give something away.
Either you’re giving away money(hiring) or you’re giving away code or game assets. In both cases you must also be willing to cede control over the ideas and implementation, as nobody will do anything exactly the way you want.
The more you give away, the more likely it is something will get made from it. I’m not even going to cover the “I’m the idea man” case. Everyone who’s serious knows that that won’t work. Here are posts that I think have a high chance of success:
#1:
I have created some art for a (theme) game. You can view it here(link). I am looking to work with a programmer to implement some of my ideas. I am willing to be flexible about the design.
#2:
I have programmed a game engine that is suitable for (genre) games. There is a demo here(link). I would like to work with an artist and produce a beautiful game with it. You are welcome to suggest concepts.
These two have good chances. Not only have they brought something to the table but they’ve said, “work with me and you can get your idea made!” That’s a huge draw, and it’s necessary to find motivated people. As long as you can demonstrate some minimum of ability in something that will help the actual implementation(which is usually art or code, possibly music or writing in the appropriate genres) this technique will help you find partners and build a real team that Gets Stuff Done.
There is an alternate method to this, which is to contact people who look interesting(have posted a good demo or portfolio) and ask them directly. It’s again important to show your own skills and emphasize that they will get great control over the design and concept.
If your partner is being too bossy and can’t compromise on anything, drop them, advertise again, find someone else. Make note of any legal issues this might cause. Bad team members are not worth your time; there is enough talent out there that you can afford to be choosy. (if you think otherwise, that indicates that your own skills aren’t good enough for the market yet.)
In any case, once you’ve done that project, you can say to your new partner(s), “how about helping with my idea now?” If you had a good experience working together, they’re more likely to stay on. It may take a while to get to this point, but better late than never. If they say no, you’ve still made a game. You’ve added to a portfolio. You will have more reputation as a developer(even if the game sucks). These are all worthwhile if you want to continue making games.
Or if you don’t want to work in this way, you’ll just have to make the game by yourself. I work with a commercial console developer now, and even in that environment, “getting buy-in” – coming to a compromise on what each department wants, on a per-feature basis – is a catalyst for hours of conference room meetings. If you’re by yourself, you don’t have meetings, but you also work tons harder. So while I do my Flash projects alone, I wouldn’t try anything else that way.
