I wrote an article on this about 5 years ago but I feel that it resembled Dogzer's article a bit, so I'm writing another version of it.

Step 1: The game designer
First, start off deciding whether or not you want a (co-)game designer. Most games can only have one game designer. Everyone must follow the orders of the game designers, only offering him advice and suggestions, but it is the choice of the game designer whether to follow it or not.

Why? As Napoleon said, "One bad general is better than two good generals." More than one person affecting the design would just make it a confusing mess and doom your game. Game design should not be democratic. It's like writing a novel with more than one author.

Are you looking for a game designer? If you're always asking for suggestions, then you are. If you come up to people and tell them what your game is like, then you're not. Make this choice early because it's a waste of time to do it too late in the process.

I don't count story writers, character and level designers as game designers, so it's OK to have a few extra of those in the game


Make the game first!
Too many times before, I wrote a long design document then gave it to people wanting to help me on my game. Big mistake. You will change some things in the game. Sometimes there are things that you will cut out, sometimes there are things to be added in.

Telling people to make music or make an engine for a frame that no longer exists is bad for morale. Telling people to write a storyline or make a cinematic for a level that you've cut out is even more frustrating.

If you're a coder, design the whole engine first, so the artists can get a good feel for the physics for the game. Have a game that they can animate for, don't make them draw up what they expect the game to look like.

If you're an artist, make the sprites first, but wait for the engine to be done to determine animations. put up a mock screenshot of what you think it should look like. If you can, draw the backdrops first.

Music and sound usually goes last. It has to fit everything else, like a well-made suit.


Now you look for help
Go on and advertise for help. But be nice. And don't treat people like they have to help you, that'll scare people off. And write properly! You'll scare off the most talented help if you look like a n00b. (see my other article on not looking like a newbie)

Avoid even hinting that your game will be vapourware. Nobody likes to waste time on a game that won't be finished, because all of us have been through that. It's like getting fired, it's painful! Avoid phrases like "I'll do it when I have time." Duh, we all only work our games when we're free.


Getting them working for you
First thing to remember is that if you're not good at something, the people you ask for help will usually do it better than you. When I was a poor newbie, I used to ask for a lot of details, like "Tom has red hair, glasses, and a fur coat". And the people who did the sprite would do it much better than I imagined. Heck, he would've made it better if I didn't tell him to make the hair red.

Don't be too descriptive, but make sure everyone knows what they're supposed to do. If you say 'draw a guy with glasses', you're likely end up with something different than what you hoped for.

Finally, keep things at a steady pace. It is much better to get your hirelings chasing up to your pace rather than you making sure they have something to do. Even if they can't keep up, you can always give them something else to do so they don't get bored.

Remember this, boredom kills projects, especially on the Internet. Leave someone idle for long enough and they'll put it on lower priority. Once anyone has it on their "I'll do it when I'm bored" list, you have no choice but to replace that person.. which could likely kill your project.