book

Producing Games

by D Cohen, Sergio A. Bustamante

September 2012

Intermediate to advanced

300 pages

7h 6m

English

Routledge

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Front Cover
Title
Copyright
Dedication
Table of Contents
About the Authors
Acknowledgements
Intro: So You Want to be a Video Game Producer
Section One What is a Video Game Producer?
1 Producer Primer
What a Producer ManagesWhy Become a Game ProducerHow to Become a ProducerPublishers and DevelopersInternal and External Producer Roles

2 Producing at a Developer
The ScheduleDev BudgetPitching Ideas and Representing the TeamManage Milestone SubmissionsWorking With Your Publishing Counterpart
3 Producing at a Publisher
Managing SchedulesManaging the BudgetsReviewing MilestonesManaging ApprovalsManaging TestingSupport: Sales, Marketing, and PRWorking with StakeholdersSupervising Audio ProductionVoice-OverContractorsPrep for First Party Submissions
4 Producer Roles
Executive ProducerSenior ProducerProducerAssociate ProducerProduction Coordinator/Assistant ProducerOther Producer RolesLocalization ProducerCinematics ProducerLicensor Producer
5 Size and Scope: Large vs. Small, Licensed vs. Original
Team SizesLarger vs. SmallerBig BudgetsSmall BudgetsLong vs. Short SchedulesLicensed vs. Original IPsSequels and Expansion Packs and Downloadable Content
6 Producing Skills
Managing a GameThe Key Skills of a Producer (Hard Skills)Soft Skills (Or, What You Should Know, but Can Learn on the Curve)
7 Tools of the Trade
Software Solutions and Recommendations3-D Graphics and Modeling Packages
Section Two The Process in a Nutshell
8 The History of Game Development
Case Study: The History of Game Development Through the Evolution of Sierra
9 Game Project Lifecycle Overview
Concept PhasePre-Production PhaseProduction PhaseThe Crunch: From Pre-Alpha to Release Candidate
10 The Development Team
Technical DirectorProgrammers and EngineersCreative DirectorDesignersArt DirectorArtistsAnimatorsAudio Director and EngineerWritersQA/Compliance
11 The Publishing Team
The ProducerOperations, a.k.a. OpsTech DirectorArt DirectorQA TeamCreative Director
12 Publishers Selecting Developers
Projects That Start With the Publisher (The Dog Wagging the Tail)Finding the DeveloperProjects That Start With the Publisher (The Tail Wagging the Dog
Section Three Scheduling and Structure
13 Scheduling and Structure
The Producer’s Role in SchedulingWhy Schedule? Heavy Scheduling vs. No SchedulingWho Owns the Schedules?Man-Month ScheduleMilestones: How They Affect EverythingScrum, Waterfall, Agile, and Cowboy CodingElements of a ScheduleTroubleshootingOther Teams’ Needs and SchedulesHardwareDLC, Expansion Packs, and SequelsMarketing, PR, and Sales NeedsScreenshots and PR/Marketing MaterialsHolidays and Vacation
14 Development Plan Management (Scheduling to Production)
Tasking the ProjectDelegating TasksMonitoring Tasks and Tracking ChangesTask Management Software
15 Budget Management
Creating a Project Budget: Man Months and the P&LThe P&LWhere to Cut CornersQuality CheckEthics
16 The Milestone Schedule
Creating a Milestone ScheduleManaging the Milestone SchedulePreparing a Milestone for Submission and ReviewItems to Expect in a Milestone DeliverableWhat Shouldn’t Be Included as a Milestone Deliverable
17 Pipelines
An Example of a Pipeline: The Character ModelPods and Cross-Disciplinary TeamsCreating a Pipeline
Section Four Managing Your Project, Your Team, Your Time, and Yourself
18 Being an Organized Producer
How to Be OrganizedTools of OrganizationDon’t ProcrastinateTake a Class in Organization and Time ManagementCommunicationCommunicating Outside of the Team and Back AgainManaging Information Flow
19 Reviews and Approvals
Approval PipelineApproval FormsManaging Feedback
20 Meetings
Running Meetings: Short and SweetPlanning MeetingsHow Many and How OftenSoftware and ToolsLocation, Location, LocationThe Meeting AgendaStructuring a MeetingKeep Your Meeting MovingNotes and ReportsSome Meeting EtiquetteRegularly Scheduled Meetings
21 Managing and Supporting Multiple Projects
Juggling: How to Keep Your Balls in the AirScheduling and Resource Allocation
22 Staffing
The Producer’s Role in StaffingStart with the Core and ExpandConducting InterviewsCutting the FatHiring Outside the TeamWhere to Find Candidates
23 Technology: What Every Producer Should Know
How Game Builds Are CreatedThe Game EngineA Little About Licensed vs. Proprietary EnginesMiddlewareConsole SystemsRequirements and Compliance or TRC/TCR/LotCheck
24 External Management (Publisher)
Managing ManagementPresenting the VisionManaging Other Departments: PR, Marketing, and SalesManaging Licensors
Section Five Concept Phase
25 What You Hope to Achieve at Concept
Vision Statement and Game OverviewProject Design RequirementsDesign Feature Checklist
26 The Producer’s Role at the Concept Stage
ProcessMeetings at ConceptWhere You Are in the Schedule, Budget, and Team
27 The Creative at the Concept Stage: The Evolution
Brainstorming and Collaboration
28 Concept Risk Management
Look AheadStakeholder ApprovalsLooping in the Tech Director
Section Six Pre-Production
29 Looking Ahead
The Planning StagesThe Design PhasePrototype Phase
30 What You Hope to Achieve at Pre-Production
The Production PlanFinalizing the Budget and HeadcountBuilding the TeamProof of Concept/Vertical Slice
31 The Producer’s Role at Pre-Production
The TeamScheduling Best Practices for Pre-ProductionCreating the Task InventoryOrganize DependenciesExpanding in Pre-P
32 The Game Design Doc
The Various Formats of the GDDNot Just What, but How!The Elements of a GDD
33 Tech, Art, and Sound Design Docs
The Art Design Doc (ADD)The Sound Design Doc (SDD)The Tech Design Doc (TDD)
34 The Tech Side at Pre-Production
Evaluating Tech NeedsThe Tech Design Docs (TDD)Proving the Tech WorksAutomated Build ProcessDev and Test Kits
35 Proof of Concepts, Target Renders, and Prototypes
Proof of Concept or Tech DemoTarget Renders (Tone Video)PrototypesTypes of Game PrototypesBuilding the Prototype into a DemoTransitioning from Prototype to Full Production
36 Risk Management: What Can Go Wrong at Pre-Production
TechnologyApprovalsVisionSchedule LockedPipelines EstablishedBe Fully StaffedOutsourcing
Section Seven The Production Phase
37 What Are Your Goals for the Production Phase
38 Builds and the Build Process
39 The Quality Assurance (QA) Process
40 Localization
Steps in Localization
41 Risk Management During Production
TimeScheduling IssuesUnexpected DelaysDate ChangesTechnologyChanges in DirectionCritical Stage Analysis
Section Eight Crunch Mode
42 What Is the Goal at the End of Production?
Pre-AlphaAlphaBetaA Word on Zero BugsGMC and Release Candidate
43 Game Ratings: The ESRB and You
ESRB Rating GuideSubmitting for ApprovalHow Can Your Game Get Rejected?Resubmitting
44 First-Party Submissions
First SubmissionSecond SubmissionGold Master Candidate Certification (Third Submission
Section Nine Post-Production
45 Producer Role During Post-Production Phase
46 Archiving
47 Postmortem
Index

Content preview from Producing Games

C H A P T E R

TWENTY SEVEN

The Producer’s Role at the Concept Stage

The creative director of the game is like the director of the film, guiding the look, feel, and gameplay of the project as well as the level of design along with the lead designer. While they are always in charge of the look and flow of the game, they don’t always dictate the narrative, characters, and style. There are three schools of thought as to where this part of the creative direction should come from. Many feel that the creative director should be in charge of this, just as they are with the other creative elements of the game, however for the same reason most Hollywood films have a separate director and writer, a creative director who is great at gameplay and flow might ...

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