Game Dev - Scheduling Conflict

Back in high school and shortly thereafter, people would ask how long it would take me to get somewhere. I’d inevitably respond “I’ll be there in 10 minutes.” It would always take longer. I’d say it for two reasons. The first was a fear that the people weren’t really interested in hanging out so I needed to shore up confidence that I would be there too quickly for them to change their minds. Second I would use the most optimistic estimation for the length of time it would take me, i.e. without any additional side quests (start the laundry, eat food, stop for gas, etc). So despite my optimistic outlook, it would inevitably be closer to 30 mins

It’s often said that Producing is like herding cats, and that’s not a bad description. Having worked as a Producer on multiple games, in both development and publishing, and now having done it at my own studio I can confidently say I know a thing or two because I’ve seen a thing or tw… wait a second. That’s from that commercial with J.K. Simmons. Damn, those marketers are good

Anyhoo, what makes a good Producer and Production team? Well that depends who you talk to and fortunately, I’m talking to you. For starters, I think a lot of Production is often done poorly either in its implementation and/or its execution. This is due to siloed expectations, short sighted projects, and external factors. It can be better

Distilled, Producers are there to make the game happen. Not in the sense of creating assets, code, or design, but rather making sure all the parts are where they need to be, when they need to be. The worst implementation is a person checking in with their teams and tracking project tasks with “how long will X take, “Why did X take longer than you said,” and “We need to tell your mom,” coupled with looking at budgets, burndown charts, and inevitable slippage. That’s not wrong, it’s just table stakes. Whether an individual or a production team, the best Producers have mastered both the hard and soft skills needed. This means understanding how to successfully translate development both up and across

Starting with across, i.e. the managed teams, asking an Artist or Designer how long a task will take is a loaded question. It’s not out of any malice on the part of said Artist, but more standard human optimism; just like when friends asked how long it would take me to get somewhere. Turns out, when asked about time, people tend to give the most optimistic view. This, unsurprisingly, is called Optimism Bias which leads to the Planning Fallacy. Two things that, if left unchecked, surely require a doctor’s visit. Knowing this helps Producers better prepare actual timelines as any estimate should be expanded to account for unknown unknowns (they’re going to happen)

Next, Producers need soft skills. This means integration with the team, rather than being viewed as an outsider trying to spy for the project leads. They need authentic empathy and listening. Working with people means exactly that. It’s understanding the goals of the team, teams, project and representing those accurately as well as knowing how to get things unblocked throughout the studio. It’s also knowing what you’re talking about. If you’re going to make comments on the game, either do it with penance or make sure you understand what it is you’re wading into. Producers should have opinions and the willingness for a team to hear them out depends on the relationship that Producer has… be respectful and keep an open mind. A better relationship will net better results, always

The push upward, regardless of position (Producer, Lead Producer, Exec Producer, Dir of Prod, etc) is about providing clarity and as much accuracy as possible. This means presenting what is actually going on with each team, rather than painting false rosy pictures. This also means keeping games out of Production that aren’t ready for it (obviously this is hard the larger the staff is). Moving a game from Pre-Production to Production and adding headcount when it hasn’t yet found the fun will cost a lot more money, a lot more time, and a lot of burnout (The Bureau: XCOM Declassified is a game I worked on that suffered from all of those). It’s the responsibility of good Producers, along with others, to make sure this is communicated and understood

Production is an often underappreciated role. When it’s done well, no one thinks about it. When it’s done poorly, it leads to unclear timelines, missed communication, and mistrust on teams. Production needs to hold the ship down and keep things in line with the game vision, otherwise it’s just chaos (note the gentleman running around screaming; that guy exists on every project). As for me, I no longer give the most optimistic appraisals of how long things will take. A friend even noted how he has had to change his prior notion of my tardiness