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September 16, 2006
Communication Tips for Game Producers
When I started in the industry, there was little information available on game development and less on game production. I didn’t know what was expected of me because I hadn’t come up through Q/A or had the benefit of working under an experienced producer. There I was, getting my first break in the industry as my company’s sole producer and I had no idea what to do. So I did what anyone else in this position would do – I panicked.
Then I went looking for information on how to be a game producer.
I found myself asking, “What does it take to be a good producer?” Should I have more technical skills? What about team building or scheduling? Given the lack of best practices and industry-wide processes (with the exception of a few GDC whitepapers), I relied on other industries for information. I read books on project management, software development, construction, film production, and sports management. I read anything I could get my hands on.
What I found between them all was one common theme – communication. If you’re going to work with people to accomplish any type of task, you need to be able to communicate with them. It doesn’t matter if it’s verbal, written, hand signals, or even telepathic. As producers it is our number one priority to communicate with our team and stakeholders. You need to be able to get information into the hands of others. This is the way that you as a producer will properly set expectations for your project.
Bill Petro understands this need and has recently written an article for Gamasutra entitled “Communication Tips for Game Producers” You can read the full article at the following link:
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20060905/petro_01.shtml
-Craig
Posted by CraigDerrick at September 16, 2006 03:05 PM
Comments
I'm studying game design, but I come from a commerical programming background and it is from that perspective I write this.
I agree communication is critical to production (project management). I think in addition there are a couple of critical skills essential for the role.
First is sheer competence. That's the ability to accurately assess the actual work-in-progress of team memembers, compare it against requirements, to know the requirements, and to understand what impacts that assessment might have. This level of understanding is not trivial as it crosses bleeding-edge technology and different teams that can impact on each other.
I feel the other key ability is to command, or rather engage, respect. That is closely tied to competency. If team-members do not respect a project manager, for whatever reason, they simply do not work well. Team members generally are keen to respect a production manager and tent to want to work for them. But once a production manager (any manager) begins to lose credibility it's almost impossible to get it back.
Posted by: Marty at September 24, 2006 09:25 PM