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February 28, 2008
Chairperson Update: Feburary '08
Here are some notes from the Production SIG gather that we had a GDC. It was great to meet people in person, and several have volunteered to help out with SIG activities. We plan to get some momentum going a on few projects that should benefit our efforts.
After we all introduced ourselves, I gave a quick update on what activities we've done in the past and some that are in the works:
1. IGDA Leadership Forum - this was held last November in conjunction with the IGDA. It was a huge success and we are starting to make plans for the next one this fall.
2. Production Wiki - Adrien David is heading up this project. We have added a reading list and some other information to it. I would be happy to have people contribute to this whenever they want. I know that Chris Otalyn posted his roundtable notes from the Leadership Forum there. If you would like a log-in, please let me know.
3. Vendor Database - this is something I would like to get started on and I will try to work on getting something basic up and running.
4. Survey - About 65 people have taken the survey and I've collected some good data. I still need to collate the results and send around to the list. I plan to get that done soon.
We then discussed what we can do to make the SIG more useful to everyone:
1. There was a request to change the reply button so that it will just send the reply to an individual, instead of the Production SIG list. Thoughts? Let me know and if the majority wants this changed, I will make the change.
2. SIG endorsed Project Management method. We discussed how every project is different, but it might be useful to have a general PM method that we write up and endorse as a starting point.
3. Information on local Production SIG members. We talked about putting together a list of which local chapters members are affiliated with and perhaps trying to get a some local production SIG gatherings organized, in conjunction with the local chapters. This would present some good networking opportunities to connect with other producers in your city.
4. Production Seminars - in conjunction with the local IGDA chapter, we could do some production oriented seminars. A 2 hour seminar on managing pre-production for example. This would probably work best with some of the larger chapters at first, but it would be great to get a bunch of local production events organized.
5. Case Studies. We discussed doing case studies to show examples of games that used different types of PM methods and they can be modified for game production. This would provide some valuable real world information.
6. Advocating to students. We discussed taking with students more to explain what a producer does and perhaps get them interesting in pursuing a career in production. We discussed putting together a brief career plan of what classes to take, what to study and read, etc.
7. Role Definitions within different companies. We thought it would be useful to write up a matrix of how each company defines the production roles. For example and AP at EA has different responsibilities than and AP at Ubisoft. It would help us come up with some standard definitions of producers roles, and would be useful when evaluating resumes.
8. Evangelizing the Production SIG. There are still many producers who do not know about the SIG and would be interested in being a part of it. So please start inviting people to join the IGDA and become a part of the Production SIG.
9. Project Management Resource - gathering PM resources and discussing the general pros/cons of each within game development
10. Producer of Month - might be fun to feature a producer of the month. This person would be interviewed about their job, daily duties, tips and tricks for producing. This would be a good way to highlight the variety of projects people are working on - Serious games, educational games, interactive rides, virtual reality, and games
11. PMI - discussed working with the Project Management Institute on getting some type of game production module. This is something Jason Della Rocca discussed with them awhile back and it might be interesting for the SIG to pursue this further.
12. Government Proposal Process - post information on how this process works if you are developing serious games.
13. 10 Best Practices - one quick project we discussed was putting together a list of 10 best production practices. This doesn't need to be too fancy, just useful information that all producers could use. This is something that could easily be handled over the mailing list, and then we can post it on the website and perhaps publish in one of the IGDA monthly newsletters.
14. Cross-events to the Producer's Guild of America - Someone thought it would be useful to talk with producers in the film industry to get information on how they handle certain production issues. For example visual effects, or a voiceover shoot. The PGA might be a good resource for some cross-events, as they have started a New Media Caucus. These events would like happen in either Los Angeles or New York, as that is where the PGA is most active.
15. List of Volunteer Opportunities - we need to put together a list of the volunteer opportunities, so that people know how they can get involved. I will start a small list and we can build on it as we grow.
So as you can see, there are a lot of great ideas here. If you are interested in volunteering for anything please let me know. I am putting together a small group of volunteers who will discuss the projects and then we will pick a few to start on. Also, if you have any other suggestions on what you'd like, please let me know.
Posted by HeatherChandler at February 28, 2008 07:56 PM