Game Project Management
Graded Course Project Information
Team Job Descriptions
The job description for your Biz Dev is described elsewhere, but forming the backbone of the company are its co-founders and key personnel (you!). Each team member will be assigned one of the jobs listed below. Each job comes with individual as well as group responsibilities. Individual responsibilities are enumerated [A], [B], and [C] to denote their placement on the Grading Scale (as a 14, 12 and 10 point assignment, respectively).
Each job comes with individual as well as group responsibilities. Individual responsibilities are enumerated [A], [B], and [C] to denote their placement on the Grading Scale. Each job's responsibilities are described below:
1. Producer: The Producer is the Team's Leader. If there is a tie vote on corporate or marketing matters, the Producer's vote breaks the tie. The Producer is individually responsible for:
[A]
Creating the
Schedules and Budgets. There are four total documents due: 1) a
Homework Schedule for the Team in making this Graded Course Project and
making sure everything gets done properly and on time
(a sample done in Microsoft
Excel is available if you
click here);
2) a realistic Project Schedule for the game being pitched (this
would include staffing decisions about the numbers and types of persons working
on it, plus when in the schedule they would enter and leave the production
process; 3) a realistic External Budget for the client with
figures already inflated by 'The
Multiplier;'
and 4) a realistic Internal Budget showing actual company salaries
and overhead plus defining the value of The Multiplier. Items 2 and 3
will be featured in your pitch packet to the client. Items 1 and 4 will not
be shown to the client, but turned in to the instructor in a separate
envelope on the last day of class (along
with a listing of any
extra credit work
done for your project).
[B] Creating and/or overseeing the assembly of your pitch’s Power Point presentation. (See the Pitch Presentation Information on the web site – you’ll find it to be very helpful.)
[C] Performing marketing research in support of your game proposal and creating the Executive Summary and the Sell Sheet that goes into the pitch packet. (Links that will help you can be found near the bottom of the course website's Week 4 page.)
In addition, because this is a small startup company, the Producer must also serve as an artist under the Art Director, as an engineer under the Technical Director, and as an assistant writer / designer under the Lead Writer / Designer.
2. Art Director: The Art Director is team's Lead Artist. If there is vote on the art direction for the project, the Art Director's vote (within budget and schedule constraints) breaks the tie. The Art Director is individually responsible for communicating the game visually by:
[A] Creating and/or overseeing the opening animatic (minimally, this would be the storyboard sketches for the opening sequence playing on video with narration to demonstrate its pacing when completed; color, animation, music, sound effects, and even an animated, complete opening game introduction sequence are all possible enhancements).
[B] Creating and/or overseeing all of the art assets for the game’s demo / prototype.
[C] Creating and/or overseeing sufficient character, background, and concept sketches, plus screen mock-ups showing what game play and basic functionality screens will look like.
In addition, because this is a small startup company, the Art Director must also serve as an assistant producer under The Producer, as an engineer under the Technical Director, and as an assistant writer / designer under the Lead Writer / Designer.
3. Technical Director: The Technical Director is the team's Lead Engineer. If there is a vote on the technical direction for the project, the Technical Director's vote (within budget and schedule constraints) breaks the tie. The Technical Director is individually responsible for:
[A] Creating and/or overseeing the game’s complete demo / prototype. The lessons your learned in your Prototyping classes and your Game Maker software skills will really pay off here.
[B] Create two versions of a user interface flowchart for the game: 1) A full version on paper to serve as part of the Pitch Packet and, 2) Another (presumably leaner) version that will be used to demonstrate the interface, on screen, live, during the Pitch Presentation itself (i.e., you must be able to click on a button and have it go to the appropriate next screen's mock-up).
[C] Create a technical design section for the Pitch Packet. In particular, this must include a Risk Assessment (i.e., answer the question "what are the scary bits?") as well as how you will be addressing these risks to minimize or negate them. This will all be covered during Week 3’s lesson.
Create a technical design section for the ; in particular, this must include a Risk Assessment (i.e., answer the question "what are the scary bits?") and how you will be addressing these risks to minimize or negate them (see Week 2 Lesson for a useful article on this subject); specifically, you'll need to indicate what technologies (old and new) you'll be using to make the game and create a Top Five Risks List.
In addition, because this is a small startup company, the Technical Director must also serve as an assistant producer under The Producer, as an artist under the Art Director, and as an assistant writer / designer under the Lead Writer / Designer.
4. Lead Writer / Designer: The Lead Writer / Designer is the team's Lead Designer for the game and is responsible for synthesizing the team's vision for it. This person is also the Lead Writer for all of the materials supporting the game. If there is a vote on a key design decision or the words used in or about the game, the Lead Writer / Designer's vote (within budget and schedule constraints) breaks the tie. The Lead Writer / Designer is individually responsible for communicating the game in writing by:
[A] Writing the main body of text in the pitch packet (with the Producer providing the proposed budget, schedule, marketing, and Executive Summary sections; the Art Director providing character sketches and screen mock-ups, and the Technical Director providing the Risks section and a Game Flow / User Interface Diagram; all of which you'll be responsible for editing and incorporating into a smoothly functioning 'whole package.') You’re being graded here on the effectiveness of the pitch packet as a whole as well as the quality of its individual sections.
[B] Designing in more detail the game concepts and outlining a complete design document (i.e., providing the necessary section headings, subheads, and descriptive text only) for it within the pitch packet. In particular, this must include a complete (sample) level / mission design for the game. (This can be done in storyboard and/or narrative form, but it must convey what happens, from beginning to end, during a complete single level / mission of the game.)
[C] The demo gameplay is your responsibility. The interface should be intuitive and the gameplay must be fun. The gameplay will also be judged based on the design’s cleverness, wit / fidelity to the subject matter, ‘wow’ factors (i.e., brilliant incorporation of art and sound into the game design), and dynamic play balance.
In addition, because this is a small startup company, the Lead Writer / Designer must also serve as an assistant producer under The Producer, as an artist under the Art Director, and as an engineer under the Technical Director.
5. Jack-of-all-Trades (or "JOAT"): Not every team will have a JOAT. The JOAT is the team's 'do everything' person whose task it is to ease everyone's burden. Consequently, the JOAT isn't individually responsible for anything. The JOAT's individual grade, therefore, will be an average of the individual grades from the other four Team Members, by category, rounded down. (Thus, if the JOAT's teammate's average [B] category grade score was 11.67, the JOAT would receive a score of 11.6)
By the way, if there is a JOAT on your team, feel free to come up with a more appropriate title for this person.
Important: the JOAT must serve as an assistant producer under The Producer, as an artist under the Art Director, as an engineer under the Technical Director, and as an assistant writer / designer under the Lead Writer / Designer and should help them shoulder their many burdens. For example, the Producer might assign the JOAT to do the game's marketing research while the Lead Writer / Designer delegates to the JOAT the task of physically creating and organizing the pitch packet.
By ensuring every other Team Member's individual success, the JOAT's individual success is assured.
X. Presenter(s): Remember, you're going to make a Project Pitch. That means someone on the Team is going to have to get up in front of the Clients and speak. You'll have to decide who will make the best presentation and have that person (or those persons) learn their lines and actually do the Pitch.
You’re all
“Management” Now
Each one of you will have some management-level authority on your Graded Course Project. The Producer, in particular, must lead the team to a good grade and glory; however each Department Lead is also the manager of their respective areas when others are helping him or her by doing a share of that department’s assigned tasks.
In order to get along with each other and successfully navigate this project “death march,” you’ll need to apply some basic management skills. Here are a few guidelines for effective management that, if applied by everyone on your team, will go a long way toward a smooth and happy landing with your Graded Course Project:
Ask for input instead of issuing orders.
Involve the Team in the planning stage, and be flexible with the scheduled deadlines when necessary.
Encourage Team members to discuss problems with you so that they do not grow into unmanageable ones.
Don’t panic when problems arise, and never personalize problems!
Before making decisions, get the facts and see if the Team can reach a consensus.
Make sure that Team members have scheduled sufficient uninterrupted hours of work each day for this project.
Be forthcoming with your Team, and do not hide information from them (even if you feel that they might not be able to handle it).
Don’t just work regular hours when you’ve asked your Team to work overtime.
Don’t make promises to Team members in order to get them to make personal sacrifices for the project.
Be a leader now, not just a manager. You must admit to and learn from your mistakes. Use inspiration, not degradation. Positive reinforcement is much more powerful and motivating than negative reinforcement. Ensure that the entire Team is always aware of the current status of the project by maintaining a consistently high level of communication; always “show and tell” at Team gatherings, and provide regular reports to your Team (e.g., daily, weekly, and even monthly updates).
These are all important lessons you can take away from this class.
