Producer Advice from Blizzard Entertainment

There was an article released recently on Gamasutra about the anatomy of a good video game Producer. Although I don't know much about production myself, I have found this article to be very informative and have learned a lot from it. I figured I'd share it with all of you so that those that are aspiring to be, or are actively working as, a producer will gain some useful tips.

Here are some key points I've taken away from Ernst ten Bosch (the producer at Blizzard):

• Producers should know the actual process that their team members undergo in order to better understand the amount of time it will take to impact the project and to know when an idea is outlandish and needs to be prevented from becoming a production task in order to save unnecessary work by the developers. This means that they should understand what works with design or art in order to schedule tasks and make projections of how long a particular new workflow will impact the entire scope of the project.
• They are forward thinkers: they must be able to see the big picture when the rest of the developers are focused on their current tasks at hand. This means knowing which are the most important tasks and being able to prioritize them and reminding everyone what they should be working on.
• They are social: you can't be shy as a producer, and you must know how to run meetings and round up people to get everyone on the same plane as far as viewpoints or making sure key players are all in attendance for important decisions to be made.
• They must take notes in a professional manor in order to present them to the publishers and have them easily understandable. There can't be any personalized notes or similar as it would just be confusing to clients.
• Producers should be actively be looking for ways to improve the project. I find this the most important, as the article even states that a production job is such that it is intangible and not able to be tracked like the other disciplines. Therefore, a producer can survive for a while by being lazy but it won't help anyone else or the project in general. If a producer is keeping in the loop and being able to find the best person for each task and not just mindlessly taking notes, they will be able to make the entire process more efficient. This, in essence, is the necessity of a producer in the first place.

I hope all of you fellow producers and aspiring producers will be inspired by this information!

http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/ErnstTenBosch/20130919/200659/What_Makes_a_Good_Game_Producer_Part_2.php

-Ken

What Not To Do When You Get Hired in Video Games: Jumping Ship Early

A recent story that I thought you would like is about an ex-coworker of mine. They were hired at the same time as me for the current studio I work for as a contractor. The contract was for nine months and there was possibility of extension although no guarantees (like with most contract positions).  This person decided that they would leave the studio for another contract/temporary position at a former studio that had wanted them back. This story sounds usual, although the person left merely one month, or a little longer, after being hired. They gave three weeks notice to their current employer, which means they must have only been working for a week or so before they had to give their lead the news.

I have seen people leave studios pretty early before--especially for contract and temporary positions--but the previous record holder that I had witnessed left after three months. I suppose that this could end up being a good move for the employee, as they went to work on a studio for the Halo franchise at a well known studio. Their stated reason for leaving was because the opportunity for contract extension seemed likelier there. This was a political and proper response indeed, as I'm sure they liked the Halo project better and were already used to the production pipeline. It would have only made them look bad if they gave away too much information like saying that the current studio did not give them cool enough tasks to work on or that they didn't see as much opportunity for promotion, etc.

So, the person technically upgraded their resume although they have burned a bridge at the studio they quickly left. I don't know if I would make this maneuver personally, but also have never been presented with it. With jobs increasingly becoming temporary it seems more understandable, but I would still like to see what contacts and performance history I could develop at my current studio. I asked a senior employee on the person's team what they thought about the employee leaving. He said that the person won't be hired here again, because now he has a track record for being a jumper and there is a high possibility that he will do it again when hired ("jumper"=jumping ship). This will most likely make it difficult, by raising a red flag, for any future job search they have after they leave their latest studio. So, it may end up being a hindrance in the long run. It is very high risk tactic, high reward tactic (although the reward is not really proven unless they are hired full time eventually). I would recommend against this strategy. If you get hired in the game industry, know that your reputation will follow you everywhere, so make sure to guard it and groom it endlessly.

-Ken

Proof that Living in the Best Locations is Best for Your Career

I covered this topic a little in my book, How to Get a Job in Video Games, when I mentioned that the best colleges were the ones that were the closest to where video game development studios are located. Well, I just wanted to demonstrate how living and going to school in such an area is a huge benefit. The industry is a small one and it is only located in a few cities. You will undoubtedly run into industry professionals whenever you are out at public places. If you are not where the industry is, though, you can forget this happening.

This past week I went to the Seattle Mini Cooper dealership to get a new power steering pump and fan, because it is a known issue that those parts fail on the model and year of my car and thus I was taking it in to get fixed. I already had to cancel and push back the date, once, because I slept through my alarm one day. I am glad I did, in retrospect! So, I was in the dealership lobby waiting while work was being done to my car. I happened to bring a book with me that was related to video game development and it was loud and clear on the title. I had put the book down while I was walking around and viewing the various decor around the showroom, because I was tired of sitting.

When I got back, There was someone sitting really close to my chair. He pointed out the title of the book I was reading and asked if I was interested in making video games. I told him that I was already working as a developer at Monolith Productions. At first I thought he must be some student or someone who was merely a fan of video games. No, he turned out to be an artist for Valve Corporation. I couldn't believe it! I had been joking with some colleagues just recently how hard it is to meet any of their developers, because for one they are a small studio and secondly, they don't really appear at major conferences frequently. They are also one of the most highly regarded studios in the industry and they probably try to hide themselves as much as possible so that people are not begging them for jobs left and right.

Anyway, we got to talking about art and the Dota series, that he had worked on, and other intricacies of game development. I told him about my previous employers and some people I knew. I specifically avoided asking about job opportunities there but hinted that I was interested in the studio and indirectly wanted to know how someone were to get hired there. I can go on longer about that in another article...He related and we were talking for a long time until it was broken up by a dealership employee who told me that my car was ready. This could have been the end, but I didn't want to let the opportunity go away! I make sure to keep emergency business cards in my wallet for such occasions and I probably haven't used one for almost a year. I happened to have a few and gave him one. He said he didn't have one on him, but right when I got to my studio that day he had emailed me from his company email and said that it was a pleasure to talk to me and wanted to let me have his email. I had also invited him to connect on LinkedIn.

Now, if ever there are jobs he may let me know about them, although I know myself that I will need to work on my portfolio some more until more developers there consider it worthy to get in. But who knows, maybe I made a lasting enough impression on him for that not to matter as much. At any rate, it is good to have a new contact there and who happens to be in the same exact field--art--as me. I thought that everyone would enjoy and be inspired by this story of a chance encounter, and to prove that just living in a city that is booming with game developers is a great way to eventually get a job yourself. I would like to add that having a job already is probably a more desirable situation, as the other person will feel more comfortable sharing insider information with you.

-Ken