The Game Producer’s Handbook

Note: Supplemental materials are not guaranteed with Rental or Used book purchases.

ISBN: 9781592006175 | 1592006175
Cover: Paperback
Copyright: 3/11/2005

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Get a behind-the-scenes view of what it takes to succeed in the game industry with this unique guide written specifically for producers. This book serves as an ideal reference for students who want to acquire the knowledge and skills to succeed in this burgeoning industry, and in the future of entertainment. For veterans in the game industry, this book includes several valuable lessons that can help enhance their professional skills. Avoid the pitfalls behind some of the most common mistakes made in video game development. Get tips on how the financial aspects of a project govern a game producer's decisions. Learn what production techniques are used by top game developers. You'll even learn how to produce an excellent game soundtrack and will discover why the music is as important as the graphics. Excellence defines careers in the entertainment software industry. Use this one-of-a-kind guide to achieve that excellence.

Introduction

What Does a Video Game Producer Actually Do?

(32)

A Brief History of Producing

(1)

The Diverse Role of a Video Game Producer

(13)

Actively Contribute

(1)

Apply Good Decision-Making Skills

(1)

Attend Budget Meetings

(1)

Be Forward-Thinking

(1)

Build Consensus

(1)

Deliver Animation

(1)

Develop a Pre-Production Plan

(1)

Develop a Production Plan

(1)

Generate Game-Design Documentation

(1)

Handle Hardware Manufacturers

(1)

Handle Legal/Contractual Issues

(1)

Handle Licensing and Branding

(1)

Handle Middleware Issues

(1)

Handle Platform Transition

(1)

Handle Public Relations

(1)

Handle Quality Assurance

(1)

Help Sales

(1)

Hire/Interview

(1)

Interact with Upper (Executive) Management

(1)

Know Games

(1)

Learn

(1)

Manage Assets

(1)

Manage Big Teams

(1)

Manage Foreign Localization

(1)

Manage Resources

(1)

Manage the Art Process

(1)

Manage the Audio Process

(1)

Manage Vendor Relationships

(1)

Manage Your Time

(1)

Pitch

(1)

Possess Industry Experience

(1)

Provide Clarity and Focus

(1)

Provide Marketing Support

(1)

Schedule

(1)

Sow Discipline

(1)

Take Ownership

(1)

Teach Others

(1)

Understand Cinematic Production

(1)

Understand Development Systems

(1)

Work with the Programming Team

(1)

Software-Production Methods

(7)

Code-Like-Hell, Fix-Like-Hell

(1)

Increments to Completion

(2)

The Cascade

(1)

Iterate Until You Drop

(1)

Agile Project Management

(1)

Envision

(1)

Speculate

(1)

Explore

(1)

Adapt

(1)

Finalize

(1)

Planning and Scheduling

(7)

Taking the Top-Down Approach

(1)

Planning from the Bottom Up

(1)

Scheduling Constraints

(1)

Time-Constrained Model

(1)

Resource-Constrained Model

(1)

Critical-Path Planning

(1)

Contingency Planning

(1)

Plan for Overtime

(1)

Hire Additional Personnel

(1)

Work During Holidays and Vacations

(1)

Use a Formula

(1)

Don't Schedule Work for Team Leads

(1)

Make Time for Testing After a Task is Completed

(1)

Set Aside a Contingency Reserve Fund

(1)

Using a Formula to Calculate a Schedule

(1)

Software-Factory Efficiencies

(1)

Stages of Game Development

(2)

Concept

(1)

Prototype

(1)

Pitch

(1)

Green Light

(1)

Pre-Production

(1)

Production

(1)

Quality Assurance

(1)

Final Gold Master

(1)

Video Game Development Process Models

(1)

The Final Word

(1)

Producer Job Descriptions and Qualifications

(28)

Producer Role: Assistant Producer

(6)

Assistant Producer at a Publisher

(1)

Internal Game Development: Working with Internal Game Development Teams

(1)

External Game Development: Working with Third-Party Product Development

(2)

An Assistant Producer at a Developer

(1)

Job Requirements

(3)

The Producer's Role

(9)

A Producer at a Publisher

(1)

Internal Development: A Producer's Job Description

(4)

External Development: The Producer's Job Description

(4)

Producer Roles: Executive Producer

(2)

What Makes an Executive Producer?

(2)

Other Production Management Roles

(5)

Product Planner

(1)

Product Planner Job Description

(1)

Primary Responsibilities

(2)

Program Manager

(1)

Primary Responsibilities

(1)

Development Director

(1)

Primary Responsibilities and Qualifications

(1)

Production Assistants and Interns

(1)

A Good PA Makes a Difference

(1)

Production Team Management

(1)

Hire Smarter

(1)

Practice Respect and Consideration

(1)

Create Opportunities

(1)

Why Being a Video Game Producer Is So Fulfilling

(2)

Seeing the Finished Product

(1)

Having an Impact on Others

(1)

Gaining Event-Driven Experiences

(1)

Realizing Film and Thematic Composition

(1)

Engaging in a Multi-discipline Experience

(1)

Helping to Develop the Music

(1)

Working with Smart People

(1)

Telling Stories in a New Way

(1)

Using New Technology

(1)

The Final Word

(2)

Habits of Highly Effective Producers

(22)

Traits of a Successful Producer

(7)

Accepts and Expects Criticism

(1)

Achieves Results

(1)

Curtails Ego

(1)

Demonstrates Integrity

(1)

Demonstrates Professionalism

(1)

Displays Contagious Enthusiasm

(1)

Doesn't Fear Failure

(1)

Doesn't Rush to Criticize

(1)

Empowers Others

(1)

Follows Through

(1)

Has a Positive Attitude

(1)

Inspires Others

(1)

Is Decisive

(1)

Is Discreet

(1)

Is Passionate

(1)

Is Reliable

(1)

Laughs

(1)

Leads by Example

(1)

Meets Commitments

(1)

Perseveres

(1)

Shares a Vision

(1)

Shows Business Savvy

(1)

Shows Respect

(1)

Takes Initiative

(1)

Takes Risks

(1)

Organization and Successful Processes

(7)

Do Daily Delta Reporting

(1)

Ask Clarifying Questions

(3)

Always Call People Back and Answer E-Mails

(1)

Always Follow Up in Writing

(1)

Understand the Contract

(1)

Follow the Contract

(1)

Project Skills: Scheduling and Rescheduling Constantly

(1)

Postmortem Reports

(1)

Always Tell the Team the Truth

(1)

The Commitment to Excellence

(5)

Achieving Excellence

(1)

What Is Required for Excellence?

(1)

How Does a Commitment to Excellence Apply to Producers?

(1)

Why This Principle Is Important to Producing a Hit

(1)

How to Get Known for Excellence

(1)

Rules That Apply to All Producers

(1)

Knowing What You Don't Know

(1)

The Immutable Law of Resources, Quality, and Time

(1)

How to Quantify the Unquantifiable

(1)

The Game Developer's Conference

(1)

The Final Word

(1)

Internal and External Game Producer Specialties

(28)

Specialties of a Game Producer

(15)

Legal and Business Facilitator

(1)

Business Contract Law

(7)

Business Knowledge Requirements

(6)

Why the Producer Is Key to Realizing a Vision

(1)

The Creatively Inclined Producer

(1)

Rely on a Good Producer

(1)

The Technically Proficient Producer

(1)

Internal versus External Producers

(12)

Producer for an Internal Team

(1)

Navigating through the Middle

(1)

Keeping the Team and the Game Focused

100

(1)

Plan for a Broad Base when Building a Pyramid

101

(1)

Push for Quality

101

(1)

Recommendations for Producers

102

(2)

External (Third-Party) Producers

104

(1)

Working with a Complete Game Design

104

(2)

Working with a Complete Technical Design

106

(1)

Accepting Milestones

106

(2)

Reassess the Milestone Schedule Every Three Months

108

(1)

Use Microsoft Project to Track Task Dependencies

108

(1)

A Step-by-Step Example

108

(2)

The Final Word

110

(1)

Conveying the Winning Vision and Creating Successful Presentations

111

(22)

A Winning Vision for the Brand

111

(2)

Writing a Winning Proposal

113

(6)

Getting to Yes with a Publisher's Representative

113

(1)

Form Follows Function

114

(1)

Know Your Audience

115

(1)

Focus on the Key Elements

115

(1)

Keep a Clear and Concise Voice

116

(1)

Getting to Yes with Your VP and Executive Team

117

(1)

Understand the Goals of Executives

118

(1)

Separate the Issues

118

(1)

Focus on Common Interests

118

(1)

Provide Options

118

(1)

Preparing and Presenting a Winning Presentation

119

(13)

What's in a Prototype Presentation?

120

(1)

Executive Summary

121

(1)

High-Concept Document

122

(1)

Creative Design

123

(1)

Art Production Style Guidelines

123

(1)

Technical Design Draft, Including Tool Discussion

124

(1)

Schedule and Budget

125

(1)

Build of Prototype and Build Notes

126

(2)

The Actual Presentation

128

(4)

The Final Word

132

(1)

Game Design and What Producers Need to Know about Designing

133

(32)

Can Producers Design Games?

133

(1)

Producers and Game Design

134

(2)

Myths about Producers and Game Design

134

(2)

Designing a Producible Video Game within Constraints

136

(9)

Multi-Platform Simultaneous Releases

136

(1)

Working with Design Constraints of Console Games

137

(1)

Advantages of Producing and Designing Console Games

137

(1)

Disadvantages of Producing and Designing Console Games

138

(2)

Working with the Design Constraints of the PC

140

(1)

Advantages of Producing and Designing PC Games

141

(2)

Disadvantages of Producing Games and Designing for the PC

143

(1)

Working with Design Constraints of Handheld Games

144

(1)

Advantages of Producing Games and Designing Handheld Games

144

(1)

Disadvantages of Producing Games and Designing Handheld Games

145

(1)

Technical Constraints of Game Design

145

(5)

Graphics

146

(1)

Memory

147

(1)

Program Code Memory Usage

148

(1)

Texture RAM

148

(1)

Video Buffer RAM

148

(1)

Models and Animation

148

(1)

Sound

149

(1)

Level Data and Game Data

149

(1)

Storage Device

149

(1)

Big File Systems

150

(1)

Storing Files on a Memory Card

150

(1)

Other Design Constraints for Any Game

150

(5)

Genre and Target Demographic

151

(1)

Key Feature Requirements

151

(1)

Competitive Product Analysis

152

(1)

License Constraints and Licensing Your Game's IP

152

(1)

Game Characters, Genres, and Target Demographics

153

(1)

Key Game Features

154

(1)

Requirements of the Licensee

154

(1)

Game Theory

155

(1)

Game Design Documentation

156

(2)

Producers and Game Design Documentation

156

(2)

Elements of a Producible Video Game Design Document

158

(3)

Technical Design

159

(2)

The Creative Design Review

161

(1)

Ownership of the Creative Vision

161

(2)

Assigning Ownership

162

(1)

Managing Ownership

162

(1)

Protecting the Creative Vision

162

(1)

Realizing the Creative Vision and When to Say No

162

(1)

A Final Word

163

(2)

Game Tools and Asset Management

165

(32)

Having the Right Tools

165

(4)

Pre-Production Steps

166

(1)

Try to Get It Right the First Time

167

(1)

Testing for the Tools You Need

168

(1)

Create Use Cases

169

(1)

What Producers Need to Know about Tools

169

(1)

Programming Tools

169

(7)

OpenGL ES---Khronos Group

170

(1)

IncrediBuild---Xoreax Software

170

(1)

Microsoft Visual C++ IDE

171

(1)

Visual Assist X---Whole Tomato Software

171

(1)

VectorC---Codeplay

172

(1)

XNA and DirectX

173

(3)

Art Tools

176

(6)

Maya 6.0---Alias

176

(1)

3D Studio Max 7---Discreet

177

(1)

XSI 4---Softimage

178

(1)

Photoshop CS---Adobe

179

(1)

FaceGen Modeller 3.0---Singular Inversions

180

(1)

Zbrush 2---Pixologic

180

(1)

Granny 2---RAD Game Tools

181

(1)

Game Components

182

(4)

Havok 2---Havok

182

(1)

RenderWare---Criterion

182

(1)

Gamebryo---NDL

183

(1)

Quazal---Quazal

183

(1)

Other MMOG Engines and Middleware

184

(1)

Big World---Big World Pty Ltd.

185

(1)

Terazona---Zona Inc.

185

(1)

Audio Tools

186

(2)

Multitrack Digital Sound File Editors

186

(1)

Stereo Digital Sound File Editors

186

(1)

Sound Effects Libraries

187

(1)

Surround Sound Encoders

187

(1)

Sound Implementation: GameCODA---Sensaura

188

(1)

World-Building Tools

188

(3)

Unreal Engine 2---Epic Games

188

(1)

Neverwinter Nights Engine---Bioware

189

(1)

Quake 3 Arena Engine---ID Software

190

(1)

Source---Valve Software

190

(1)

Scheduling Tools

191

(2)

Microsoft Excel

191

(1)

Microsoft Project

191

(1)

Alienbrain Studio 7---NXN Software

192

(1)

Creating Proprietary Tools

193

(1)

Design Specifications Clearly

193

(1)

Communicate and Demonstrate the Tools

193

(1)

Test the Entire Pipeline

193

(1)

Update Proprietary Tools

194

(1)

Asset Management and Procedures

194

(2)

Version Control Systems

194

(2)

The Final Word

196

(1)

Tools for Success in Your Daily Routine

197

(28)

Processes for Producing a Video Game

197

(24)

Daily Delta Reports

197

(1)

Daily Delta Report Method Benefits

198

(2)

Source/Version Control Reports

200

(1)

Using Wiki

201

(2)

Team Meetings

203

(1)

Leads Meetings

203

(1)

Executive/Steering Committee Meetings

204

(1)

Risk Management Tools

204

(1)

Risk Management Worksheet

204

(1)

Other Risk Management Tricks

205

(1)

Working to Minimize the Risk

206

(1)

A Production Methodology That Minimizes Risk

207

(1)

Using Microsoft Project, Microsoft Excel, and the Overly Complex Scheduling Process

208

(1)

Start with an Excel Worksheet

209

(1)

Using the Formula

210

(1)

Linking to Microsoft Project

211

(1)

Scheduling for Risk

212

(4)

Using Slack in the Schedule

216

(1)

Free Form Approach

217

(1)

The Dreaded Overtime

218

(1)

Dependencies and Placeholders

218

(1)

Postmortems

219

(1)

Milestone Acceptance Tests

220

(1)

Looking In from the Outside

221

(2)

The Final Word

223

(2)

Game Development Financials

225

(20)

Creating a Budget

225

(13)

In the Ideal World

226

(1)

At the High-Concept Stage

226

(2)

Establish a Foundation during Pre-Production

228

(3)

Estimating Costs

231

(6)

Finding the Right Solution

237

(1)

Financial Modeling

238

(5)

Components of the Financial Model

238

(1)

Profit and Loss

239

(2)

Risk Analysis

241

(1)

Revenue Projection

242

(1)

Financial Commitment (by Milestone)

243

(1)

The Final Word

243

(2)

Excellence in Soundtracks and Sound Effects

245

(14)

Why Music Is as Important as Visuals

246

(7)

Planning for the Production

247

(1)

Finding the Right Talent

248

(1)

Hiring the Right Composer

248

(1)

The Composer's Contract

249

(2)

Live Musician Recording

251

(1)

Reasons to Do an Orchestral or Live Musician Soundtrack

252

(1)

Sound Effects Production and Management

253

(2)

Naming Conventions

253

(1)

Start Using Temp Sounds Early

253

(1)

The Step Approval Method

254

(1)

Match Sounds Effects to Art Assets

255

(1)

Voiceover Work and Direction

255

(2)

Using SAG/AFTRA Talent and Navigating through Union Requirements

256

(1)

Signatory Obligations

257

(1)

Sound Engine

257

(1)

Integration

258

(1)

The Final Word

258

(1)

Quality Assurance and Gameplay Testing

259

(12)

QA Team Procedures

260

(6)

What's in a Test Plan

260

(1)

Assignment of Responsibilities

261

(1)

Teamwork

262

(1)

Tracking and Closing Bugs

263

(1)

Alpha

264

(1)

Beta

265

(1)

Open Beta

265

(1)

Internal QA Team versus External QA Teams

266

(1)

Development Testing

266

(1)

Play Testing

266

(1)

The Risks of Rushing through QA

267

(2)

The Final Word

269

(2)

Creating Allies in the Marketing Team

271

(14)

Making Life Easier for the Brand Manager

272

(8)

Understand Marketing's Concerns

272

(1)

Prepare for Marketing Early and Build It into the Schedule

273

(1)

Help Define the Marketing Initiatives in the Originating Document

273

(1)

Outline Clear Goals

274

(1)

Define Conflict Resolution Avenues

275

(2)

Product Descriptions and Ad Copy

277

(1)

Public Relations and the Quest for Screenshots

277

(1)

Why Are Screenshots So Important?

278

(1)

How to Take Excellent Screenshots

278

(1)

Interviews and PR Training

279

(1)

Production Presentation and Demo Scripts

280

(2)

Writing an Effective Demo Script

281

(1)

Presenting an Excellent Demo

281

(1)

The Downloadable Demo

281

(1)

Previews and Strategy Guide Preparation

282

(1)

The Final Word

283

(2)

Appendix A Sample Acceptance Letter

285

(2)

Appendix B Engine Feature Checklist

287

(4)

Supported APIs

287

(1)

Graphics Engine

287

(1)

Sound Engine

287

(1)

User Interface

288

(1)

Dynamics (Physics) Engine

288

(1)

Scripting System

288

(1)

World Building

288

(1)

Creature Modeling and Animation

288

(1)

Object Animation

289

(1)

Artificial Intelligence

289

(1)

Optimization

289

(1)

Menu System

289

(1)

Game Configuration System

289

(1)

Other

289

(2)

Appendix C Marketing Deliverables Checklist

291

(2)

Appendix D Producer Tools

293

(6)

Appendix E What Goes into a Milestone Definition?

299

(10)

Sample Milestone List for AdventureX

299

(10)

Index

309

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The Game Producer’s Handbook

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials