Brief introduction to Production and pla lanning for game development Jarek Kol ář
About me 1994 – Tajemstv í Oslího ostrova 1994 – 7 dní a 7 nocí 1997 – Akte Europa @JarekKolar 1998 – Hesperian Wars 2000 – Flying Heroes 2003 – Vietcong 2005 – Vietcong 2 2010 – Mafia II
What is production?
Production - core concept Finishing Project On time Within budget
Production values What When Who How Cost
Why? • Motivation • Why I am doing it? • What I want to achieve? • Criteria of success – expected gain • Short term • Long term
Production formula PLAN GOAL Who How When What Cost Gain
Production formula GOAL PLAN PLAN GOAL GOAL • Quarterly • Monthly PLAN PLAN PLAN • Weekly GOAL GOAL GOAL • Daily
Topics 1. Production in practice 2. Managing teams 3. Phases of a game development 4. Planning methods and tools 5. Notes on business
1. Production in practice
Size of your team • Situations • Alone • In a small team <15 • In a large team ~10-30 • In a very big team 30-300+
Working alone or in mini-team PLAN GOAL Who How When What Cost Gain
Working alone or in mini-team PLAN GOAL Who How When What Cost Gain
Everyone is a producer in a small team <15 PLAN GOAL Who How When What Cost Gain + • Communication • Tracking decisions
Everyone is a producer in a small team <15 PLAN GOAL Who How When What Cost Gain + • Communication • Tracking decisions
Dedicated leadership in a large team ~10-30 PLAN GOAL Who How When What Cost Gain + • Detailed plans • Dependencies, Synergies
Dedicated leadership in a large team ~10-30 PLAN GOAL Who How When What Cost Gain + • Detailed plans • Dependencies, Synergies
Structure in a very big team ~30-300+ PLAN GOAL Who How When What Cost Gain + • Independent sub-teams • Upper management layer
Structure in a very big team ~30-300+ PLAN GOAL Who How When What Cost Gain + • Independent sub-teams • Upper management layer
2. Managing teams
Leading teams • Communication • Common goal • Motivation, joy
Leading teams • Communication • Common goal • Motivation, joy PLAN GOAL Who How When What Cost Gain
Management roles • Project leader • Producer • Project manager • Discipline leaders ( lead programmer, lead artist, lead designer…)
Management roles • Discipline leaders (lead programmer, lead artist, lead designer…) • Making great stuff • Goals • Direction within the discipline • Leading people • Managing quality
Management roles • Project leader & Producer & Project manager • Managing time & money • Global direction, epic goals, budgets • External communication (business, marketing) • Internal communication • Leading teams • Daily micro-management • Administrative
Management roles • Creative vs Technical vs Production • Quality vs Time • Priority vs Capacity • Tension - Compromises & Limitations • Work estimation & Time boxing
Multiple sub-teams Project Lead Producer • Goal oriented • Multidiscipline team members Subteam1 Subteam2 Subteam3 • Responsibility and power Lead Lead Lead • Autonomous = Operational = Effective Sub Sub Sub Team Team Team • Self managed individuals • Processes/guidelines instead of micromanagement
3.Phases of a game development
Phases of a game development • Preparation (pre-production) • Production • Finishing/Closing (post-production) • Release/Distribution • Post-release
Preparation (pre-production) • Concept, Idea • Pitch • Platform, Technology and Tools • Design document • Worlds, Environments, Levels • Narrative design, Story, Dialogues, Characters • Game design – mechanics, dynamics, systems • … • Resolved unknowns
Preparation (pre-production) • Outcome • Prototypes, proof of concepts • Examples, benchmarks • Workflow • Tools and pipelines • Guidelines and documentation • Planning and budgeting
Preparation (pre-production) • Pre-alpha version • short example of the core of the game • Vertical slice • all features of the game represented in small section • Horizontal slice • complete content of the game with placeholder assets
Production • Production of assets • Environments, Characters, Objects, VFX • Animations • Programming game features • Scripting • Sounds & Voice recording • Preparing and shooting of cut-scenes
Production • Feature complete • all game features are implemented • Alpha version • game is playable from start to end with all features • Content complete • all assets are implemented
Finishing / Closing • Collating parts together • Scripting • Testing, tweaking, polishing, debugging • Music & Additional voice recording • Localizations • Platform submission process
Finishing / Closing • Beta version • Developers feel that the game is ready for testing • ZBR • Fixing bugs is faster than finding bugs • Release candidate • Attempt to make a master version • Gold Master • Ready for release
Release / Distribution • Marketing / PR – trailers, screenshots, interviews • Demos – controlled, hands on, public • Exhibitions and Conferences • Community & Fanbase management • Distribution • Boxed (Publisher, Distributor) • Digital (Steam, Apple Store, Google Play, …)
Post-release • Maintenance: Improvements, bug fixing, updates • New Content: Add-ons and expansions • Services – servers, cloud, data management • Community support – communication, forums, website • Modding support – tools, bugfixing
Summary of development phases • Preparation (pre-production) • Pre-alpha • Vertical slice / Horizontal slice • Production • Alpha version PLAN • Feature Complete / Content Complete GOAL • Finishing/Closing (post-production) • Beta version • ZBR • Release Candidate Who How When What • Gold Master • Release/Distribution Cost Gain • Post-release
4. Production tools and methods
How to make a plan? PLAN GOAL Who How When What Cost Gain
How to make a plan? 1. Project timeline (when) 2. Capacity (who) 3. Backlog (what) 4. Broad calculation (balancing your numbers) 5. Milestones (smaller chunks of time) 6. Schedule (detailed plan) • “Don’t be intimidated. Don’t be paralyzed. Just do it.”
WHEN: Rough project timeline • Start date • Development phases / Big milestones • Preproduction • Production • Post-production • Release • End date • “You will be late – add a buffer (20%)”
WHO: Capacity • How much work can be done? Available team members (per discipline/sub-team) • Available time =Total capacity of mandays *Efficiency (70%) • “Day doesn’t have 8 work hours, week doesn’t have 5 work days.”
WHAT: Backlog • List of features • Divided into tasks • List of assets • Divided into tasks / phases • Format • Name, description, estimated time, priority, risk • “If you don’t know, guess. Guess is better than nothing .”
BALANCE: Broad calculation • Count estimate of all tasks • Compare with available mandays • Per departments or developers • Don’t care about order of tasks and dependency • Adjust scope (backlog) or team (capacity) or time (end date) • Repeat (Iterate) until you fit • “Please note, that you will be always wrong .”
Milestones • Divide development into smaller chunks • Big milestones • Pre-alpha • Vertical slice / Horizontal slice • Feature complete • Alpha version • Define epic goals for sub-teams • “Don’t plan beyond alpha. This is far too unpredictable.”
Roadmap • Put your milestones on a timeline one after another
Waterfall planning • Backlog • Linked tasks • Rigid order • Clear dependencies • Great for roadmaps
Schedule • Monthly milestones PLAN • 1 month detailed GOAL • Epic goals + Tasks • Assignment Who How When What • Daily/weekly plan • 2 months roughly defined Cost Gain • Epic goals • “Even if you are wrong, the plan will motivate you to move forward.”
Agile planning • Backlog • Sprint • Available tasks • Flexible order • Stand-ups • Great for monthly milestones
Pipeline for standardized tasks • Order of tasks (phases) • Transparent workflow and dependencies • Approval checkpoints (yes/no) • Use guidelines and benchmarks • Decision tracker
How to make a plan? • Project timeline (when) • Capacity (who) • Backlog (what) • Broad calculation (balancing your numbers) • Milestones (smaller chunks of time) PLAN • Schedule (detailed plan) GOAL • Pipeline (required workflow) • Checkpoints (verify progress) Who How When What Cost Gain
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