After attending GDC (Game Developers Conference) in March 2010 I was pointed in the direction of this book by Gordon MacKenzie.The book helps explain how creativity can be lost during the "ascension" process of ones career into corporate business. MacKenzie tells about his time spent working at Hallmark and certain obstacles he overcame regarding bringing out peoples creativity by speaking to corporate business execuitives. He tries to bridge the gap that seems to have been created in certain situations where creativity is stifled because of conformity to corporate structure.The biggest takeaways I got from this book were
1. Versatility is necessary when navigating the hairball
2. Knowing how to orbit the hairball becomes more necessary as you move up through a company
3. Motivation is one of the key attributes to being versatile
4. Assisting or allowing others to realize their abilities is more useful that telling them how it is done
I think it is important to realize that the creative industry is not something can always follow a set pattern, but it should always have a positive purpose. This is shown in different game industry companies where different methodologies are used during the course of production and different companies systems that conform to their creative team.
For example, the setting of a place can help someone come into closer contact with their creative side, as MacKenzie describes in one of his stories where he "upgrades" a section of the Hallmark company with desks, lighting and props to help bring out the creative elements of people.
As mentioned above, motivation and versatility is vital during the production process, especially in the game industry. Since there is no official production methodology written that works for every single game company there is no true way to say if something is going to work. Some developers may believe an idea and design is fantastic only to find out after it is released it was not received well.
It is not to say that a "terrible" game is always due to poor development. This happens, but it can also mean that pre-production or even production was just not what research showed. Sometimes it can just be a gut feeling, and knowing how to pitch that gut feeling to stakeholders is very important. I think this book helps the reader realize how to use that feeling to ones strength and gain the trust of your stakeholders to make your "dream" come true!
Personal logo used for X-Cape Hall design made from X-cape game Castle design from X-cape game Dining hall from X-Cape game Replica image made in 3DS Max
Over the last 5 years I have completed my Associates Degree in Multimedia and Bachelors Degree in Digital Entertainment and Game Design.
The following is a summary of the courses for my Masters program at Full Sail. The course is 12 months long. The course description is taken directly from the Full Sail Propeller website.
1. Production Leadership
The process of producing video games involves multiple highly technical team players and requires a specialized set of strategies for leading such a team. This course examines the theoretical basis for assessing team motivation and several effective approaches to influencing behavior and facilitating high performance for the individuals and the team as a whole. The students will be introduced to the scientific method and will develop critical thinking skills necessary for their thesis research and for the effective leadership of production teams.
Accomplishments
a. Gained understanding and knowledge of leadership methodologies and motivational processes for teams
b. Became experienced in team presentations regarding leadership methodologies
c. Became experienced in team efforts and accountability regarding the completion of a team leadership project
2. Design Mechanics
Taking the concepts from the Game Design course, this course further expands on students’ game ideas, helping them towards a complete game design. Students learn how to create playable scenarios for their games as well as how to identify balance issues that arise during gameplay. Students also learn how to balance games for players of different skill levels as well as how to develop an interface that is easy to use and matches their target audiences.
Accomplishments
a. Gained understanding of Internal, External and Statistical validity associated with game production
b. Became IRB certified to assist with surveys and analysis
c. Performed research regarding my thesis document gaining information on examining the cohesiveness of small game development themes
d. Gained individual presentation skills regarding research of different design mechanics and methodologies
3. Production Methodologies
The Production Methodologies Course examines the many different ways that managers can schedule, plan, and execute their projects. Students learn project management methods and software development methods and explore how these led to the basis of production methodologies. They also examine the different approaches to planning and executing projects, as well as learning which ones are more suited to the software and manufacturing fields.
Accomplishments
a. Gained group presentations skills through the research of Six Sigma, Rapid Application, Extreme Programming, Prototype and Boutique production methodologies
b. Researched and presented comparisons of companies using these methodologies to possible uses in the game industry.
4. Production Management Principles
The Production Management Principles Course examines the many different ways that managers can schedule, plan, and execute their projects. Students learn project management methods and software development methods and explore how these led to the basis of production methodologies. They also examine the different approaches to planning and executing projects, as well as learning which ones are more suited to the software and manufacturing fields.
Accomplishments
a. Worked as a team under time constraints to deliver a fully detail Project Management Plan for the entire course of Final Project
b. Learned prioritization, team management and leadership skills for documentation using sprint methodologies
5. Leadership and Team Dynamics
The Leadership & Team Dynamics Course is focused on the soft skills necessary to successfully operate as an effective leader, particularly as that applies to production roles in the game industry. Students in this course build upon theories of leadership, management, and teambuilding discussed throughout the program, combining those concepts with theories of personality analysis that will give students greater insight into themselves and those they will lead in the industry. Students also have the opportunity to take on the leadership mantle, allowing them to experience the practical application of these theoretical systems.
Accomplishments
a. Researched leadership systems in the game industry regarding certain companies (Id, Ubisoft and Electronic Arts) and their association with established leadership identification systems (True Colors and Myers-Briggs).
b. Gained individual presentation skills through research of the dynamics of the game industry (female leads characters, story design)
6. Asset Management
Game Projects typically have thousands of assets that are created for each and every game. These can easily overwhelm most managers and cause problems in the game schedule. In this course students learn how to plan and organize their game assets from day one. This covers how to store assets, how to plan them in their schedule, and how to get them from one place to another, such as the artist to the game itself. Students will also learn how to plan the localization of their games and assets for different regions.
Accomplishments
a. Completed several research and group presentation projects on postmortems, rapid application, cost/value comparisons and moodboards.
b. Presented alternate design theories for establish games from Final Project.
c. Researched and presented localization of games regarding design, color and culture.
7. Game Production Tools
Building on the skills from the Game Project and Team Management course, this course equips students with tools used in the processes of software production and project management. Students in this course learn about project management software that aids in the management, workflow, and documentation of projects, including Microsoft Project, Visio, asset management systems, defect tracking systems, and more.
Accomplishments
a. Gained understanding and knowledge of weekly and monthly capacity planning through Microsoft Excel 2007.
b. Created production schedules including core features, cut lists and test/fail systems
c. Created a full Microsoft Project 2007 document gathering all research and compiling and presenting it by milestone to be used for pre-production, production and post-production.
I have currently started these courses and will complete them by the end of April 2010.
8. Game Capstone Project: Preproduction
In the Game Capstone: Project Preproduction Course, students are paired with an undergraduate Game Project group to plan the genre and scope of their game project, including designing the gameplay, and determining technological issues. Students decide what kind of features the game will have and exactly how they will be accomplished before assigning individual tasks and beginning production.
9. Quality Assurance
Quality Assurance is an integral component of the game design process. The successful delivery of a game is dependent on the verification and validation of an effective quality assurance system. Topics in this course include function prototypes, test sets (which include defect testing and acceptance testing), and structural prototyping. Students develop a continuous process improvement program for their capstone project. The bug testing cycle and accepted bug testing software are also introduced. This course provides students with the skills to design and implement a testing program from the beginning of the development cycle to the end.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Welcome to my blog! Keep an eye out, I will be updating this site with all my projects I have done over the past 6 years.
