88 THE GAME PRODUCTION HANDBOOK, 2/E
complete a critical task on time. It is also easier for the publisher to make feature
requests and grant schedule extensions to ensure that a requested feature gets
into the game.
Some publishers will still assign a PP to work with a wholly owned devel-
oper. The PP will work with the DP to coordinate the testing, marketing, and
other tasks for the game. The PP is not likely to run the day-to-day activities
of the development team but may be more involved in what production pro-
cesses are used, especially if there are company-wide processes that must be
adhered to.
Jamie Fristrom of Torpex Games has this say about the developer-pub-
lisher relationship, “Being owned by another company changes your outlook
on staffing. When you are an independent publisher, you try not to hire people
until you are sure they are needed. When you are working in-house for another
company, you try to get people as soon as possible—even if you are not sure
you need them. Because your publisher or owner is trying to place people at
several different studios, i.e., they are not focused just on work at your own
studio, more time is usually needed to find the right personnel. When they do
come along, we usually try to hire them before they are assigned to another
developer.”
THE ROLE OF THE PROJECT MANAGER
Tobi Saulnier, President
1st Playable
Before Vicarious Visions was owned by Activision, it was an independent
developer who worked with many publishers. Having this variety of custom-
ers and unique contracts has a major impact on the management of product
development.
Vicarious Visions’ approach was to assign an internal producer to each title,
who was called a project manager (PM), to distinguish that role from the publisher
producer (PP). The PM is involved very early in the initial project assessment of
feasibility. The PM is multidisciplinary and must be able to communicate with art,
design, engineering, and the publisher. In addition, the PM must be able to under-
stand the marketing and sales limitations of the project. They work directly with
the PP who provides the channel for all marketing plans, financial backing, license
requirements, ship dates, and so on.
DEVELOPER AND PUBLISHER RELATIONSHIPS 89
Although the management at Vicarious Visions provided a lot of support, espe-
cially early in the development process, during most of the development, the PM
was the main point of contact for the PP. This helps streamline the communication
between the developer and publisher. After a project is ready to begin, the PM is
provided a project charter that documents the internal goals and assumptions of the
game that were developed during the sales process, and this is used to prevent loss
of information during the hand-off to the development team.
As the project begins, the PM works closely with the PP on what the constraints
are for the IP. For example, specific guidelines are defined on what characters and
story elements can be used, what new content can be created, and what themes can
be used. As pre-production progresses, the PM works with their development team to
make sure that they understand the constraints and that open questions are resolved.
During pre-production, the PM works with the designer and leads to create the
game design and technical design documents, style guide, and development sched-
ule, which defines the details of the remaining milestones.
After the game design document is completed and the title goes into produc-
tion, the project requires much less marketing interaction and is entirely in the
hands of the PM as the team proceeds toward the agreed-upon features and sched-
ule. The PM is responsible for making sure that everyone has what is needed to be
productive, presenting the in-progress assets to the PP for review, filling out licen-
sor approval forms, and other things.
The PM role can change depending on how overworked or experienced the PP
is. Sometimes, the assigned PP has only one project and, thus, can provide more
support to the PM. In other cases, the PP will have 10 projects and cannot provide
a lot of support to the PM. This means the PM must be prepared to step up to
handle such diverse tasks as licensor approval paperwork, localization, early testing
coordination, and preparation of materials for marketing and PR, even if the PP is
ultimately responsible for them.
Ultimately, the PM must do whatever is necessary to keep the project orga-
nized and running smoothly. This includes attention to the game, reviewing features
and play-testing, monitoring progress through resource allocation, and tracking
schedules.
The PM must also write build notes and obtain milestone approvals from the
PP. Finally, as soon as the project runs into issues, the PM works with the project
leads to find solutions. It helps if the PM has some area of expertise in art, design,
or engineering so they can understand the hands-on details of how the game is put
together. Between all of these roles, the PM is also the team’s lead cheerleader and
attends to the care and feeding of the team, ensures that milestones are celebrated,
and everyone manages to have some fun between the deadlines.
90 THE GAME PRODUCTION HANDBOOK, 2/E
5.4 THIRD-PARTY GAME APPROVALS
Games published for proprietary hardware platforms, such as consoles or cell
phones, must be submitted to the appropriate third-party manufacturer for
approval, such as Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo. In most cases, the publisher or
developer will want to get the game concept approved by the third-party manu-
facturer before production begins on the game. For example, both Sony and
Microsoft require a concept proposal to be approved by them before develop-
ment begins on a title. If the developer skips this step in the process, he might
find that the fully developed title is rejected outright, before it is even submitted
for final approval and manufacturing.
These manufacturers also have a standard set of technical requirements that
each product must meet in order to be approved for release. These requirements
are listed in detailed documentation and cover all aspects of the game, such as
how to word specific pop-up messages, how to set up the friends list, and so on.
The developer must fulfill all these requirements, or the game will fail the ap-
proval process. These requirements must be built into the development process
so they can be implemented and tested along with the other game features. The
console manufacturers will assign an account manager as the main point of con-
tact to help the developer navigate the submission process. The manufacturer
might also have gameplay feedback on how to improve the game to best show
off the specific features of the gaming platform. Refer to Chapter 24, “Code
Releasing,” for more information on the console submission process.
5.5 CHAPTER SUMMARY
Independent developers have a different publishing relationship than developers
who are wholly owned by their publishers. These relationships are reflected in
how the producer interacts with the publisher. In each case, the producer is still
responsible for guiding the team through the development process but may take
on different sets of responsibilities based on the publisher-developer relationship.
This chapter discussed these relationships and some ways for producers to effec-
tively manage it as well as some best practices for putting together a game pitch.
This chapter concludes the “Business Information” part of the book. The
next part of the book focuses on how to effectively manage people on the devel-
opment team. The first chapter in the section discusses how to hire and retain
quality talent.
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