TEAMS 127
getting in trouble for them. Don’t be surprised if you hear complaints about
things you didn’t even know about or if people complain about what a bad job
the producer is doing.
When the surveys are returned, collate the information and write up a sum-
mary report. Share this report with the team and schedule a team meeting to
discuss all areas of concern, what steps are being taken to address these con-
cerns, and who is in charge of following up with these solutions. The attack plan
is the most important aspect of the team survey, because it shows the team that
their concerns are valid, and actions are being taken to improve the situation.
If you don’t let the team know what action is being taken, it is likely they will
chalk up the survey to another useless management exercise and become further
demoralized.
When the big issues are addressed, and the team seems to be on an up-
swing, you might want to have them take the survey again, a few months later.
Repeating the survey is helpful to see whether the team’s attitude is more posi-
tive and whether they are still worried about the same things. If the same con-
cerns appear on the second survey, the action plan was not as effective as it
should be. In cases like this, continue getting feedback from the team on what
solutions they think will fix the problems and then follow through on them. If the
survey shows the overall morale is higher and there are less problems, the action
plan can be considered effective. The second survey will also reveal the next set
of issues that need solutions.
BOOSTING TEAM MORALE
Heather Chandler
Media Sunshine, Inc.
With any development team, one has to keep a close watch on the team morale.
If the team does not have high morale, the quality and efficiency of their work will
suffer. Every member of the development team has something important to con-
tribute to the team and needs to be told their work is appreciated.
While working on the Xbox version of Ghost Recon 2, we came up with the idea
of the “Hero” speech. At the time, we were working hard to get our demo ready for
E3. We were also in the process of finalizing the name and image of the game’s hero
character. During our regular team meeting, we handed out sealed envelopes to
everyone on the team and told them that they contained the final name and image
of the “hero character.” Everyone opened their envelopes and saw there was a small
mirror inside. When they saw these mirrors, we started talking about how they were
the heroes of the game. Without them, the game would not be very strong, and we
128 THE GAME PRODUCTION HANDBOOK, 2/E
The following interview discusses the importance of keeping personnel
fresh and motivated.
DEFINING QUALITY OF LIFE
Melanie Cambron, Game Recruiter
Quality of life means different things to different people. For some it’s an af-
fordable house, good schools, and being home for dinner with the family. For oth-
ers, however, it’s all about the work and making a great game. Work is their hobby.
It’s this group you need to watch. Although you don’t need to chase them out of the
building every night at 6 P.M., you should make the point that you want them fresh
and rested. Remind them that they are more productive when they are refreshed
and can approach the game with clear eyes.
Some of these late workers might be there because they’ve relocated for the
job and don’t know anyone or any place to go for entertainment. Take the time to
introduce them around and invite them to something fun. Team barbeques can be
great releases and possibly uncover common interests beyond work.
Above all, keep in mind that development teams work really hard, and they
should, but not at the expense of their marriages, personal relationships, and health.
Care about their happiness and mental health, and they’ll care even more about the
project.
had to count on each other to get the work done. Admittedly, this seemed like a
fairly corny idea on paper, but several team members told me afterward that they
really appreciated what we said, and that they felt better and more enthusiastic
about their contributions to the game.
7.6 QUALITY OF LIFE
In recent years, the quality of life for developers has come under scrutiny by
the game development community, mainly because people are more vocal in
expressing their concerns about the detriments of working long hours at the ex-
pense of family, friends, and health. Ask any developer about this, and they will
undoubtedly recount a time when they worked insane amounts of overtime for
several weeks in a row. In the games industry, working these hours is referred to
as “crunch time” or a “death march” and is pretty much an expected and accepted
TEAMS 129
part of game development, but at what cost? These same developers who put in
this overtime will also tell you that family and personal relationships suffered;
their health started declining; or both. Does working these extra hours really
make the game better? Is it worth it to the developer to live, eat, and breathe
work? How can working hours and quality of life be improved?
The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) is actively working
on this issue and has created a special interest group dedicated to improving
the quality of life for game developers. The information they’ve compiled is ac-
cessible on their website: www.igda.org/qol. In 2004, the committee authored
a white paper on the current state of the industry’s working conditions, which
included discussions on the challenges of achieving a healthy work-life balance
as a game developer, the negative impact of crunch time, job instability, and
weakness in how development teams are organized and managed. This paper
presented compelling reasons for improving the quality the life, such as studies
showing that extended crunch time actually decreases productivity, and that as
developers get older and start families, they are planning to leave the industry
for jobs that allow them to spend more time with their families.
Unfortunately, because producers are leading the project and are in charge
of the schedule, they are often blamed for these poor working conditions.
If the game is not properly and realistically scheduled by the producer, the team
might find themselves working massive overtime to get the core features of the
game implemented. Additionally, many producers do not have any type of for-
mal training in managing projects, especially software developments projects,
which makes it more difficult for them to properly determine the scope, time,
and resources for any given project.
One of the ways to improve quality of life is by studying formal project man-
agement techniques and researching how companies outside of game develop-
ment are able to run projects without burning out their employees or making
them unhealthy—government contractors, business software developers, and
other corporations running large-scale projects. The IGDA is looking into these
areas for solutions, and they have posted information about best practices for
software development on the Quality of Life website.
The reason quality of life is an important issue is because the current crop of
talent is getting burned out, unhealthy, and missing out on spending time with
family and friends. This burnout decreases the overall morale, efficiency, and
quality of work on a team. Developers are beginning to understand that solving
these issues won’t happen overnight, but they are also looking for improvements
that will improve the situation now, such as the following:
Planning limited crunch time in the schedule: If one to two weeks of
crunch time are scheduled ahead of time around key milestones, people can
plan the impact on their personal lives. Additionally, if they know when
130 THE GAME PRODUCTION HANDBOOK, 2/E
crunch time is going to happen, people can focus on working more efficiently
during the time leading up to crunch time so they can minimize the amount
of overtime they actually work. Studies have shown that working extended
crunch time decreases productivity, so don’t schedule more than two weeks
of overtime in a row.
Awarding comp time at the end of a project: “Comp time” is additional
time off to compensate for overtime hours worked. When a project is com-
pleted, give employees comp time so they can relax, recharge their batteries,
and come back to work refreshed.
Management training for producers and leads: Strong project and
people management skills are critical in solving the issues of crunch time
and work-life balance. Good people managers know how to keep teams mo-
tivated and boost morale. Good project managers can control the schedule,
which results in less overtime, better quality work, and a stronger team.
CRUNCH TIME
Stuart Roch, Executive Producer
Activision
More so than anyone else on the team, producers have the greatest responsibility
to their team and the greatest control over quality of life. As the team leader, contin-
uous project mismanagement all but guarantees crunch time and poor quality of life,
just as proper project scheduling and control from the beginning can nearly elimi-
nate the need to crunch for all but focused, task-based milestone mini-crunches.
Although a company culture may be such that crunch time is regarded as part
of the job, it is the producer’s responsibility to limit the scope of the project de-
sign to what is sensible—given their schedule constraints—and make proper course
adjustments as needed to keep the team working to reasonable goals, if the proj-
ect starts getting off track. In a properly managed project, crunch time should be
kept to a minimum and when called for and be based on task-based goals for short
bursts, rather than being called as a team-wide crunch with no definite end goal.
Minimizing crunch time on the project and handling it correctly when needed is
one of the best things a producer can do to keep a team healthy.
When crunches are needed, it’s important to remember the families your
developers have at home. Doing small things like sending flowers to a spouse on
a team member’s anniversary or rewarding a team member’s job well done with
a gift certificate to a nice restaurant, so the spouse can share in the reward, go a
TEAMS 131
7.7 CHAPTER SUMMARY
Teams come in many shapes and sizes, but remember that individual people
make up the teams, and producers must have the ability to deal with the indi-
viduals and with the team as a whole. If people on the team are not happy and
productive, the team won’t be either. The producer must focus a good portion
of his efforts on building and maintaining strong morale and high motivation on
the team. This focus is done by picking strong leads, engaging in team-building
exercises, and quickly addressing any warning signs of disgruntled employees.
The producer must have strong people and project management skills and be a
good communicator. The next chapter describes some ways to foster good com-
munication on a project and use communication as a tool to improve interactions
on the team.
long way toward recognizing the family sacrifices at home. Of course, these small
gestures cannot fully remedy any negative feelings from a team member’s family,
so producers must be mindful of the fact that crunch time doesn’t impact just the
team members.
..................Content has been hidden....................
You can't read the all page of ebook, please click here login for view all page.