320 THE GAME PRODUCTION HANDBOOK, 2/E
Keep it Simple
Keep the process as simple as possible. Eliminate any unnecessary steps and
don’t involve anyone in the approval process who is not absolutely necessary.
More people means more bottlenecks in getting things approved, so the fewer
people involved means less time for approval. For example, if the approval pro-
cess for the mission designs involved the lead artists, the lead engineers, the lead
designers, the artist working on the level, the producers, and management, it
would take weeks to get something approved. Although it is extremely important
to get feedback from all of these people, they don’t actually need to have ap-
proval responsibility. Instead, their feedback can be incorporated into the final
deliverable that is presented for approval. This approval process can be simpli-
fied to include only studio management, a producer, one lead artist, and one lead
designer.
Define and Publish
Define and publish the process. This is a step that often gets overlooked, because
there is never enough time to write anything down. However, if the process is
defined and published, it has a greater chance of working, because everyone
involved in the process has a full understanding of what their obligations are.
Defining the process allows people to see where bottlenecks are likely to hap-
pen, and to have a better understanding of where each item is in the process.
Centralize the Tracking
Assign one person to track all steps and assets in the approval process. Depending
on how many assets there are, this can be a full-time job. Restricting it to a single
person creates a single point of reference for the status of all approvals. This also
creates a librarian who tracks all the final assets and deliverables needed for the
game. For example, confusion can be created if there are several different art
asset lists from which people are working, instead of one master list, because no
one knows for sure which is the correct list. The librarian can create the master
asset list and has final say on what assets will be created for the game.
18.10 TASK FORCES
Task forces are cross-discipline groups who are put in charge of looking at prob-
lems, formulating solutions, and getting them implemented in the game. They
are flexible and autonomous, which means they can operate independently
within the team. Their decision is considered final. For example, a task force can
PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES 321
be set up to determine how the game controls will work, how the AI will func-
tion, or how the multiplayer scoring system will be implemented.
Each task force should consist of at least one engineer, one artist, one
designer, and maybe one or two other experts in the feature being worked on.
One person is designated as the leader and is responsible for facilitating any
necessary meetings and research to be done, collecting the data, and summariz-
ing the final decision for the rest of the team. When putting together task forces,
assign a specific deadline and follow up with their progress on a regular basis.
Task forces are useful in that they give people a stake in the game. People
are empowered to work together as a small team without worrying about the
established management hierarchy. Because they are able to work unimpeded
and do not need the consensus of the entire team to make a decision, solutions
can be implemented quickly. In some cases, the task force’s initial decisions will
not work, so they need to re-examine the problem and come back with another
solution.
18.11 CHAPTER SUMMARY
This chapter discussed some production techniques to improve the produc-
tion process, communication, or the ability to identify risks. Although these tech-
niques are not cure-alls, they certainly can help a producer solve some common
problems encountered during the development process.
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