The Role of a Game Producer - Part 1
Producers are many things to a game team. I often say that a good producer is a point guard with the soul of a store greeter. In basketball, the point guard is in charge of setting the offense for the team. While a point guard may score, their main job is to make sure everyone else is in the right position to score points. In short, producers help their team do their best work. (I love sports metaphors) . Good producers are always looking for ways to support the team.
The role of a producer varies from each studio. In fact, it can be difficult to know where to spend your time. This is something I struggled with early in my career. In this article, I will discuss what I think are the essential skills that make an effective producer. This article is aimed at people who are new to the production role. This can be both aspiring or ‘accidental’ producers. One thing to point out, these are my personal views and are based on my experiences in production. Your mileage may vary.
Task Management
Keeping track of tasks is a major part of game production
. Making sure people are working on the right thing, at the right time is key to a project’s success. Producers keep track of tasks with a list called a backlog. Tasks are usually tracked in some sort of task-tracking software; although task tracking can be as simple as a bulleted list. Each software has its own advantages and disadvantages. The best software is the one that allows the team to be productive.
Producers will usually keep track of a task’s status. These statuses can be as simple as, ‘Planned’, ‘Doing’, or ‘Done’. Keeping track of tasks is the best way to understand a team’s progress. Producers may also track down estimates for the team’s tasks. Gathering this information will help the team understand the scope of the project. Producers spend a lot of their time finding out the status of a task. If a task is in the same status for a long time, that team member could be stuck. Producers find out about roadblocks through conversations with the team. That brings us to another key skill of production.
Communication
Communication is the main skill of a producer. A large majority of a producer’s time is spent talking to the team. This can be through one on one follow ups or team meetings. An effective producer can adapt their communication style to suit the person they are speaking with. When I meet a new team member, I ask what is the preferred communication style. Listening is an important part of communication. I employ active listening techniques when talking to the team. I will ask someone, “What I’m hearing is,” and rephrase their point. The reason for this is twofold. For starters, I strive to make sure every member of the team feels heard. Doing this also helps ensure that I understand the point that is being made.
Communication can also extend to written documentation or emails. I strive for clarity in written communication, as it will need to be referenced later. Note-taking is a large part of written communication. I take notes for every meeting; taking special care to document decisions and follow-ups. It is a good idea to note who made points and note the meeting attendees. At the end of a meeting, I make sure that every stakeholder is notified of decisions via email or the team’s chat channel. It is a good idea to use some type of Wiki to keep an archive of any key decisions.
This newsletter ended up being longer than I thought. I will break this article into two parts. Next week, I will talk about planning, removing roadblocks, and running meetings.