So You Want To Be a Producer - How to Lead a Development Team - Extra Credits
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 21 авг 2024
- The Producer is one of the least-appreciated roles in the game industry. Their job is to ensure that the game gets finished and shipped on time (not floating in development hell forever) by enabling everyone else to do their best work.
Subscribe for new episodes every Wednesday! bit.ly/SubToEC (---More below)
(Original air date: October 5, 2011)
This week's guest art by LeeLee Scaldaferri! Check out her weekly webcomic, Name Game!
www.escapistmag...
_______
Get your Extra Credits gear at the store! bit.ly/ExtraStore
Play games with us on Extra Play! bit.ly/WatchEXP
Watch more episodes from this season of Extra Credits! bit.ly/2n8QcIn
Contribute community subtitles to Extra Credits: www.youtube.com...
Talk to us on Twitter (@ExtraCreditz): bit.ly/ECTweet
Follow us on Facebook: bit.ly/ECFBPage
Get our list of recommended games on Steam: bit.ly/ECCurator
_________
Would you like James to speak at your school or organization? For info, contact us at: contact@extra-credits.net
_________
♪ Intro Music: "Penguin Cap" by CarboHydroM
bit.ly/1eIHTDS
♪ Outro Music: "Ska Buffet" by The OverClocked Plaid Muffins
ocremix.org/rem...
![So You Want to Be an ANESTHESIOLOGIST [Ep. 12]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/z8h1mRqI3_I/mqdefault.jpg)
Movie producers have a saying "Movie's aren't finished, they're taken away".
+Kohdok 5:48 Nintendo messed this up with Zelda Wii U's production.
+maggintons Nintendo employs a different philosophy: "A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad." It's the driving force behind the "Nintendo Polish" idiom. Granted, these are a LOT of delays, but hopefully it can only mean good things.
Kohdok I know Im just saying that the far more Absurd fanboys *COUGH*HMK*COUGH* keep thinking its the case.
+Kohdok while this is true, not every company can tank delay costs like T-34.
+Kohdok That's what directors and editors say not producers if I remember right.
"...waiting for his code to compile..."
Yeah, I've used that excuse.
Not a game developer, just a programmer.
But this is spot on.
I had shitty managers, and I now a have a good one.
And this video describes exactly WHY
Ariel Voskov j
same... ive been thining about going into scrum master or manager
So, in a game company, the producer is like the support mage, casting buffing and battlefield control spells so the other player can come in and...kill the...games with their...developer swords? I think I lost the analogy a bit at the end.
haha.. maybe it's kind of...
TheManWithTheFlan more of a tactician then a mage really
@@f45411 so they’re kinda like the player in a CRPG if the party members had individual autonomy.
Couldn't be agree more. :)
I'm a producer in one of Indonesian most leading game studio and coming from a game designer role, I have to say that it IS hard to find a balance in saying "yes" to the development team to add more interesting features and saying "no" since the game needs to be done soon.
I remember that one time, one of the development staff said this to me "do you want this game to be good? or do you just want it to be delivered?"
I was dumbstruck at that time but learned my lesson. Sometimes adding more features to make a game "better" doesn't always seems the case. At the end of the day, no matter how "perfect" the game will be, it is your audience that becomes the judge. So learning from that, nowadays I am able to say "No" easier compare to before.
Thanks, Extra Credits for this interesting video, pretty much nailed the experience that I've been experiencing so far in my 4 years duration as a Game Producer. :)
Hey, if you dont mind, what are the education requirements to be a game producer? This video combined with some research I've done on the producer role has really made me want to become a producer myself, and I'd really like to know the education requirements please.
Hi,
It's kinda hard to tell on what education that you should take for becoming a good game producer. However in my case, I used to study Game Art & Design in the Art Institute of Vancouver, Canada.
But again, I can't say it 100% prepares you for things to come when you finally became the game producer. Still the knowledge that I got from my study kinda helped me in knowing the jargon and process on how the game is made but for the project management itself is pretty much self taught.
One thing that I found very lacking when I first became a game producer is "human resource management knowledge", it really took me by surprise when you need to handle different individuals with their own preferences and working style. Sadly it's just not possible to kinda "force" them to work your way so at the end, you are the one that should "adapt" to the situation and these talents.
That's what I felt in my case...well...now almost 5 years later, it kinda start to became a routine for me so not as shocked as I used to be back then.
Oh! and maybe "scrum" method and project management tools like Pivotal Tracker and Trello could helped as well. So do take some look on those tools as well.
All in all, I totally agree that the role "producer" is totally different from studio to studio so it's all back to what the game studio expecting of you.
If you added everything into the first game, what will you have left to put into the squeal?
Im a giant bear-man and i just hugged my understandably confused producer.
I swear I got teary eyed after hearing the line "Go hug the game producer". I am a 5 year software/hardware developer and was given a huge task to manage a gaming application which I did not really dreamed of. I don't think I will be the very best game producer but I will for sure avoid the temptations to be a bad game producer. I think being a game producer is the heart of the game. We are on our 6th month gaming development of a 5 man team and we still haven't reached alpha testing phase. This video will for sure give me another boost starting today. I will for sure understand every aspects and feelings of each team member. Thank you Extra Credits
I have never felt I wanted to do something more than how I feel I want to be a producer now
study project management it's principles will sharpen what you need as a producer..you should look for a certification in project management. .
+matrixlone I just recently came to that realization. Thank you for confirmation.
Leo The Lion yep also try to find continue education classes for Microsoft Project..if you can understand that tool it well help you tremendously.. It also helps to download the pmpprep app it has tons of practice questions but you have to pay 30$ to unlock all of it...also it helps to learn the 47 process chart because it puts everything into perspective.. Wish y'all the best.
I am heartless when I need to be, and I can get people to get stuff done, I might be with you here
So the question is... You a producer now?
Sounds a lot like being the conductor of an orchestra
Dustin Dicely Except people laud and learn the names of and respect and aspire to be conductors. XD
XatxiFly I respect talented game producers, you can see when it’s been well directed
@@XatxiFly you mean like how people know the names Peter Jackson and Stephen Spielberg?
Sounds exactly like the job of a Technical Officer in the Navy (at least the Canadian one). You have a bunch of guys and girls (your techs) working for you that are experts on their particular pieces of equipment. You've got some general idea of everything they do, but they can tell you every single circuit card in a unit and probably their grandchildren. Then you take what they are telling you and translate that into Command Officer speak (equivalent to Grade 10 English). In addition, you serve to make sure that the Command Team's priorities are being reflected in the work/maintenance that your technical department is doing. The techs might have something they really, REALLY want done but if there's no way for it to get done before the boat is going to sea, you've got to say, "Sorry guys, all resources we can throw at this are tapped out". Heck, the good Technical Officers will ACTUALLY GET coffee and Tim Horten's for their sailors. Maybe I should become a producer for a games company after my Navy stint. Sounds like fun...
This made Producer sound like a lot of stress, but it also sounds very interesting and fun in a way.
ummmm...my ideal dream job just shifted...
fighder2
Think again ... trust me its the most thankless job in the world !
Kind of my thing, the backstage work that doesn't get appreciated :P Thanks are kinda worthless.
Preeti Gandhi not every person out there will do something to be thanked...
This video may have actually given me a desire to understand and explore the possibility of applying myself as a producer! I had no idea about the necessary skills of a producer before this video. Before now, I pretty much thought it was just being an investor or monetary authority. I had no clue that a producer would have an kind of hands on the project or did anything other than say 'yes' or 'no' to ideas! I love working with teams and facilitating communication between departments in my work! To hear that a producer's job is to be a 'bird's-eye' arbiter between creative talents is like hearing: "a good counselor (my current career aspiration) shouldn't be afraid to play 'Papers, Please' with their clients"! Thank you guys soooo much for showing me such an incredible opportunity and teaching me about a critical niche that I had such blatant misconceptions about! You guys rock!
Not a game developer, but an animator. I recently worked on a project where the producer was a very close friend of mine, whose strengths and weaknesses I knew very well. Throughout the project there were several things she had to stand firmly on in order to get the project done. Towards the director, who considered himself god, towards the modelers, towards one animator who's one of those beefy types who goes around calling themselves 'alpha' unironically, even to me. It was easy to resent her for de-prioritizing those cool shots, or for telling you that you simply can't spent any more time on this rigging problem, or for tightening the times on which the workday started and ended. Luckily, because I knew her well, I could tell she was taking no pleasure in doing so, and how much personal strength it took her to do it. In her way she was probably fighting for the project more than any of us, and I definitely made sure to let her know I appreciated that, both during and after the project.
I love how so many of these videos relate to the film industry. I used to think I wanted to be a film producer. It's nice seeing the game industry coming into it's own as an art.
In a studio/ agency setting this is very applicable for Video work as well. Fantastic!
From what I heard, there are/were a lot of people who wanted to work in the film industry who ended up working in games.
Today I learned: I want to be a producer.
I like how you wanted to use TIL but you knew no one would understand it XD
Any update?
Lol this
How Your dream been becoming Producer?
A nice thing that other media like, say movies or books dont have is, you can't just fix the problem after you release it automatically. Games? How many patches do we have? How about a little cheap dlc for things that didn't fit. That awesome game mode you and the designers loved? Finish it post release and sell it for 5 bucks. People aren't going to complain about 5 bucks and some of the people who usually wont spend money will be willing to spend a measly 5 bucks. is it of course ever going to be as easy as I said it? no, of course not, but it's an option that other media don't have. We might as well use it.
+oh7mak Well, books and comics get reprinted often :p. It s a thing. The only diference is that in order to get a reprint, your work has to be fairly popular, while in games, you can patch whenever you want to.
You know, watching this again really hits home for me because the job of the producer sounds an awful lot like the job of a stage manager in theatre. I studied how to be one in college (unfortunately I have been unable to work as one outside of college, but hey), and the main thing I got out of it was that the stage manager, especially in the planning and rehearsal stages, is the hub of information. Directors, actors, designers, and producers all rely on the stage manager to collect information and distribute it where necessary. They are also responsible for helping to spot problems and direct the people best able to handle those problems to solving them. Stage management is very much a facilitation position. Trying to make everything run smoothly so that the play, no matter how bad it is or how great it is, runs smoothly. Anyone in the theatre needs to give the stage manager a hug too!!!
Digital Dragonfyre Tell me about it, I stage managed a show just a couple weeks ago. It wasn't too big, I just had to cue the lights and curtains a few times during the performance, but i was also the liaison between the professor directing, my boss at the theater, and deal with my coworkers who wanted my job but were passed over but still tried to do it anyway. I'm not even a theater major, but that is a ton of work. Consequently, I loved every second of it.
Could you do a "So you want to be a concept artist" episode?
Please!
how many of u did hug their producer?
with online games and bug patches nowadays, it's not as bad to cut features because you can always put them in later after the game is shipped if you need to.
Well would you look at that, I'm in the studio right now! But sadly the Producer is out sick :-( #NoHugForMark
I- I think I want to look into being a producer
Been a producer on two projects now and experienced bad project management on another. Learned so much from these projects in how to better myself next time when going into a project. The best way in my opinion in being a better producer is by doing projects, big or small, commercial or not.
"No King can exist without followers. No Managment stand without co-workers. You are a council and not a god."
That's what I always tell the apprentice Producer of our Web-Studio if he comes around asking about what he has to do. I think he slowly understands the meaning of this :3
I love Allison, don't get me wrong, she is geuinelly really good, especially for this show, but this video's artist ... Look, I burst out laughing three times because of the art. My favourite bit was when the game in the bathtub is done killing a shark and then the tub starts leaking again. Great gag. Just saying!
Like any job except the actual workers, it sounds like the trick is to learn enough about everything to see the problems that can be solved without being an omnidisciplinary super genius, and respect your team without assuming that they always know best.
all this time, I thought that this is the job a developer does. Turns out that developer is simply another word for programmer.
also modeler, concept artist, animator, etc, etc/
The point is, I've been trying to get the wrong job. I was trying to be a developer when I wanted to be a producer. great.
jesternario the knowledge you gained will help you better understand the different parts of your team though. So don't worry.
Jack Xin Because in other industries, developer is someone who manages, workers do the brunt of the work, and producers simply give people money for the project.
Developer is an umbrella term. It means people that make game. Some would argue that producers are developers. At the very least, most people would include the producer when referring to "the development team." Coding, designing, animating, making pretty sounds, whatever you're doing, if it's for a game, you're doing game development.
Congratulations youtube. You got me to not skip one of your ads. Playing "brown eyed girl" in full with no interruptions was a clever move indeed.
I love this art style :D
I wonder how many hugs have been given to producers due to this episode.
I watched this when I was in the Game Design school, which I dropped out for various reasons, but then I was the Producer roll for a group project. I recognized everything back then and I still do now. And the same feeling of regret gets me every single time I think back to it...why did I give up? I'm not good at anything, but I am good at that. Management.
Now I'm doing half-asses art, write a lot of stories and design games which I am now making the time for to actually produce as an indie developer xD I am my own manager, but for me...that is but the easy part.
Thanks, these video's take me back and help a lot, one day I hope to be able to repay the favour to the next generation.
Its not over till its over 😑
Now that's a good line form an amazing song
that is the spirit!!
I think out of all the guest artists I have seen thus far this one is probably one of my favorite styles.
"There is more authority in humility than in all the swagger and bluster in the world."
Even for a series laden with strongly quotable lines, that was a good one.
Thought:
"best producer" would be good category for the 'video game Oscars', so long as producers could not be nominated by anyone with a common employer.
A producer sounds just like a project manager.
This video drives my philosophy on how to be a producer, manager, project leader, anything related. After 10 years, It really is a quick reminder on how to do your job that I go back and watch every once in a while
Having just finished a little programming project at school recently, I totally agree that the people working on that specific part of the game are going to understand it far better than you will, no matter how good you are. I left one part of the code to a teammate, and when he sent it to me later I had no idea what the hell he was doing even though it definitely worked. Took quite a bit of time looking and thinking through it before I managed to grasp his chain of thought. And yet when asked to explain a chunk of code from any part of my script, I know exactly what it does and how I did it even if I finished that part quite a while ago. I'm certain it's the same for anybody.
Every time I feel down, I come to this video so I can feel better about myself.
Thank you, extra credits.
Thank you for sharing this! I was looking into being a game producer and this did solidify it!
7:26
Make Producers Great Again
Back to watch again. This video is an evergreen source of motivation and inspiration.
Lili’s first episode! It’s so cool to see where she started
Good God, thank you for this!!!! I'm going to watch this once a week! I love that you mention that producers feel inadequate next to the team members, and that they are lonely. Thanks again!!
You know, I might want to look into producing. Thanks for the video.
Can you please do a video about being a Product Manager in Gaming?
So, essentially, being a Producer is like being Cyclops or Leonardo. You're the boring leader who most people don't even like and, yet, when the chips are down, you're the one who can be relied upon to make the right choice. Without you, no one would get anything done. Your job is to act as the Cyclops to the rest of the development team's Wolverine. They really do appreciate you, even if they say otherwise. After all, none of them could do your job.
Being a producer sounds like being an anchor attached to a hot air Balloon.
Being the R in realistic.
Thanks so much for posting this guys. I just graduating and am devoting my energies into becoming a game producer, and this cleared up so many of my basic questions! There's so much to learning about project management, but thanks to yall I have a clearer scope of what exactly it is I want to do.
Again, thank yall so much
The outro song is a gourmet race remix. I checked it out and the lyrics are legendary.
I essentially play the role of a producer for many people. Currently I'm helping a friend create a film and most of what I do is work that a producer does.
A manager manages, that is handles or controls, specifically to control a team of horses (a menagerie). The manager's job is to harness the horses and drive them to their destination.
A producer produces, from the latin, to lead or bring to the front. The producer leads the team to the front, which means that he is ahead of the production. The producer also "brings" to the front the resources necessary for production. A dual role.
Well, I personally only keep track of three sets of people for anything I like: Director, producers and music artists.
Maybe illustrators or costume designers in certain cases, but for real informed lovers of entertainment media, you want to look out for good producers.
Their work gives cohesion to any project.
At college, I acted as a producer of a game we made in our second year. Everyone was on board because of how efficient and self-motivated I was... problem is, I am a weak person who found it impossible to successfully instil this motivation in others. In the end, the project failed party because I couldn't quite bring myself to come down on people who weren't working hard enough. That, for me, was the hardest aspect: I was too scared of putting my foot down for fear of being yelled at, so people let their goals slide.
+WanderingRandomer sounds like you learnt a valuable lesson, makes you a much better leader. Making mistakes, learning from them and having another go defines success.
The key take away here is;
"You are not the one making things happen"
You are there to co-ordinate a win for the people who make things happen.
The way to do this job right is to ask yourself with every one of your actions, "is this going to contribute to a win, what did I do to benefit people's efforts"
... and hence, because we are all born assholes and only become good people through hard work, this job is one of the hardest to do in any industry.
Thank you for shading some light on this topic, I have a newly reborn interest in perusing this career path.
*There is more authority and humility than all the swagger in the world*
This episode had my favorite guest artist.
If I get to wear a fedora as uniform, i'm in for being a producer!
Producers = support/healer
A way for a producer to still get a red-lined product in is to put it in a update.
I never thought I would want to be a producer until now
Loved that part at the end with the "You can stop now"..."NO" good stuff
This is certainly not a position I ever considered when thinking about working in the game industry, but now it is definitely one I will look further into.
Remember the Preproduction Problem from an earlier episode? High quality Producers are the answer. The producer would block feature accumulation as the project enters the late period so that crunch time won't be too burdensome. Pull off the design team at crunch time so that a new project will be ready to roll once the old project is completed.
omg i just found out what my hidden skill was and what I was doing all along. I'm a producer. Thats the role I was born for, cos thats the best I can do in game development. Thanks for clearing that up. tried a lot of fields but this work was always my favorite one where i was good at. Now I know its called being a producer :D
Now I wanna be a producer.
I think it might help if you used the term every other industry uses:
"Project Manager" - look up the PMP
'Project Manager' is a different role to production, although there are project management elements to production. Product Manager is a closer comparison.
Leelee's game personification is adorable.
Thank you for this video. I definitely want to be a producer. That role reflects my role as an army officer.
Never heard of this artist or her comic NameGame, but I'm going to go check it out right now. Such great art in this episode. xD
So producer is like a father to a development team?
I saw 7:26 and got scared that the comments section would be filled with completely off-topic political debates from just that one image, but luckily, the EC community is better than that. Thank you.
Back when this video was made, they were referring to his role on The Apprentice. How times have changed...
even more relevant, especially combined with "There is more authority in humility than in all the swagger and bluster in the world."
HoodieSticks Nice profile picture.
Lee lee's art is pretty awesome
I thought I wanted to be a game designer but watching this made me realize how much I want to be a producer :)
I actually love this animator 😄
Usually I find the alternate art styles strange or a bit awkward with your videos but this one fits fairly well
After listened all if this i kinda can relate to a producer but probably would not be good at it, cause people often not take me seriously. This Was an interesting presentation guys. Thanks for it.
Can you make an updated version of this one? And some of your earlier Golden Collection game dev videos? Your quality & insight has expanded so much since 10 yrs ago--I know there more gold under the surface
I love lee lees art style. I know this is kind of out of date cuz she's on the main team now but Damn this is the best episode from an art style perspective that they've released.
Hello, I'm taking steps towards being a producer. I'm still in school and is just 20 years old. I have no experience in the industry and don't know if I have any of the qualities of character that is required to be one. But I have a strong passion for games in general, and is willing to take a long road to reach this goal.
I've found myself inspired by this video, multible times, I want to be part of the movement that kickstarts the Danish Games industry because I see great potential in it. I've considered inviting myself to game cons and other such events to get a first hand questioning of people who already work in the industry, to learn more. I have never been good at learninng in school, but still intend to take a formal education in the field. Free education is awesome.
Yet still I can't take this ride on the back seat. That I'll need to make a serious commited effort to succeed. I wonder if there's any advice anyone can give me based on that. I find advice to be helpful :V
Re-releasing that one basketball game for the thousandth time.
Surprisingly accurate and insightful. I kind of disagree that a Producer should not be emotionally invested in a project (it's nearly impossible not to)...but it is a valid point. That said this is a great intro to video game production...I tip my hat.
Wow... I've been thinking that I want to work with games, but have close to no experience with most aspects of game design. I had no clue what the role of a producer was, but now that I know, I think it just might be a role I could take on!
Now to figure out the qualifications of a producer and work from there...
Team,team,team,team! You think its a family photo? NO! It's A Team. =)
I really think I want to be a producer. It truly seems like the job for me.
lol this one was my favorite guest artist. thank you.
8:06 This is the face of gratitude.
Wow. Being a producer is a tricky job to define. I watched my fair share of DVD extra features as a teenager. These show how the movie was made. They are really fun. I learn a lot about how film making works. Despite that, I didn't learn what a movie producer was until much later. I was about at mid 20s at the time. I would see producer in the movie credits but not think too much of it. A movie producer is in charge of the business side of film making. They handle the budget and logistics of the whole film project. By contrast a movie directer is in charge with the art side of film making. They have an artistic vision for the movie. Then they guide the other film makers towards the vision. The directer can work with actors, concept artists, musicians, animators and more. If I had to pick, I would rather be a directer than a producer. I am a more artsy person. Producer seems like a boring but practical job. Maybe the producer and directer of a game can work in a similar way. Heck career advice for a game directer would make for an interesting new video for Extra Credits. This producer is helpful for further explaining what a producer does. Producer aren't as glamorus as actors and directers. However they are still important. They deserve all of the hugs. It was sweet at the end of the video when the guest artist hugs James. A few episodes ago, James tells his tragic story about game addiction. Poor guy. I am glad he got hugs. :)
In the last few days, I've heard my favorite OC Remixes for the credits of this show.
1:55 I just jumped in my chair when that picture came up at me.
My mind in a split second: "WHAT THE? DON'T DO IT!!!"
One of my favorites of the serie. Must watch for all producers.
Much appreciated efforts!
*big hug
It seems like the producer is the equivalent to a product owner in other software teams.
Yep. If I ever managed to get into the game industry, I would likely try and go for Producer. Thanks for confirming what I suspected the job was all about.
i really like the artstyle of this episode!
Being a producer reminded me of this tangled scene. =D
Flynn Ryder: I know! You're way over thinking this, trust me. Does your mother deserve it? No. Would this break her heart and crush her soul? Of course, but you just got to do it.
+extra credits thanks for this video, I think I want to be a producer now
Excellent video!!! Now I need to find a sneaky way to force everyone on my team to watch it ;-)
That is pretty much how every management works - well, should work... I've had colleagues who just need guidance. Developers tend to work on the principle of "it's done when it's done", but that's not how things work, when you will have to release something. Some developers have it figured out (usually those who have the potential to become managers) and others just don't. If the manager provides well informed guidance and gets first the MVP (minimum viable product) done and then keeps adding features in their respective priorities that are still within the budget and time, you will end up with a solid product every developer can be proud of - even though not all their ideas have been added to the product... Unfortunately, that doesn't always work out. And the worst is if managers make technical decisions right from the start. There are just two options: a) The decision is so obvious that you don't have to tell the developers. (e.g. not trying to implement a high performance application on an AVR µC. Yeah, thanks for tipp, but I know that). b) Your developers know it better than you, so you as a manger can't provide a well informed decision here. And if also the developers don't know (which can absolutely happen), then you need to give some developers the task to do some evaluation... In fact that is exactly what I'm currently doing at my company. I know the rough requirements for our new product and now I make some early evaluation and estimation, so we can decide on the hardware platform and start developing all the electronics while my team can start implementing the Firmware and Embedded Software...
Great video! My brother is just starting out trying to get into some game design, and he suggested that my attitude, personality and background are a pretty good foundation for a game producer... so it was really interesting to hear your take on the skills and mentality necessary.