The Role of Producers
by Dexter Chow · 08/17/2012 (12:58 pm) · 4 comments
Often I've seen the title "producer" stir up emotions, both good and bad, from game developers. I think about this topic a lot because that has often been my job, but also because game development is complex and I believe a good producer can improve products and help maintain good morale with dev teams.
I'm speaking on this topic at the Game Design Conference in San Francisco on Sept 17. Stop by if you are in town.
http://gamedesigncon.com/
Here is the short version of my thoughts on the role of producers:
- Definition: The person who organizes and, at times, leads development. In larger teams, they are often part of a team of leaders (e.g., art, design and programming directors) and they typically manage all issues not covered by other manager. Often they are part of the design team, but it varies greatly with the size and makeup of the dev team. In addition, there are other similar roles that may be broken out in larger teams such as development director, biz dev and submission manager. Line producers or associate producers typically assist producers on larger projects.
- Rating Producers: How do you rate the quality of a producer? This is a long topic, but the two things I look at are:
1. Did they make the situation, product and team better?
2. Does the team and stakeholders want to work with him or her? (Sometimes the opposite outcome is more important. A stakeholder may be very unhappy with a producer and that may be appropriate if say they were a competitor or a bad partner to the team. In other words, being nice is not the answer to every situation.)
Do all projects need a producer?
- I would comment this way...all projects are produced whether one realizes it or not. Just like project management, it always exists, whether formal or not. In project management, if a person uses paper napkins to jot down goals, that is project management. Similarly, projects are produced whether somebody is assigned the role or not. Maybe on small teams, the lead programmer takes care of biz dev, project management, hiring etc... So the question may be asked: Is the opportunity cost too high for the lead programmer to not code so they can spend time doing these other important tasks? On bigger teams, it usually makes sense to have a dedicated producers so other team members can focus on their domain.
I didn't want to make this too long so this kicks off the discussion. Comments?
I'm speaking on this topic at the Game Design Conference in San Francisco on Sept 17. Stop by if you are in town.
http://gamedesigncon.com/
Here is the short version of my thoughts on the role of producers:
- Definition: The person who organizes and, at times, leads development. In larger teams, they are often part of a team of leaders (e.g., art, design and programming directors) and they typically manage all issues not covered by other manager. Often they are part of the design team, but it varies greatly with the size and makeup of the dev team. In addition, there are other similar roles that may be broken out in larger teams such as development director, biz dev and submission manager. Line producers or associate producers typically assist producers on larger projects.
- Rating Producers: How do you rate the quality of a producer? This is a long topic, but the two things I look at are:
1. Did they make the situation, product and team better?
2. Does the team and stakeholders want to work with him or her? (Sometimes the opposite outcome is more important. A stakeholder may be very unhappy with a producer and that may be appropriate if say they were a competitor or a bad partner to the team. In other words, being nice is not the answer to every situation.)
Do all projects need a producer?
- I would comment this way...all projects are produced whether one realizes it or not. Just like project management, it always exists, whether formal or not. In project management, if a person uses paper napkins to jot down goals, that is project management. Similarly, projects are produced whether somebody is assigned the role or not. Maybe on small teams, the lead programmer takes care of biz dev, project management, hiring etc... So the question may be asked: Is the opportunity cost too high for the lead programmer to not code so they can spend time doing these other important tasks? On bigger teams, it usually makes sense to have a dedicated producers so other team members can focus on their domain.
I didn't want to make this too long so this kicks off the discussion. Comments?
About the author
Designer, Producer and Business Development Manager
#2
08/19/2012 (9:35 am)
Isn't the role of a producer to ensure a return on investment for their studio? If there is not an investment I don't really see the role of a producer as being necessary. The other roles can be picked up by the dev team. I think that is why movies use a producer and a director. 
#3
So even when your working solo on a project, you will be doing things that are a producers job to do. So technically you will be a producer on your project
08/20/2012 (2:26 am)
@Frank: Wikipedia states:Quote:A video game producer is the person in charge of overseeing development of a video gameAnd
Quote:For most games, the producer does not have a large role but does have some influence on the development of the game design.And
Quote:An internal producer is heavily involved in the development of, usually, a single game. Responsibilities for this position vary from company to company, but in general, the person in this position has the following duties:
Negotiating contracts, including licensing deals
Acting as a liaison between the development staff and the upper stockholders (publisher or executive staff)
Developing and maintaining schedules and budgets
Overseeing creative (art and design) and technical development (game programming) of the game
Ensuring timely delivery of deliverables (such as Milestones)
Scheduling timely quality assurance (testing)
Arranging for beta testing and focus groups, if applicable
Arranging for localization
In short, the internal producer is ultimately responsible for timely delivery and final quality of the game.
So even when your working solo on a project, you will be doing things that are a producers job to do. So technically you will be a producer on your project
#4
Yes, the size of the team plays a large part in deciding whether to have a producer or not. Also, the number of simultaneous projects play a part as well. If the the team is small, then the duties can be split among the team members. This can also be applied to biz dev, QA, marketing, etc.
Yes, similar to movies the larger the budget, the greater the need for a producer. Somebody needs to focus on value for the money (efficiency) and return on investment.
Publishers and larger developers often times have several projects running at the same time and need to organize company resources.
@Luis, The third definition is the most accurate in my experience.
08/20/2012 (9:09 am)
Thanks for the comments.Yes, the size of the team plays a large part in deciding whether to have a producer or not. Also, the number of simultaneous projects play a part as well. If the the team is small, then the duties can be split among the team members. This can also be applied to biz dev, QA, marketing, etc.
Yes, similar to movies the larger the budget, the greater the need for a producer. Somebody needs to focus on value for the money (efficiency) and return on investment.
Publishers and larger developers often times have several projects running at the same time and need to organize company resources.
@Luis, The third definition is the most accurate in my experience.
Torque 3D Owner Adam
Adam deGrandis
My experience has been that you usually don't have formal in-house producers in indie dev. In a small team, everyone is wearing multiple hats, everyone is building part of the game, and everyone is managing the satellites most closely related to their slice of the pie. So your line about "all projects are produced" is reinforced by this (great line, by the way). The producers I've worked with are usually outside of the studio, at a publisher. Getting the team the resources they need with one hand, but lighting a fire under your ass to ship with the other. Mixed blessing, but necessary; I've known plenty of devs who are perfectionists, and perfectionists have a bad habit of not ever shipping.