Basics of setting up you Game team – focus on remote teams This talk will focus on the due diligence required on three areas before you begin game development. 1. Planning 2. Process 3. Systems

1. Assembling your game team. Rudrasen Sitoleh 7 Levels Studio 11/12/2011 www.7levelstudios.com

3. Client

4. Pre-production

5. Hiring

6. Execution

7. Have a process and follow it.

8. Manage communication.

10. Who am I ? B.E & M.S. Computer Science Lived and worked in the Silicon Valley from 2000-2010. Intel, Consumer internet startup, MMORPG studio 2011 back here in Pune. Started independent game studio. Develop and consult for casual and social games on Flash and IOS. Original IP games and interactive products. Playing and coding games in 1985, Sinclair ZX and Commodore 64 11/12/2011 www.7levelstudios.com

11. Audience Directly/indirectly manage people in a game studio Small team, for the most part. i.e. one layer of management hierarchy. In-charge of delivering a game to a client/customer. You want to manage your onsite and / or remote team, in a sustainable manner. You are interested in making good games, professionally There is some degree of creative risk in your project. i.e. you are not merely cloning games. 11/12/2011 www.7levelstudios.com

12. Isn’t game dev like any IT dev? For engineering, Yes they are similar. Software obeys the same good practices and axioms As well as impacted by same issues such as, technical debt. Chasing fun & delivering an experience instead of mere functionality. Viability Vs. playability Integrating design, content & software Developing via workflows and asset pipelines You have to understand and harness the “creative process” through iteration & refinement. A delivery date and the pressure thereof. 11/12/2011 www.7levelstudios.com

13. Great topics for another day Business development, PR, Marketing Project management Management theory Post launch issues. SCRUM/Agile – next door 11/12/2011 www.7levelstudios.com

14. Planning Client Assessment and interaction Preproduction Hiring 11/12/2011 www.7levelstudios.com

15. Client – Due diligence Yes, they are indirectly part of your team, simply because they influence the outcome. Please take the time to assess your client and their demands. Case study: Is this in Dollar or Rupees? 11/12/2011 www.7levelstudios.com

16. Client – Interaction Presuming you have resolved the legal and financial matters. Establish how they need to reported to and updated How will their input be factored into the production process? 11/12/2011 www.7levelstudios.com

17. Planning - Preproduction Traditionally done by publisher for green lighting. An essential step in game production. So what is it ? 11/12/2011 www.7levelstudios.com

18. What is preproduction? Pre-production is when the Game Development team works on defining the production pipelines, identifying the needs and uses of the tools they’ll need to make the game, and outlining and fleshing out the details behind the game’s design. Pre- production is the exploration of what the game is about and where is the fun. 11/12/2011 www.7levelstudios.com

19. Planning - Preproduction Traditionally done by publisher for green lighting. An essential step in game production. This stage is fully iterative and incremental. “What are we going to build and why?” Find a way to communicate this to your entire team and client. Documents (GDD, TDD, Art bible), Wikis Prototypes, Concept Art, Storyboards 11/12/2011 www.7levelstudios.com

20. Planning – Preproduction for you I think, you can use it to assess and establish Overall team competency and capability. Understand your risks and capacity to deliver and therefore curtail budgets and scope. To set a realistic schedule and milestones, with client. Pitfall : you cannot do preproduction in your head or a meeting or in document. Your team can only learn through execution. This way to you have tested and stressed your workflows. 11/12/2011 www.7levelstudios.com

21. Planning - Hiring Prepare for the realities of hiring as a non-blue chip company in India. Phone screens and programming test are effective filter. A great shortcut to eliminate duds. The lack of vocabulary in software, tools or game domain can be stifling if the technical person is remote. Since 90% communication is funneled into text or voice. Document a hard skills and soft skills selection criteria for each position. Then communicate it to respective managers and leads 11/12/2011 www.7levelstudios.com

22. Execution Process – Have one and follow it Manage Communications Setup systems 11/12/2011 www.7levelstudios.com

23. Execution - Process Collaboratively work out your team interactions Meeting schedules Daily report-ins Progress tracking Create a protocol for issue escalation, decision making. Clearly delineate the roles, responsibilities and ownership of each lead. Work proactively to identity & resolve: the overlaps in ownership & boundaries Possible transgressions, as well resulting conflict. Gaps or chasms in ownership in the overall deliverables Agree on how, who and when you will update the client. 11/12/2011 www.7levelstudios.com

24. Execution – Manage Communications Establish a common vocabulary for entire team Capture it in an accessible format Disseminate it 11/12/2011 www.7levelstudios.com

25. Manage Communications Recognize the value of in-person interaction Quality and quantity of knowledge transferred visually and via tacit interaction. To compensate for the lack of above, you need to adopt a level of formality and rigor in our communication Useful for members with limited language ability. 11/12/2011 www.7levelstudios.com

26. Execution – Setup systems Document repository ( GDD, TDD, Art Bible, etc) Task Tracking (Basecamp, Excel, Google docs) Source control and / or content repositories Bug and issue tracking IT roles and tasks outlined All major systems have to be decided in advance and setup, in order to get your machine moving. 11/12/2011 www.7levelstudios.com

27. Execution: Pipeline & Workflows You team is a production system; not a hobbyist get-together. In order to function effectively and efficiently you need to have clear workflows and pipelines. 11/12/2011 www.7levelstudios.com

28. Execution: Workflows Create workflows for : code check-ins, builds, smoke tests Art and content integration, QA, triage. Collaborate and get buy-in from leads for their respective workflows. Top down enforcement may not be effective. If, task tracking might be good enough, then no need to go overboard with full blown SCRUM or XP Workflows do not have to be elaborate; Just commensurate with your needs. 11/12/2011 www.7levelstudios.com

29. Execution: Pipelines The pipeline is a process where an asset or element of the game moves from concept to completion and then into the game build through a series of steps where multiple team members each contribute a portion to the overall asset. Identify your pipelines ( Art, Sound, Text) What are the steps? Who’s responsible? Bottlenecks Import/export issues & inefficiencies Engineering side integration 11/12/2011 www.7levelstudios.com

30. Execution: Pipelines Cycle through it and test it as early as possible. Example: Integration woes due to simultaneous content update. The big bang approach. 11/12/2011 www.7levelstudios.com

31. Recap Planning is key to avoid failure. You team is not merely a bunch of developers and artists but, is defined by: Processes they follow Systems they use Culture they embrace Stay agnostic and determine what is appropriate for your team. 11/12/2011 www.7levelstudios.com

32. Thanks Please share your stories and views on my blog at http://www.7levelstudios.com/blog 11/12/2011 www.7levelstudios.com

33. Q & A Please be brief 11/12/2011 www.7levelstudios.com