Game Production

Maybe some of you are wondering or thinking that my previous posts, and most likely this one, are kind of random.  Maybe to someone on the outside it may seem that way, and in a way it is, but, ultimately there is a method to my madness (or so I believe :)).  Before I explain, let me talk a little about my past.

So here's the thing.  I've been working as a programmer in some form or another (programmer, senior programmer, lead programmer, etc.) for close to twenty years now.  Around ten of those years have been in the game industry, which are the most pertinent to this post.

During my time in the industry I've worked on many games of different sizes, on different platforms (handhelds, consoles, PC) and different team sizes.  All these games had productions, and in my mind, all these productions had problems.  One of them was they operated in a way that did not promote creativity but suppressed it.  Now keep in mind, this is only my opinion and you may talk to people who worked on those same games and productions, which hold a different view.

Here is how I see it.  Making games is a creative process.  It’s not an assembly line in which things are done one after another, until it reaches the end with the finished product, never breaking the chain.  This process does not cater to creativity.  Most game companies say: “We use the agile process, we rock!” (Okay, they don’t exactly say that, but you get my point J).  This couldn't be farther from the truth.  To them being Agile is being able to replace a 3 day feature you've been working on for the last 2 days with another 3 day feature, which appeared out of nowhere and, getting it done in the 1 day you have left.  Everything is scheduled, one after the other, and we (people on production), sit there, like good little workers on the assembly line and hack away at the tasks given to us, until it changes or it’s done, regardless if they inspire us or not.  Don’t get me wrong, we have all done boring tasks, and will have to again during our careers. At its core, this process is probably even worse than the assembly line and is ultimately some hybrid between the waterfall and the agile approach.  It does not promote creativity whatsoever, but stress and useless pressure which could have been avoided (but that’s another topic altogether J)

So here is where I come back to my posts, and my game production.  I’m making a game, my own game.  I’m doing this because I love games, and because I've always wanted to make my own.  I’m doing this because to me, making a game should be as fun as playing one, or at least I believe it should be.  Think about it.  How can your game be fun, inspired, if you yourself did not have fun or get inspired while making it?

I know what my game will be, its design is complete (for the most part), I have a plan, tasks and tentative milestones.  I have assigned priorities to features and tasks, and I can track the progress I’m making on a day-to-day and milestone-to-milestone basis.  With that said, if I feel like working on one thing one day, then something else that inspires me more on another day, then I do it, all within reason of course.  Ultimately, all of it will get done in the end, and will be much better if I was inspired and had fun while doing it.

Yes this may seem utopic and one might say, “you’re alone, of course it could work”, but I believe if you do things right, plan, have fun and be inspired, it can be done no matter how many people you are.

So on that note, stay tuned for my next, potentially “random” post!