The Role of Producers

This topic has been on my mind a lot lately.

Some of you know that my long-term goal in the videogame industry is to run my own development studio—I really crave that creative control and I can't exaggerate how satisfying it is for me to see talented people working towards the same goal (especially talents I don't really share, like real artistry). I want to influence the industry, reach out to new markets, and tell amazing interactive stories.

I've had this vague daydream these past few weeks of me running from team to team throughout the day and pitching in, solving problems, discussing others, escalating when necessary, and generally just being a go-to person when you want things done. It may not be entirely accurate to the industry, but it's very satisfying, and it all fits in with my goals.

Getting there won't be easy, of course. I need to fully understand every job in the studio, even if I'm only a novice in some of them. I need strong project management skills and an unfailing vision throughout the course of a project. Harder still, I need to communicate that vision to everyone else I want to work with—they need to love the idea almost as much as I do for it to succeed.

So, with these goals in mind, I think my best bet is to focus on becoming a Producer when I graduate. Producer roles vary from company to company, but I can expect to have some creative input, lots of control over projects without being the final say on any one thing (the leads on the core team will make those calls), and a broad understanding of the project as a whole. I love making plans and solving problems, and I'm results-focused without (usually) being too hard on people. Again, I think it fits.

What this means as I move through this year is that I need to focus on taking that role—it won't come to me. Our specialization streams are Art, Level Design, Coding, and Story (I'll probably be taking Design and Story to play to my strengths). Clearly, this lacks a dedicated project management/producer stream, so I will have to create those opportunities for myself if I want to practise those skills. Taking the lead on projects, (hopefully without squahing anyone else's ambition or ideas), being a class rep, and even putting on the Street Fighter Tournament (and hopefully other events) will help me practise these skills and teach me what I don't know.

Ideally, I would find a large studio where I could act as a producer on the story or level design side of things, marrying my "old" strengths with the "new" and pursuing my focus to its fullest.

Also? Leelee Scaldaferri (an artist who is also in the GD program a term ahead of me) just acted as the guest artist for one of my favourite things on the internet, Extra Credits (she also draws the Name Game webcomic for The Escapist). Her episode is about (surprise) the role of Producers in the industry.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to the challenges. Class time.