Distributed game development harnessing global talent to create winning games
Take control of your global game development team and make successful AAA game titles using the 'Distributed Development' model. Game industry veteran Tim Fields teaches you how to evaluate game deals, how to staff teams for highly distributed game development, and how to maintain challeng...
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| Format: | eBook |
| Language: | English |
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Burlington, MA
Focal Press
2010
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| Collection: | O'Reilly - Collection details see MPG.ReNa |
Table of Contents:
- ii. Crisis Management
- iii. The constantly moving target
- iv. Bug Counts / Defect management
- v. Localization
- vi. Central Content Teams
- vii. Central Tech Groups
- viii. Sense of Urgency
- a. INTERVIEW: Dave Hawkins
- Managing Director, Exient LTD. How to select projects for your development team.
- ix. Failure Case: When the bugs eat you.
- Conclusions:
- i. Wrapping it up
- ii. What the future holds
- iii. Where to get more information
- iv. Helpful templates
- Distributed Game Development
- Introduction
- i. Overview
- ii. Who is this document for?
- Preamble on Distributed Development
- i. Why would you have distributed development?
- ii. Who we will meet in our case studies, and why we care about what they have to say.
- Chapter 1: Organizing Your Teams
- i. Types of Distributed Collaboration: How to Know what you need
- ii. How to pick external collaborators
- a. INTERVIEW: Fay Griffith
- Head of outsourcing and external development, Electronic Arts. On How to Select Partners
- iii. How to pick an external team
- iv. Insourcing
- v. Roles & Responsibilities
- a. INTERVIEW: Sergio Rosas
- Studio Head CGBot, Monterrey Mexico. On Tailoring Creation Teams for Different Clients
- vi. Subcontractors
- vii. Quality Assurance
- viii. Localization
- ix. Infrastructure
- x. The contract and other legal issues
- xi. Failure Study: When the Organization phase went wrong.
- Chapter 2: Getting off on the right foot
- Includes index
- i. Defining project parameters
- 1. Scheduling Goals, Techniques, Milestones
- ii. Make sure you have a shared vision.
- a. INTERVIEW: Bill Byrne
- Freelance Motion Graphics Editor. Setting project tone through visuals.
- iii. Kickoff Meetings
- iv. Scheduling Types & Tactics
- 1. SCRUM/AGILE vs. WATERFALL
- a. INTERVIEW: Everett Lee
- Producer, Sony Entertainment.?How to lead great teams through more agile planning.
- v. Failure Study: When the schedule is wrong.
- vi. Failure Study: When your vision is clouded.
- Chapter 3: Maintaining the organism
- i. Establishing & Maintaining Trust
- a. INTERVIEW: Kyle Clark
- VP Production, ReelFX. Delivering content to spec for motion pictures & television.
- ii. Progress Checkpoints
- iii. Milestones
- iv. How to deal with product goal or design changes
- a. INTERVIEW: Rhett Bennatt
- Project Manager, Aspyre Entertainment. Nimble projects for maximum profits.
- v. Cross Pollination
- vi. Finaling and product submission
- vii. Planning for your next date
- viii. Failure Study: Feature Creep and the carnival of design changes.
- Chapter 4: Site Visits
- i. Site visits
- ii. Who to send & why
- iii. When to go?
- a. INTERVIEW: Michael Wyman
- Founder, Big Splash Entertainment. Distributed development for Casual Games.
- iv. Representing your company and the project while on site.
- v. Communication
- vi. Language barriers
- vii. Dealing with distractions
- viii. Cultural Differences
- a. INTERVIEW: Frank Klier
- Senior Technical Director, Microsoft. Coordinating technical solutions across cultural boundaries.
- ix. Regional Conditions
- x. Helpful Tools for staying in touch with home base
- xi. Failure Study: What happens when communication between home base and the field goes awry.
- Chapter 5: Common Situations
- i. Hot Potato Projects
- a. INTERVIEW: Mark Greenshields
- President, Firebrand Games. Delivering quality products on time.