Questions bout Game Directors/Producers
interpolator
1. What's the transition like for someone who is a game artist that wants to become a game director/producer? Can an artist become a director at the same studio they work?
2. How much control does a director have over a game? Ignoring budget, does everything go according to their vision?
3. What does a director do if artists/programmers are at conflict with their vision? Does the director have the final say in the role of game development?
4. How do publishers influence the game director?
5. Can game directors also work on their game in the form of creating assets or help program? I imagine this is the case for a lot of indie or small studios but what about AAA ones?
6. What other responsibilities do game directors have?
2. How much control does a director have over a game? Ignoring budget, does everything go according to their vision?
3. What does a director do if artists/programmers are at conflict with their vision? Does the director have the final say in the role of game development?
4. How do publishers influence the game director?
5. Can game directors also work on their game in the form of creating assets or help program? I imagine this is the case for a lot of indie or small studios but what about AAA ones?
6. What other responsibilities do game directors have?
Replies
3. You push the programmers to bend to the artists, but if you can't, then you side with the programmers. If something isn't technologically feasible within project parameters, you work around it.
4. Contractually variable.
5. Theoretically, yes. But never, ever, do this. Never. Bad. Don't. Never put your art director in the position of having to tell his overseer that something needs to be changed, or is just not going to fit in with the project. Never put your technical director in a comparable position.
6. You crack the whip, you handle logistics, and make sure everything is cohesive. You're also the go-between for the publisher, and the studio.
You should also have some idea about other PM concepts, such as risk management, leadership and some basic budgeting (may depend on your studio how much they want to expose you to this).
Methodology wise, you should definitely know how waterfall works and what the differences are to Agile approaches, like Scrum.
The above is more for a producer, which in many studios is pretty much a project manager these days. Directors are usually more focused on art and/or tech. They too should have at least some project management know how, so they can talk to producers, but that's not their main focus - i.e. that's why they're called art director, programming director, etc. They have the authority to make decisions in their respective area of knowledge and direct the project. The producer makes sure the production then actually happens according to plan.
The higher you rise in hierarchy the more strategic decisions will become. i.e. an exec producer may not really actually plan for each individual artist. A senior director may not necessarily be involved deeply in every issue that pops up day-to-day until it affects the game's direction.
Regarding 2: budget is always your main concern: Your decisions will affect budget! How many man-hours you plan affects budget, which artistic or technical solution and quality you aim for will affect budget. Overtime may affect budget, also indirectly, if people give you the finger and quit because they're burnt out. It all comes back to budget. You may not control it, but then any planning that doesn't take money into account will come back to your boss (and then to you).
Regarding 3: As producer you plan people's work. You ensure you're using the right resources at the right time. You motivate, you help people get their job done, you remove obstacles for them. You make people talk to each other so the project moves forward. You ensure that no waste (time, money, resource) occurs - you monitor. This will keep you pretty damn busy. If you're not busy, think how you can optimize your production.
If you're a director you will do the same thing, but with a focus on technical or artistic issues. You will set directions (technical or artistic) and ensure they are being implemented. You need to coach and give feedback to ensure the direction doesn't change. You'll work with your producer to get the resources needed to realize your direction. And you will have to make compromises. Here too your own focus is less on producing art, but more on helping your team to do so. If the team is big, you will have assistant producers or directors to delegate part of the work to. Delegation is a quite important concept for both roles.