As I began my research into what video game production means, I was met with my first obstacle. There aren’t many resources out there for video game production, I guess that makes sense given that production isn’t nearly as popularized as roles such as game developer, animator or designer. Through my research it was difficult to initially understand what being a producer really means. Yet it is clear to see why it is essential as production failures are a pretty common reason for an overall game to fail. Every studio treats the role differently with there being one commonality.

“The role of the producer is ultimately to be a facilitator.”

This means that the goal of the producer is to help your team perform as well as they possibly can, and enable them in every step along the way. Since you have a high level overview of the project, you have to keep your team along the path to ensure that they are meeting their deadlines and goals. Having that high level overview gives you the potential to identify any possible problems before they turn into blockers for your teams. This requires true vigilance and possibly save a project from failure.

A very important thing I learnt was that being a producer doesn’t make you a game expert. The leads will always be the most qualified to make fundamental game-related and development decisions. As a producer it is important to learn to trust your team, and to not make any decisions that undermine your leads. A producer works with the team to ensure that any decisions that are made will not jeopardize the project’s completion within scope, budget, and the given deadline.

Fundamentally, a producer exists to see the product shipped, and to manage its effectiveness to the company afterwards. This requires the producer to be invested in the product’s release as much, if not more than the product itself. I prefer to view  it as ensuring that the work of your team reaches its audience.

As someone who has developed personal projects in the past I can attest to the fact that a game never really feels truly complete. There is always one more bug to fix or one more feature to add, it never stops. The producer’s team will want the product to be the best that it can be, and it is a producer’s job to align those aspirations with the harsh reality of scheduling and budgeting. This may involve redlining any features that will jeopardize the project to ensure that the product can be released and seen by the world.

This sounds like the hardest part of the job by far.

Being a good game producer is hard, it’s going to require a love for game development, a love for helping your team function, and a love for problem solving to help create an interactive experience for users. It is also going to require the mental fortitude to say no to a team that is going to be invested in their product and features.

From my research it is a thankless job that requires humility.

And yet I am excited to work towards such an essential role…