C

I find if you start with the crazy fun idea first then throttle it back to practical, then you have a good chance at balance.

JJ

That would be what I meant about the QA process being a joke. Nobody was put on point to ensure the quality of the game experience for the users. It was all armchair quarterbacking from the design gods.

Here’s an example brought to you by Yahtzee. You have two seconds to name one game where item wear is a good idea…times up.

note to self, don’t post drunk.

The thing that struck me upon arrival was that the game development process was so inherently flawed. They didn’t do one thing at a time and see if that was fun, they tried to interpret another games success and mixed in their own delusion of what “fun” is and put it forward in monumental design docs. In another case…Some people think fun is running around between 2975 vendors and trying to figure out what loot to sell…wheeeee.

C

Most Managers want to hear what people have to say, but people complain to fellow staff members and sometimes that’s as far as it goes. Seriously, if you see an issue, write a report detailing that issue, with suggested fixes and if possible a time-frame. A written report also allows a manager to view it at a time of their convenience.

Issue: It’s the same as relationships, most people are afraid to communicate and be upfront, especially to management.

Tip: Straight shooters tend to move up. I did not become a Producer by sitting in the shadows, hoping the Directors could read my mind.

As a Producer, I had one team member who was always up front and to the point. This was pure Gold to me; I can’t tell you how much of a breath of fresh air it was to be told what I needed to know first go.

Tip: Tell people what they need to know and don’t perceive what you think they know already.

Even if all the information flowed freely to management it would depend on how it is received and acted upon. This comes down to numerous things such as: experience, personality, direction of project, current talks/focus, schedule/finance etc… So, even if an issue isn’t acted upon straight away, you should not give up.

Note: “The Shawshank Redemption” is one of my most favorite movies and it shows persistence can work.

Conculsion
Basically, if you manage a group and you are the smartest person in that team then the team is possible doomed. A manager creates a team of intelligent / skilled people so they can draw from their experience and information they know to make good decisions. In turn, Directors assign Middle Management to call upon their experience and knowledge retrieved from the team, so they can make educated decisions. If this fails at any point/s, or information is not pasted on or ignored, then bad decisions can be made that are detrimental to a project.

A company should consider hiring an external business consultant, depending on the company size and turn-over, every 5 years this may be needed. This is so the company’s processes and operation flows can be checked and ensured they are working efficiently and effectively.

@ icurafu

The Swat 4 expansion was made at Irrational in Canberra. Swat 4 was primarily made in Boston with some help from Canberra.

@ Jeza

Not sure if you’d be interested but we’re currently looking for a QA tester.

Over bloated mis-managed projects with teams of more than fifteen are destined to end up bad because there are too many people trying to inject their opinion and pull the project in different directions. Smaller teams have more cohesion. Small companies have more chance of getting the job done.

Don’t work for a big company and expect to get treated well, or even with minimum respect. Big companies churn through employees because of the very fact that they are big, and because they know that their name will attract plenty more entry level developers who will cost less and be more compliant that seasoned people who expect to be able to make a difference.

If you find a company that works for you, stick with it, but realise that there will be a time when you need to move on.

My Story does not start like the others here though.,

I have never played Dark Reign, and till I got a job at Auran had never played a PC game ever.
I got into the games industry at the ripe old age of 34 after a career in graphic art and
had only used a computer professionally for 7 years.
I was so impressed with Auran for so long and really found myself laughing almost
histerically sometiems that I had managed to get a foot in the door ,so to speak.
i was loyal and so happy and often joked about the need arrising for my removal would require
a combination of being fired, a security guy dragging me out on a trolley
Hannibal Lector style and followed by a restraining order.

Well don’t things change.

I was so disapointed by so many decisions for so long that once I got wind of
certain staff rising to ‘Creative Director” level.
I decided then and there..that I must be in wrong place.
Surely this was not right, surely the inmates cannot storm the asylum.
But no. it was true.
The decision was then easy, find somewhere that had people I respected/liked,
and go where they had gone before me.

So I did.

And it was good.

Many times I heard what Fury was doing, many times I heard what Auran was doing with Fury.
And most times I though it best to leave it alone and let it go either well or horribly wrong.
I started telling people to stop talking to me about it and stop sending stuff about it.
I wanted to remember all the good times and the good work I felt I did for so many projects that
were both Fury and Non Fury ( and there were many )
I loved that project and loved my part in it.
I loved creating stuff and lived in the bloody world for 4 years !
4 years of my life !
4 years of ideas and hard bloody work.
4 years of creativity and endless changes.

I learnt a lesson here as well.
And It will be bitter sweet for a long time.

The best bits for me , meeting and working with a top bunch of people.

The worst bits, finding out that some people are always ready to
blame all that goes wrong on everyone but themselves.
And then accuse them of not working hard enough or long enough.

That is damned low.

Karma will teach them a lesson, sooner or later.
Won’t they Boyo !

Rant Number 2 ..Done and Dusted.