This is not to call anybody specific out but often we reinvent the wheel for project management because directors and leads have ways they like to work, simply do not budge, and then production has to slap something together around that. I like to work with people on systems that help them (cont) - ThreadSky

themoonis.gay • 48 days ago

This is not to call anybody specific out but often we reinvent the wheel for project management because directors and leads have ways they like to work, simply do not budge, and then production has to slap something together around that. I like to work with people on systems that help them (cont)

Reposted from mtsw

just as an outsider with an interest in video game development, and coming from the film industry, it really feels like the game industry has no standardized workflow. every new project gets a bespoke production system with a lot of uncertainty about tasks, roles and who should be doing what

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therealsimmshady.bsky.social•48 days ago

As always you have incredibly hot accurate takes

themoonis.gay•48 days ago

god had to nerf me by making me easily distracted by shiny objects and yarn, like a magpie

therealsimmshady.bsky.social•48 days ago

Lmao

weird-loop.com•48 days ago

THIS👆I only have indie producing XP (studio of 40-45 headcount) but I directed $25m+ international programs in finance & tech for years and this surprised me the most when switching career. Shifting tech & lead skills requires constant reinvention of workflows…it’s both exhilarating & exhausting lol

sandpenguin.bsky.social•48 days ago

I worked in AAA, mobile and AA and this is completely true. Is not just each studio that works differently, its each project for each team. The positive side is that with time you experience many ways and learn best practices

themoonis.gay•48 days ago

(cont) do their best work, so I don’t mind tailoring things to them, but there’s sometimes a little voice in the back of my head that pipes up when someone says they don’t like how a tool works or how a pipeline functions and refuses to engage with it that is like, “hey isn’t this your job??? Deal?”

themoonis.gay•48 days ago

JIRA for instance, with every new team I basically have to do a multi month process to get folks used to using it, encourage them to use it, tailor how I’m using it to the team. Production has conversations all the time about how to convince our devs to use it - but it’s essential!!

docseuss.bsky.social•48 days ago

I've never used JIRA on a project, but I've tried to use other tools, and it's _extremely_ difficult for me to incorporate that into my process. I hit everything on time without crunch so like, I'm doing well, but I would still love to figure it out cause I'll need it when scaling up.

bizcaz.bsky.social•48 days ago

Jira or an equivalent tool is pretty vital for a product model with teams AND teams of teams working toward the same and/or parallel products. Imo, there is some value add for an individual contributor, but delivery and product teams (SM/RTE/PO/PM) absolutely need it.

themoonis.gay•48 days ago

Genuinely I think some of the issue stems from production not being a well understood discipline at all. We have so much responsibility but your average producer has very little power to influence and shape IC workflows. We’re kind of constantly on the back foot, trying to adapt and accommodate.

themoonis.gay•48 days ago

OP hits the nail on the head, the production of games is not standardized, part of that is because the tech changes all the time, by the time you finish an AAA game cycle your pipelines need to change to accommodate new techniques, data structures, tons of things. So we reinvent the wheel.

toadcialism.bsky.social•48 days ago

Then from the indie perspective: if Movie Magic updates, it might annoy the producer for 1-2 days.

If Unity updates overnight, there’s a strong chance the entire game becomes inoperable.

themoonis.gay•48 days ago

This happened with DOTS. Studios switched over but then found Unity’s support lacking, there’s a whole ass user created documentation project just for figuring out what the hell DOTS does, which is a shame because it’s SUCH a powerful engine.

ofthemagi.bsky.social•48 days ago

The Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills.

I’m almost certain Michelangelo couldn’t stand people mucking about with his palette.

But, how he must have loved new tools.

themoonis.gay•48 days ago

This lack of standardization is also part of what leads to crunch. Producers have to make their best guess at what the scope of the project is, but then leadership will dismiss our estimates, they simply won’t accept/believe them. So we over-scope, we run out of time, we crunch.

midiphony.bsky.social•48 days ago

I have met good producers who are versatile enough to make valid estimates and scopes despite the lack of standardization

On the other hand, I'm not sure that standardization will help the "leadership will dismiss our estimates" issue

themoonis.gay•48 days ago

You can *say* hey we’re 150% overscoped based on our resources and the work that needs to be done, but the folks at the table will sometimes just straight up tell you that you’re wrong even when you’re the only one who has tried to figure out what the concrete numbers *could be*

merus.bsky.social•48 days ago

as a web dev, reading this feels a little like someone telling me that they have to convince their devs to use the toilet in the building instead of a bucket

and very few devs like JIRA! but it's the tool you have to use to operate at scale

froshadowing.bsky.social•48 days ago

Beautiful thread, thank you!

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