1. Pitfalls of the Working Lead Designer
Michael Fitch

2. Pitfalls of the Working Lead Designer
So, who is this guy?
Creative Manager at THQ
Previously at Red Storm Entertainment
Before that, at Atomic Games
A long time ago… a dreamer

3. Pitfalls of the Working Lead Designer
The Dream of the Designer
Think up cool game ideas
Make the games you want to play
Become a game god…

4. Pitfalls of the Working Lead Designer
The Reality of Design
Ideas are easy, design is work
Coordinating all the pieces
Respecting the budgets
Solving problems two years before they happen
Designers always work for someone
Producer, studio, publisher, audience
Results are what matter

5. Pitfalls of the Working Lead Designer
So, what’s in a pitfall?
Structural problems
It happens to everyone, sooner or later
Issues of design process
This is not about content
Knowledge is half the battle
It’s also only half the battle

6. Pitfalls of the Working Lead Designer
A few debts to acknowledge:
Richard Dansky, and the entire design team at Red Storm
Keith Zabaloui
Everyone who takes the time to publish their own lessons on the web, in books, at events like GDC

7. Pitfalls of the Working Lead Designer Failing to Define Design

8. Pitfalls: Failing to Define Design
Design is difficult to define
Design is a creative process
A lead designer wears many hats
Storyteller – Marketer
Visionary – Historian
Psychologist – Mediator
Cheerleader – Psychic

9. Pitfalls: Failing to Define Design
Design is team and project specific
There are no industry-wide standards
Every team is different
Designers have to be flexible
Deliverables can be difficult to sort out
Every game has its unique issues
So, what can you do?

10. Pitfalls: Failing to Define Design
Establish approval paths
Consensus is great, but someone needs to have the final say
Not always the lead designer
Approval is a gate
Backing up will result in severe tire damage
The shorter the loop, the better

11. Pitfalls: Failing to Define Design
Manage team input
Make design a visible process
Tell the team why, not just how
Create specific times and deadlines for feedback
And pay attention to what you get
Provide closure for the team

12. Pitfalls: Failing to Define Design
Schedule Design Tasks
Set concrete goals
Prototype design process, if necessary
Periodically check your assumptions against reality
Make sure the team gets fed

13. Pitfalls: Failing to Define Design
Ad hoc design is a recipe for disaster!

14. Pitfalls of the Working Lead Designer
Too Many Cooks

15. Pitfalls: Too Many Cooks
Ideas are great fun
This is a problem
There are always already too many
Beware the two-man effect
A is a great idea!
It is! And so is B!
Yes, exactly! A and B and C are great!
We need A, B, C, and D in our game!

16. Pitfalls: Too Many Cooks
Ideas are hard to resist
Saying “no” makes you the bad guy
Sometimes, you are the one you need to say “no” to
There are some people who won’t take “no” for an answer
So, what can you do?

17. Pitfalls: Too Many Cooks
Capture the magic
Don’t start with “no”
Get the full picture
Collaborate; run with the idea
Clarify the goal
Find the motivation
Give them what they want, not what they ask for

18. Pitfalls: Too Many Cooks
Don’t be that guy!
Make your approval gates reliable
When you get the urge, get a gut check
Separate enthusiasm from workability
You are not an exception to your own rules

19. Pitfalls: Too Many Cooks
Design is more about eliminating ideas than coming up with them!

20. Pitfalls of the Working Lead Designer
Believing the Hype

21. Pitfalls: Believing the Hype
Design takes marketing
Bullet points on the back of the box
First, you sell the people with the money
Then, you sell the people with the skills
Why it’s the designers that do the pitch
Plotting the path
The leap of faith

22. Pitfalls: Believing the Hype
Theory comes before practice
It takes months of work to shape the game
That’s a huge investment, and a huge risk
Each feature locks you in more tightly
There is always a limit to the budget
What happens if the theory is wrong?
There are no “takebacks” in marketing
There are no changes without costs
So, what can you do?

23. Pitfalls: Believing the Hype
Build a solid sand castle
Prototype, prototype, prototype
Be prepared to throw out your work
Assess your status with a critical eye
If you’re too close, get an outside opinion
Move from the center to the fringe
There’s the core of the game, then there’s everything else

24. Pitfalls: Believing the Hype
Make a contingency plan
Build scale into the project
Plan for adjustments; they always happen
Know what can be cut before you’re asked
Features and content
Everything has a priority
Last in, first out

25. Pitfalls: Believing the Hype
You have to create the hype, but you can’t let it blind you!

26. Pitfalls of the Working Lead Designer The Devil’s in the Documents

27. Pitfalls: The Devil’s in the Documents
Designer → Writer
Sooner or later, everything will be documented
Level of detail is a Catch-22
You get what you ask for, not what you want
Living documents require constant attention
So, what can you do?

28. Pitfalls: The Devil’s in the Documents
Target your audience
Keep documents short and clear
Only as much as is needed
Adjust the language appropriately
Marketing vs. Management vs. Test
Avoid the monolith
The era of big bibles is over

29. Pitfalls: The Devil’s in the Documents
Establish a standard
Templates save time
Consistent formats are easier to scan
Use version control
Put everything in plain sight
Intranet, Wiki, network drives, etc.
Work from the high level down
Vision, approach, implementation, asset

30. Pitfalls: The Devil’s in the Documents
Work for the team
Don’t assume that you know what works
Use drafts to revise presentation as well as content
Change your formats if needed
Sometimes visual is faster than text
Foreground goals and rationale
Someone may know a better path to the prize
Context clarifies key concerns
Give the team what they need now
You can only be so far ahead of the curve

31. Pitfalls: The Devil’s in the Documents
No document survives an encounter with production
Revise, revise, revise
Highlight changes in the documents
Keep what’s new front and center
Push old information to the back
Add specifics, but keep the logic
Answering one question vs. establishing a method
Avoid document fatigue

32. Pitfalls: The Devil’s in the Documents
The only useful document is the one that gets read!

33. Pitfalls of the Working Lead Designer
Bright, Shiny Objects

34. Pitfalls: Bright, Shiny Objects
Developers play games
Most of us are here because we’re gamers
Competitive research
The “wow” reaction
The transplant theory, or when
“This is cool”
becomes
“We need to do this”

35. Pitfalls: Bright, Shiny Objects
A single feature cannot be lifted
Everything is connected
Actions are defined by context
Feedback is a loop
The gun example
Balance – AI
Effects – Level Design
Physics – UI
Level Design – Story

36. Pitfalls: Bright, Shiny Objects
Timing is everything
You and everyone else on the planet
From you to the customer
You always remember your first time
Leader of the pack
Trends vs. watersheds

37. Pitfalls: Bright, Shiny Objects
Moving the goalposts
Every change costs more than you think
Tuning touches all systems
Something has to give
Back to the stone age
Is it worth it?
So, what can you do?

38. Pitfalls: Bright, Shiny Objects
Keep your eyes on the prize
Know a convention when you see one
Insist on a zero-sum approach
Set a high standard
Protect the core
Use those approval gates!

39. Pitfalls: Bright, Shiny Objects
Games are not the sum of their features!

40. Pitfalls of the Working Lead Designer
Conclusion

41. Pitfalls: Conclusion The focus of design is production
Best practices trump best theories
Every team and project is different
Know the red flags when you see them
Have solutions before you need them
It’s not about you; it’s about the game

42. Pitfalls: That’s all, folks.
Thank you for coming!