pipeline & process fundamentals for the next generation olivier goguel [email protected]...
TRANSCRIPT
Pipeline & Process Fundamentals for the
Next GenerationOlivier GOGUEL
First presented at GDC Europe (London, September 1st 2004)
on behalf of Argonaut Games PLC
Quote of the Day
• « Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so »
• -- Douglas Adams
Talk context
1995 20152005 2008
Cottage Industry
Movie-like industry
Next-gen transition
1995
• Development Process– games can be signed based on a sole game design,
little differences between pre-production and production
• Management– Small organized teams (10 max), with graduates
gradually replacing autodidact people
• Pipeline– Everything written internally (tools & run-time)– Code-driven development
2005
• Development Process– Playable demo to sell the game. Once the game is
signed, the team rushes into production
• Management– Medium to Large team (30-100) – not very large
• Pipeline– Common tools, mainly for content creation– Middleware usage is common, but most of the
technologies are still developed internally– Moving slightly from code-driven to content driven
2015
• Development Process– Movie-like pre-production & production
• Management– Very large team (300+)– On-Demand Team Members– Unions
• Pipeline– Main technical issues solved– Industry-wide framework – Dedicated tools for our many needs– Fully Content driven
The more, the merrier ?
• More pre-production
• More people
• More tools
• More data
Common sense, but things are moving exponentially from now on
TRANSITION
2015
1995
Challenges for the next gen
• Those impacted by this exponential transition• Those we can try to anticipate right now
– Real pre-production phase– Very large team management– Tools integration– Managing the data being produced– Keeping your team on track
• Mainly producing/management challenges as technical issues would be manageable
Pre-production
• Critical to the success of game development
Company Strategy- Market Position
- Catalogue- Ambition and Means
Market- Competition
- Evolution- Trends
Team- Skills and Wills
- Methods and tools- Size and Structure
Game Definition- Genre / Audience- Size and Quality
- Technology
PreProduction
Without Pre-production
0
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Production
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With Pre-production
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Production
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1 4 7
10 13 16 19 22
1995
2005
2015
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Tea
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Team Size Comparison
1995
2005
2015
FPP vs. Pre-production
• Developers need to demonstrate a first complete level (FPP) in order to be able to sign a deal
• Going into production just after the game is signed does not mean that you’ve finished your pre-prod!
• FPPs are going to kill a lot of games (and companies) : – Cost is entirely up to the developer– Demonstrate gameplay elements only– Feasibility and profitability are not guaranteed
FPP AND Pre-production
• Needs 2 different tools & processes– to show a lot to publishers at a reduced
cost: need prototyping tools– to organize the production (organisation,
pipeline, schedule, risk management, …) : need to formalize the pre-production process
• Need to bring in experts from the movie industry who know what real pre-production means
Very Large Team Challenges
• Can’t have them on the same floor• Can’t have them permanently
– Your HR budget will explode– You won’t need most of them during pre-prod
• Can’t have every expertise required internally
• How to build such a very large team ?• How to manage them ?
Team composition
• On-Demand team members is the key– Contractor– Outsourcing companies
• Facilitated by– A proper pre-production– Standard tools and soon a common framework widely
used through the industry– Contractors and outsourcing to companies are
already good practice• New profile needed:
managing contractors & external companies
Involvement & Accomplishments
• Less creative impact on the final results from the individual
• Acceptance of the change fromold school people– Not possible to do a game on your own– Not possible to know everything
• Does not mean you can’t be proudof the final result
• New comers to the industry will have less problem : need to bring new blood!
Managers vs. experts
• Need to keep permanent experts in key fields – Design, Architecture, Animation, Pipeline, Online
• Need to have some manager to organizethe production– « A manager is not an expert »– Can't just keep promoting your best people– Loss of expertise & work
• Peter’s principle – “People tend to be promoted to their level
of incompetence”– Corollary ???
Lack of managers in the industry
• 50 persons team :– 35 permanents, 10 contractors + 5 managers
• 200 persons team :– 75 permanents, 100 contractors + 25 managers
• Will need another management layer (manager of managers)
• Will be much harder to promote/hire/train 20+ managers if not anticipated by the studio
Build a new culture
• Recognize non-technical qualities (listening, leadership)– Train your potential managers – Encourage trainers, coaches, mentors– Do it before they’re being poached by your
competitors!
• Bring in managers from other industries
Tool challenges
• Increasingly game complexity– Requires a specialist for each domain– Requires a tools for each domain
• Saving time by choosing the right tools– Modelling, animation, light maps, material, shaders– Path finding, AI, physics, network– Asset management, source control
• Next challenge : integrating all those tools
Level Compositing Framework
HUB
Animations
Game
Lightmaps
Models
Materials
Particles
(…)
Exporter
Behaviours
Invest in a integration tools framework
• Spend your effort on the framework, not on proprietary tools!
• Options– Have an internal team to develop the
framework– Buy a middleware technology
Does not necessarily mean you have to buy out your favourite middleware company!
Managing data produced by a very large team
• Challenges– Cannot rely on simple build process (eg. fixed build
time)– Cannot use the latest version of your data– Cannot stop the team (especially contractors)– Must show some continuous progress
• Proposed solution : release frequent proven build– Reference code/data– Synchronized data for the porting teams– Regular progress review
Build vicious-circle
Local editing
Integration & Build
Test for proven build
Local test for integration
How to make sure your build works ?
• Asset management solution is key– More than just a check-in/ check-out feature!– Allow multiple development at the same time
• Break the circle by having 2 branches– Proven branch : only approved data is added– WIP branch : people can keep on working while
the version is being built
• Balance your effort between both branches• Automate your build process
Keeping your team on track
• « I love deadlines. I specially love the swooshing sounds they make as they fly by »
• - Douglas Adams
Best practices to keep your team on track
• Set bi-weekly milestones– Result oriented (not task!)– Use your competitors as a benchmark
• Measure what has been produced against the expected quality – “What is not in the build is not in the build”– Don’t overachieve
• Update your objectives accordingly– Focus your efforts on the right features
Conclusion
• « Don’t panic »
• -- Douglas Adams
DON'T PANIC!
• Best practices for the transition – pre-production !– Train/Hire managers – Invest on the integration framework– Have a formalized build process– Focus on result, not on tasks
• identify your strengths and leverage – Where’s the added value of your company ?– Which permanent people do you need?
• Do it now!
