In a typical film, the overall decisions and the unifying creative control flow from one person, the director. But even in films, the division of responsibilities is often a much more complex matter. Interactive entertainment is a much younger field, and we are still trying to find efficient and workable ways to assign tasks and responsibilities to the teams making interactive titles. Happily, there are many different effective ways to split the necessary jobs, so some flexibility and creativity can solve most problems. The important thing is to make sure all the different jobs are being done. This requires particular sensitivity with the roles of “Producer” and “Director”. With different people filling these roles, it is traditional to give the producer the big-picture, outward focus, and the director the project-intensive inward focus. It is possible to have one person fulfill both these roles, but in that case upper management or peers must have regular review sessions as even the best-intentioned producer-director is likely to loose sight of the forest as the problem of each tree becomes paramount. Another important area where care must be taken with checks and balances among the team members is the design. It is possible to have a designer who does nothing but design the project, which will happen primarily at the front end. However, if that designer is unavailable for the duration, the project will ultimately reflect the design choices of the rest of the team in all the critical details that are decided during implementation. In addition, the more participation the individual team members have in the design process, the more they feel ownership of the project, and the more pride they take in their work.

Director (also known as project leader, project manager, team leader)

Executive Producer (often fulfills a mentor role, or provides detached view when Director is also Producer)

Producer (also known as product manager, project manager)

Production Assistant (variety of specialties or even unspecialized inexpensive labor)

Video Producer/Director (and video team, often an outside group that may not do much interactive work)

Designer (must have some writing skills to be able to create design document)

Assistant Designer (levels, missions, specific puzzles)

Writer (may write dialog for video segments, or text for background descriptions)

Lead Programmer (also known as Software Director, is often Designer and/or Director for small projects)

Specialist programmer (3D, AI, Graphics, Communications, Scripting, etc. Has several years experience)

Junior programmer (sometimes straight out of school, may come up from Testing ranks)

Lead Artist (Art Director, must be a good artist and preferably has good computer knowledge)

Specialist artist (Illustrator, Animator, 3D modeller/renderer, font designer)

Junior artist (tend to focus on cleanup, in-betweening, etc. Takes direction from lead artist.)

Sound designer (creates or locates sound effects for project)

Sound programmer (may be one of the specialist programmers. Creates sound and music drivers)

Musician (creates the music, as MIDI files or as simple recording a programmer will then process)

Composer (often also the musician)

Lead Tester (writes test plan, manages testers. Sometimes this person is an assistant producer)

Product testers (mix of experienced and green testers, usually young, usually minimum wage or low pay)

QA Team (verifies that product is ready to be released, should NOT be the testing team as well for this product)

Marketing team (one or more marketing specialists assigned by the publisher)

It is a rare team that will actually have separate people in all of the above roles (and a good thing too, or all projects would cost in the millions!). The critical thing is not what you call someone, but what work they actually do. The responsibilities these people assume are detailed below. The abbreviations to the right of each responsibility show who traditionally fills it. If there is more than one abbreviation, the first is the most “traditional” assignment, with the others as contingencies for unusual configurations.

Write design document Des

Assemble team Prod, Dir, Ex. Prod

Ongoing game design Des

Design interface (screens) Des, Ld Art

Write dialog Wrt, Des, Asst Des

Write incidental text Wrt, Des, Asst Des

Write manual Wrt, Mkting

Write package and Ad copy Wrt, Mkting

Manage day to day details of project, work with team (inward focus) Dir, Prod

Keep track of budget, schedule, deliverables Prod, Dir, Ex. Prod

Contact for publisher (if member of team) or for team (if employee of publisher) Prod, Dir

Design code structure Ld Prg, Spec. Prg, Des

Program internal structure or basic engine Ld Prg, Spec. Prg

Program project-specific tools Ld Prg, Spec. Prg

Program self-sufficient modules or special effects Spec. Prg, Jr. Prg

Program realtime 3D rendering Spec. Prg

Program communications and modem connection Spec. Prg

Program AI or computer controlled opponents Spec. Prg

“Grunt” programming of simple but repetitive tasks Jr. Prg

Gather information (pictures, text, voice, video, etc.) for database Prod. Asst, Asst Des

Process information (digitize, change formats, encode, encrypt) Prod. Asst, Jr. Prg

Set initial graphic look Ld Art, Des

Hand draw (computer or scanned) background art Ld Art, Spec. Art, Jr. Art

3D model objects or backgrounds Spec. Art

Animate characters and objects Spec. Art

Design font(s), logo Spec. Art

Shoot video or film Video Prod.

Process video or film (clean up, digitize, rotoscope, etc.) Prod. Asst, Video Prod.

Compose music Composer

Perform music Musician

Arrange existing music for computer Musician, Spec. Prg

Program music and sound routines Spec. Prg, Musician

Design sound effects Sound Des, Spec. Prg

Incorporate sound and music into project Spec. Prg, Jr. Prg

Write up test plan Ld Test, Dir, Prod

Test game for game play problems Ld Test, Testers, Des

Test game to identify bugs Testers, Ld Test

Take finished game and verify that it is bug-free QA

It is likely that multiple responsibilities and roles will be assumed by individuals. Just who does what depends heavily on the size and type of project, as well as the skills of the people available. Knowing how to combine roles and doing it efficiently takes experience, there is no simple formula that will guarantee success.

Here are a few case studies to show what typical teams look like:

Case #1: A simple action-puzzle “desktop entertainment” type game, $250,000 budget, 12 months elapsed time. Builds on existing software routines for animation, sound, and input devices.

Person 1. Producer. Spends 1/4 of his time on this project, managing the “traditional producer” tasks as above. Other 3/4 time spend producing other products. Producer would most likely work for the publisher, team could be in-house or outside.

Person 2. Director/Designer/Lead Programmer. Handles “traditional director” tasks as well as most designer tasks. Programs the overall structure of the game.

Person 3. Specialist Programmer/Assistant designer. Handles special fast-action animations for the game and AI. Also designs additional levels of the game

Person 4. Specialist Artist (illustrator). Does backgrounds, levels of game and menu screens.

Person 5. Specialist Artist (animator). Does animations of characters in the game. May not be needed for full duration of project.

Person 6. Musician/Sound designer. Writes and codes music and sound effects for the game. May be an outside resource. Will not be needed for full duration of project, only a few months.

Testing, QA and marketing tasks will be handled by the publisher.

Case #2: A multiplayer (modem play) flight simulator, building on an existing single-player engine. $500,000 budget, 15 months elapsed time.

Person 1. Producer/Designer. Spends full time during first four months (mostly as designer) then half-time on project until the last two months, then full time again for tuning and other issues. Due to design role and subsequent intimate knowledge of the project, this is more of a hands-on producer role, well suited to be paired with a first-time director.

Person 2. Director/Lead Programmer/Codesigner. Handles basic project management tasks, splits people issues and design issues with Producer (who has final creative control).

Person 3. Specialist Programmer (3D engine). Concentrates on 3D rendering code.

Person 4. Specialist Programmer (Communications) Implements modem play. Also works on other modules of game about half-time for the project duration.

Person 5. Specialist Artist. Does background illustrations for introduction, reward screens. Takes bitmap images from photographs of aircraft, prepares them for use as 3D texture maps. Other miscellaneous art. Six months time.

Person 6. Specialist Artist. Does 3D aircraft, buildings, landscape.

Person 7. Sound designer. Special engine sounds that are linked to throttle setting and aircraft damage, as well as other specialized sound effects. 3 months.

Person 8. Musician/Composer. Writes and performs original score for game. Outside contractor, 2 months.

Person 9. Writer. Does research on topic of simulation and writes sections of the manual. Outside contractor, 3 months.

Person 10. Assistant Designer/Tester. Knowledgeable tester who helps design missions for game as well as do specialized testing early on in the process. Publisher is expected to provide rest of testing team and QA.

Case #3: State of the art Graphic Adventure game, using existing engine that requires writing in proprietary scripting language. CD-ROM with full voice. Assumes two directors working together based on good chemistry from previous games. $850,000 budget, 18 months elapsed time.

Person #1: Co-designer/Co-director/Writer Manages project details with focus on art, designs story and puzzles, writes dialog for characters.

Person #2: Co-designer/Co-director/Lead Programmer Manages project details with focus on programming, designs puzzles, programs in proprietary scripting language. Handles CD-ROM special programming. Acts as mentor to jr. programmers on project.

Person #3: Producer. Spends 1/3 time handling outward-focused tasks for this project. Large project like this require more producer time, and would be 1/2 time if not for an experienced pair of co-directors on project.

Person #4: Lead Artist. Sets graphic style of project. Does initial backgrounds and characters for other artist to follow. Does most critical backgrounds.

Person #5: Specialist Artist. Illustrator. Backgrounds and objects.

Person #6: Specialist Artist. Animator. Draws characters, perhaps using video to rotoscope animation first.

Person #7: Specialist Programmer. Systems programmer, maintains and improves adventure game language.

Person #9: Jr. Programmer. Scriptor. Learns and uses scripting language to implement design.

Person #10: Jr. Programmer. Scriptor. As above. May also learn how to incorporate voices.

Person #11: Musician/Composer/Sound Designer Handles all sound needs for project using existing music drivers.

Person #12: Audio Producer. Works with regular Producer of project and Directors to cast and record voices.

Person #13: Lead tester. Main playtester for game, also manages group of other testers in final months of project.

Persons #14-17: Testers. Brought in for last 2-4 months of project.

Person #18: Masseuse. Your team will thank you for it.

Putting together the right team is only the first step. Successfully directing an interactive entertainment title requires an unusual mix of skills. Let’s break it down into working with the different kinds of team members. The assumption will be that the director is NOT also producing the title, but is probably also the designer, and/or a programmer, and/or an artist. Ten years ago the “and” was the operative term, but as teams grow, the “or” is becoming more common.

The relationship between director and producer is a delicate one. The issue of final creative control is critical . If the roles of Designer, Director, and Producer are taken by different people, they will each feel that they have a fair claim on creative control. Ultimately, it is most important that the people with these roles share a similar vision of where the project is headed. If they respect each other’s skills, are willing to be patient with each other, will stand up for their own views but compromise when necessary, and have a sense of humor, it is possible to work well together. If some of these elements are missing, there will be trouble. For the specific split in responsibility between producer and director, it often helps to think of the director as having an inward focus, with intimate awareness of the day to day problems the team members are facing, and the producer as having an outward focus, representing the needs and issues of the team to marketing and upper management. One model that can work well has the director with paramount concern for the quality of the title, and the producer with paramount concern that it come out on time and be on budget. In reality, there is always a compromise -- it comes out a little late, a little over budget, and isn’t quite what the team would like it to be. If the director and producer share a common vision for what the title should be (particularly, strong agreement on the EXPERIENCE that someone playing/using the software should have when it is done) then the tension of on time/on budget versus bigger and better can be resolved with the best possible compromise. If one or the other concerns are too strong, you are likely to get either a project that comes out on time but is lackluster and second-rate, or a project that is very late and may be wonderful, but is likely to suffer simply because the competition has had more time to perfect their projects as well.

The general rule in the interactive industry is that the person managing the project (the director) is also the chief designer. This is a good rule of thumb because the design task is closely intermeshed with the development process, and it takes a very experienced and professional director to stay true to the vision of another person’s design during the implementation phase. Staying true to your own vision is hard enough! People coming from the film industry often have trouble with this assumption. They reason that the role of designer is much like that of screenwriter. The designer should be able to hand off a design, the director should implement it, bringing in his or her own special signature, and you’ll end up with a great interactive title. The flaw in this reasoning is that the process of design of an interactive product is closely linked to the implementation. Since the industry is so technology driven, what can be done changes on a yearly, almost monthly basis. The best projects are ones that change course during production to adapt to the new techniques and programs and images created during the process. For this reason, if a director is not the designer as well, the two need to work very closely together, and when the director is confronted with a choice that involves interpretation of the design, the director should either know what the designer would want, or be able to ask the designer immediately. These kinds of choices occur many times each day, particularly during programming sessions. A director should be confident in his ability to speak for the designer when necessary or the title will lack a single, cohesive, creative vision.

The biggest hazard here is when the director has no programming or (even worse) no technical background. The problem that arises is when a programmer says “that can’t be done”. As all programmers know, that means one of two things: “I can’t figure out how to do it”, or “I don’t want to do it.” Knowing the difference between these two, and being able to work with the programmers to figure out alternatives is the real trick. In any case, not taking no at face value is the key. Talk to the programmer about the problem. If you don’t have a programming background yourself, bring in someone else who does whose opinion you trust. The choice of an experienced, professional lead programmer is particularly critical when a director doesn’t program. Then discuss why the problem is “impossible”. Often when explaining why something is impossible, a good programmer will think of an alternative. Remember what experience you want the player to have. That is the end goal. Be flexible with the means to the end. The designer should be present when changes are made to work around a programming problem. Learn the personalities of your programmers, and find out which ones give up at the first hint of difficulty and must be persuaded to keep going. Discover which ones will grind away at a problem for days at a stretch, burning themselves out in the process, and learn to save them from their own diligence.

This is somewhat easier than working with programmers because what they do is so plainly visible, and because art schedules can be more consistently extrapolated than programming schedules. But artists, as a rule, are more likely than programmers to have fragile egos, and may need to be persuaded with careful, honest but polite compliments about their work. The most critical thing here is to make sure that you match the right artist to the job. If you try to get a background illustrator to animate figures, or if you try to teach a cel animator how to do 3D modeling, and they’re not eager to learn, you will never get their best work. Learn which artists can work towards a goal given only an overview of what you’re trying to achieve, and which ones have to be directed each step of the way. Make the former ones your Lead Artists (they’re probably the most experienced ones anyway). From a scheduling standpoint, it’s worth paying for better quality. Paradoxically, the better an artist is at creating beautiful images of whatever type, the faster they tend to work. This means that you may pay an experienced, top rate artist twice as much as a green one, but the experienced one will do twice as much work and at a much higher level of quality. Of course, that’s just a generalization, but it’s an important one to be aware of. Artists also tend to prefer working with larger groups of other artists, while programmers often prefer being alone or with one or two other programmers that are focused on the same project. Catering to these needs if possible can increase productivity.

Happily, there are many independent groups and individuals who are excellent composers and musicians, in a variety of styles. As we move into the CD age, less needs to be done to music to convert it into a form usable by an interactive system. The key role within a development group is that of music or sound programmer. If there is no sound driver available for inclusion in your title, or if it is a sound-dependent title, this is an important role. If you have an existing sound and music driver from previous products, or if you purchase the use of one from an independent provider, your audio problems should be minimal.

If your product incorporates video, and you do not have experience in that field, it is advisable to hire someone who does. Due to the television and advertising demand, there are plenty of independent video producers who can put together a cast and crew to meet your needs. From the view of an experienced interactive director, video can be seen as similar to any other graphics -- just more expensive and less flexible. That means you must be particularly sure you do it right the first time, another reason to use an experienced outside group at first. It’s also wise to start small. If you’re interested in incorporating video into new CD-ROM products, beginning with an opening sequence or occasional noninteractive (linear) video scenes is a good, safe way to go. Areas where you’re likely to run into trouble are using video in a fully interactive sequence, using bluescreen (chromakey) techniques to matte characters into backgrounds, or mixing video from different sources. Also problematic is lighting, which may seem trivial but can compound the three aforementioned trouble areas.

If you are an experienced video producer attempting to create an interactive product, your problems will be reversed. Dealing with video may be comparatively easy, but you will be well advised to hire an experienced interactive director (or hands-on producer) to help you with the other parts of the project.

There is no one description of an Interactive Director’s job, since there are so many contradictory ways that job can be defined. The most critical steps are building a team and communicating well with them. The specific mix of team members is unimportant, as long as people are assigned to all the necessary responsibilities, and none of the people have too many jobs to do (which in this industry is often defined by more than 60 hours a week of work),. By matching the right people to the right jobs, you minimize hassles with the team itself, freeing up time to devote to the intevitable problems in implementation. Ultimately, this is a job like any other; the important elements for success are professionalism, mutual respect, experience, and dedication. The only unusual requirements are flexibility and technical knowledge, which are dictated by the ever-changing technology of this art form.