I do not get President’s day off, so I’ll be working today. I worked a bit yesterday too, because our deadlines are getting close and there’s still much to do. I don’t mind going overtime when I have to, if it means making a better game in the end, and despite the somewhat cyclical nature of stressful times, I really like my job.
But what do I really do? Ask me when we first meet and I’ll tell you that I’m a “producer on the Sims 3” – but what does that really mean? If you’re not in the game industry, it won’t be immediately clear and almost 2 years into the job, I’m still doing my best to put into words the actual responsibilities and day-to-day tasks I do.
In general, what is a producer? A producer is…someone who makes sure stuff gets done? Someone who attempts to keep in mind the big picture and overall quality of the product? Someone who tells people what to do? Someone who produces?
Those are all somewhat general and stereotypical answers that I’ve either spouted at one time or another or head other people say. Like most generalizations, they’re not entirely accurate but tell a bit of the story.
For me, the best thing I can compare it to is directing a show in college. A producer is a bit like a director, but (at my level, at least) with less power. As a producer, you often get to see all the pieces of the puzzle that everyone else is making so you can ensure that they all fit together nicely. Although very little of what I actually do (in a labor sense) ends up in the final game – much like when the curtain rises, the audience doesn’t see any of my work directly – a producer has a lasting and large influence of the overall way that a game is presented.
For example, let’s say you fire up a game for the first time and are presented with a menu screen. You start a new game and get a short tutorial. No, I didn’t make any of the art assets for that menu or tutorial, nor did I do the coding to make them behave like they do. But a producer (probably in conjunction with a designer) ensured that the tutorial played well and taught you what you needed to know in the right amount of time. We probably considered how the main menu would affect the flow of the start of the game. We take the feedback from focus tests, the marketing department, and other members on the team and try to turn it into coherent and specific changes that improve the game.
In summary, a producer must – while working on bugs and spreadsheets and a bunch of little tasks – always keep their eye on the main goal: making the player happy while retaining the original intentions of the design of the game.
