Contents -- Introduction -- Chapter 1 What Does a Video Game Producer Actually Do? -- A Brief History of Producing -- The Diverse Role of a Video Game Producer -- Actively Contribute -- Apply Good Decision-Making Skills -- Attend Budget Meetings -- Be Forward-Thinking -- Build Consensus -- Deliver Animation -- Develop a Pre-Production Plan -- Develop a Production Plan -- Generate Game-Design Documentation -- Handle Hardware Manufacturers -- Handle Legal/Contractual Issues -- Handle Licensing and Branding -- Handle Middleware Issues -- Handle Platform Transition -- Handle Public Relations -- Handle Quality Assurance -- Help Sales -- Hire/Interview -- Interact with Upper (Executive) Management -- Know Games -- Learn -- Manage Assets -- Manage Big Teams -- Manage Foreign Localization -- Manage Resources -- Manage the Art Process -- Manage the Audio Process -- Manage Vendor Relationships -- Manage Your Time -- Pitch -- Possess Industry Experience -- Provide Clarity and Focus -- Provide Marketing Support -- Schedule -- Sow Discipline -- Take Ownership -- Teach Others -- Understand Cinematic Production -- Understand Development Systems -- Work with the Programming Team -- Software-Production Methods -- Code-Like-Hell, Fix-Like-Hell -- Increments to Completion -- The Cascade -- Iterate Until You Drop -- Agile Project Management -- Planning and Scheduling -- Taking the Top-Down Approach -- Planning from the Bottom Up -- Scheduling Constraints -- Critical-Path Planning -- Contingency Planning -- Using a Formula to Calculate a Schedule -- Software-Factory Efficiencies -- Stages of Game Development -- Concept -- Prototype -- Pitch -- Green Light -- Pre-Production -- Production -- Quality Assurance -- Final Gold Master -- Video Game Development Process Models -- The Final Word -- Chapter 2 Producer Job Descriptions and Qualifications.

Producer Role: Assistant Producer -- Assistant Producer at a Publisher -- An Assistant Producer at a Developer -- The Producer's Role -- A Producer at a Publisher -- Producer Roles: Executive Producer -- What Makes an Executive Producer? -- Other Production Management Roles -- Product Planner -- Program Manager -- Development Director -- Production Assistants and Interns -- Production Team Management -- Hire Smarter -- Practice Respect and Consideration -- Create Opportunities -- Why Being a Video Game Producer Is So Fulfilling -- Seeing the Finished Product -- Having an Impact on Others -- Gaining Event-Driven Experiences -- Realizing Film and Thematic Composition -- Engaging in a Multi-discipline Experience -- Helping to Develop the Music -- Working with Smart People -- Telling Stories in a New Way -- Using New Technology -- The Final Word -- Chapter 3 Habits of Highly Effective Producers -- Traits of a Successful Producer -- Accepts and Expects Criticism -- Achieves Results -- Curtails Ego -- Demonstrates Integrity -- Demonstrates Professionalism -- Displays Contagious Enthusiasm -- Doesn't Fear Failure -- Doesn't Rush to Criticize -- Empowers Others -- Follows Through -- Has a Positive Attitude -- Inspires Others -- Is Decisive -- Is Discreet -- Is Passionate -- Is Reliable -- Laughs -- Leads by Example -- Meets Commitments -- Perseveres -- Shares a Vision -- Shows Business Savvy -- Shows Respect -- Takes Initiative -- Takes Risks -- Organization and Successful Processes -- Do Daily Delta Reporting -- Ask Clarifying Questions -- Always Call People Back and Answer E-Mails -- Always Follow Up in Writing -- Understand the Contract -- Follow the Contract -- Project Skills: Scheduling and Rescheduling Constantly -- Postmortem Reports -- Always Tell the Team the Truth -- The Commitment to Excellence -- Achieving Excellence.

What Is Required for Excellence? -- How Does a Commitment to Excellence Apply to Producers? -- Why This Principle Is Important to Producing a Hit -- How to Get Known for Excellence -- Rules That Apply to All Producers -- Knowing What You Don't Know -- The Immutable Law of Resources, Quality, and Time -- How to Quantify the Unquantifiable -- The Game Developer's Conference -- The Final Word -- Chapter 4 Internal and External Game Producer Specialties -- Specialties of a Game Producer -- Legal and Business Facilitator -- The Creatively Inclined Producer -- The Technically Proficient Producer -- Internal versus External Producers -- Producer for an Internal Team -- External (Third-Party) Producers -- The Final Word -- Chapter 5 Conveying the Winning Vision and Creating Successful Presentations -- A Winning Vision for the Brand -- Writing a Winning Proposal -- Getting to Yes with a Publisher's Representative -- Getting to Yes with Your VP and Executive Team -- Preparing and Presenting a Winning Presentation -- What's in a Prototype Presentation? -- The Final Word -- Chapter 6 Game Design and What Producers Need to Know about Designing -- Can Producers Design Games? -- Producers and Game Design -- Myths about Producers and Game Design -- Designing a Producible Video Game within Constraints -- Multi-Platform Simultaneous Releases -- Working with Design Constraints of Console Games -- Working with the Design Constraints of the PC -- Working with Design Constraints of Handheld Games -- Technical Constraints of Game Design -- Graphics -- Memory -- Storage Device -- Other Design Constraints for Any Game -- Genre and Target Demographic -- Key Feature Requirements -- Competitive Product Analysis -- License Constraints and Licensing Your Game's IP -- Game Theory -- Game Design Documentation -- Producers and Game Design Documentation.

Elements of a Producible Video Game Design Document -- Technical Design -- Ownership of the Creative Vision -- Assigning Ownership -- Managing Ownership -- Protecting the Creative Vision -- Realizing the Creative Vision and When to Say No -- A Final Word -- Chapter 7 Game Tools and Asset Management -- Having the Right Tools -- Pre-Production Steps -- Try to Get It Right the First Time -- Testing for the Tools You Need -- What Producers Need to Know about Tools -- Programming Tools -- OpenGL ES-Khronos Group -- IncrediBuild-Xoreax Software -- Microsoft Visual C++ IDE -- Visual Assist X-Whole Tomato Software -- VectorC-Codeplay -- XNA and DirectX -- Art Tools -- Maya 6.0-Alias -- 3D Studio Max 7-Discreet -- XSI 4-Softimage -- Photoshop CS-Adobe -- FaceGen Modeller 3.0-Singular Inversions -- Zbrush 2-Pixologic -- Granny 2-RAD Game Tools -- Game Components -- Havok 2-Havok -- RenderWare-Criterion -- Gamebryo-NDL -- Quazal-Quazal -- Other MMOG Engines and Middleware -- Audio Tools -- Multitrack Digital Sound File Editors -- Stereo Digital Sound File Editors -- Sound Effects Libraries -- Surround Sound Encoders -- Sound Implementation: GameCODA-Sensaura -- World-Building Tools -- Unreal Engine 2-Epic Games -- Neverwinter Nights Engine-Bioware -- Quake 3 Arena Engine-ID Software -- Source-Valve Software -- Scheduling Tools -- Microsoft Excel -- Microsoft Project -- Alienbrain Studio 7-NXN Software -- Creating Proprietary Tools -- Design Specifications Clearly -- Communicate and Demonstrate the Tools -- Test the Entire Pipeline -- Update Proprietary Tools -- Asset Management and Procedures -- Version Control Systems -- The Final Word -- Chapter 8 Tools for Success in Your Daily Routine -- Processes for Producing a Video Game -- Daily Delta Reports -- Source/Version Control Reports -- Using Wiki -- Team Meetings -- Leads Meetings.

Executive/Steering Committee Meetings -- Risk Management Tools -- Using Microsoft Project, Microsoft Excel, and the Overly Complex Scheduling Process -- Using Slack in the Schedule -- The Dreaded Overtime -- Dependencies and Placeholders -- Postmortems -- Milestone Acceptance Tests -- Looking In from the Outside -- The Final Word -- Chapter 9 Game Development Financials -- Creating a Budget -- In the Ideal World -- At the High-Concept Stage -- Establish a Foundation during Pre-Production -- Financial Modeling -- Components of the Financial Model -- The Final Word -- Chapter 10 Excellence in Soundtracks and Sound Effects -- Why Music Is as Important as Visuals -- Planning for the Production -- Finding the Right Talent -- Hiring the Right Composer -- The Composer's Contract -- Live Musician Recording -- Sound Effects Production and Management -- Naming Conventions -- Start Using Temp Sounds Early -- Match Sounds Effects to Art Assets -- Voiceover Work and Direction -- Using SAG/AFTRA Talent and Navigating through Union Requirements -- Sound Engine -- Integration -- The Final Word -- Chapter 11 Quality Assurance and Gameplay Testing -- QA Team Procedures -- What's in a Test Plan -- Assignment of Responsibilities -- Teamwork -- Alpha -- Beta -- Internal QA Team versus External QA Teams -- Development Testing -- Play Testing -- The Risks of Rushing through QA -- The Final Word -- Chapter 12 Creating Allies in the Marketing Team -- Making Life Easier for the Brand Manager -- Understand Marketing's Concerns -- Product Descriptions and Ad Copy -- Public Relations and the Quest for Screenshots -- Production Presentation and Demo Scripts -- Writing an Effective Demo Script -- The Downloadable Demo -- Previews and Strategy Guide Preparation -- The Final Word -- Appendix A: Sample Acceptance Letter -- Appendix B: Engine Feature Checklist -- Supported APIs.

Graphics Engine.