/r/GameProduction
R/GameProduction is a user run subreddit for the sole purpose of sharing and highlighting the voices, resources, and hard work of game development roles that are often underappreciated, ignored, or unseen. This includes marketing, production, quality assurance, legal, HR, publishing, community management, bizdev - anything that may or may not touch the game development process itself, but has an active and consistent impact on the quality, reach, and success of the product created.
Game Development has a number of facets that help it achieve success, but many are rarely talked about.
This Game Production subreddit is for the sharing of research and promotion of discussion around the business and production teams and processes that support developers, artists and designers through the creation process.
Whether you're in QA, marketing, community management, production, studio management, the CEO or more, this subreddit will serve as a landing page for information and education.
Please feel free to share content you write, as well as content of others that you believe is beneficial to our field.
Guidelines
Please follow Reddiquette.
Hate speech of any kind will not be tolerated.
No NSFW content or spam. This subreddit is for those who are or are hoping to be involved in this side of the games industry. If you behave in a hateful way, you will be banned or this subreddit will be made private.
If you have any feedback for the subreddit, please get in touch with the moderators via PM.
/r/GameProduction
Whether it's from your experience as a game developer, marketing person (one of the many many hats) or a player, I feel that features and certain aspects can take priority over others, but it doesn't mean that either is irrelevant.
Primarily looking to gather feedback and impressions, at a general level! 🫂
I'm in high school and I want to be a creative director or video game producer some day.
Skill wise, I'm an artist. But with the onslaught of AI, I feel like I'm in a really good position to keep my options open.
Even so, I want to work in video games, and the whole profession just speaks to me.
From what I've heard, to be a video game producer, you can start out as an artist, but that's a little too risky for me to invest in. Which is why, I've just been a little confused on how video game producers start out, and what my path should be from high school to maintain that.
In industries like Advertising I've seen direct paths to Creative Director, like Jr art director. Is there something like that in this industry that I could aim for? Since, I want to work in management.
I don't want to spent most of my life gunning for this position if the rest is gonna be spent doing something I don't love, like concept art or any other execution positions. While I love doing art and design and I love gaining skill in sorts of things (2d, 3d, etc.), it's just not the sole career I want. I prefer being in creative projects instead, part of the vision. Which is why I couldn't see myself being an artist and a producer 10 years later, if that makes sense.
Considering this, my question to current Video Game Producers is, how did you start out (what type of internship or role)? Do you have any ideas on what entry level role I would love, without a major risk from AI? Will that role be fitting for an aspiring video game producer?
Basically, where do you think I should go from here on out?
My parents are adamant that I at least go to uni, for a backup. Which I agree. So what/where did you study? Do you have any recommendations for what I could major in? I'll probably go to portfolio school after uni. So, which portfolio school would you recommend?
I understand there are preferences when hiring producers to have 5+ years in the gaming industry. Those years are normally spent developing various projects and games. Gives a deeper perspective compared to a direct manager just walking in.
I'm 42, worked primarily in learning development, project management, DevOps and business development. Across fields in different countries.
What would I need to upskill to breach the game production realm, without going into game development?
I want to make income by making a mobile game in merge concept. As you know, there is great competition in the market. I don't expect to compete with AAA companies of course. So do you think is this still profitable for an indie developer team.
Hey guys,
im currently a sophomore at Marist College studying Games and Emerging Media with a concentration in Programming (and a possible Minor in Computer Science) BUT planning on transferring. My overall question is: what major should I take and at what school? (And possibly what job I should start thinking about going for? Internships?) Here's some things about me
I really dont like Marist - socially. I tried to give myself some time to settle in and maybe make some friends to see if it'll make my experience better, but it's not working. I cant see myself staying here for 2 more years. With that being said, there's a lot of problems im scared of running into when transferring:
Thank you guys for reading and really ANYTHING will help!!
(P.S. Does anyone know any other subreddits I could post this on to reach more people?)
Hello everyone, i hope it's everything all right.
This is pretty straight forward.
I am looking for a Game Production (or a game project management degree), i am willing to move to any EU country to get a degree.
For now it has been very hard to found any that is taught in English, most are taught in the native language.
Does someone knows about a degree in this field?
Thanks in advance!
Hello everyone! I'm researching the application of localization in the game publishing and marketing industry. I would appreciate it if you could share your experience on this matter by filling out the form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfmCoUd8xt2K4f_m3WUNgMmQTgN2WCHp8hwzXyOMLlIrSBe0g/viewform?usp=sf_link
Your responses would be immensely valuable to me! 🙌
I just want to know what I need in numbers possibly and average to above average costs
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equipment
software
number of employees
lawyers
accountants
boards
remote vs office
locations
Leasing or Purchasing older IP's \ Games
Other funding avenues (I already have a way, but just looking for more)
advertising
Upper and mid level managers
Servers
etc
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I really appreciate your help and thank you very much.
"Endgame" marks the debut of a new essay journal dedicated to the exploration of video games, set to launch in 2024. This publication aims to delve into the intersection of video games with the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and technical-media practices.
You can read full open call here: https://konecigre.si/open-call/ .
Please contact us at revijakonecigre@gmail.com for any questions.
​
With Scrum, it’s normally Story Points instead of time (hours/days) that are used to estimate. And I find if using time estimation, it’s possible to make a detailed schedule of the production plan. Such as Task A is assigned to Artist1, to be started on Jan 8th, estimated to take 5 days and to be finished on Jan 12th. Of course, this schedule is to be arranged according to dependencies. This schedule is important as we all know, the business wants to know an estimated finish line.
I wonder if anyone has tried creating detailed schedules using Story Points in Scrum? Do we create schedules for all the Sprints so we can see a reliable schedule that takes into account dependencies, assignees, task estimation.
Hey, users, developers,
Are you looking to expand your reach beyond the app stores and reach new players?
The alternative mobile game distribution landscape offers exciting opportunities for developers of all sizes. Whether you're a big-name or an indie gem, there are platforms out there that can help you connect with millions of players.
I've been working with developers for over a decade, helping them navigate the complexities of alternative distribution. I've seen firsthand how these platforms can provide valuable opportunities for growth and success.
Are you curious about how to choose the right partners for your game? Want to optimize your marketing strategy for independent platforms? Seeking monetization tips beyond the traditional app stores? Interested in comparing different platforms and their strengths and weaknesses? Or just looking for general advice for success in alternative distribution? I'm here to answer all your questions and provide you with the guidance you need to thrive in this ever-evolving landscape.
Let's explore the uncharted territories beyond the App Store/Play Store and unlock new opportunities for your mobile game together.
Hi everyone!
I decided to use the spare time I have this holidays to research how to create a decent production timeline and budget for my game. However, the info I've found is not clear for me, so I was wondering if anyone could point me out in the right direction, resources or tip to approach this daunting task.
Hey all, I'm working as Snr Production Coordinator in Vfx industry for about 2 years now.
I've been thinking to switch industry from VFX to Gaming but in kind of a similar Production role.
What would be the things I should know more like softwares for Production and non Production stuff.
What would be something I should look out for while doing this transition.
Thank you for your feedback in advance
Hello game professionals,
It's the end of the week for me, so I thought I'd blow off a little steam here. I've been self-publishing commercial games since 2012, and none of them have ever been profitable. I started with premium mobile, which I later learned one should not do. I published my first Steam title in January 2021, and it flopped hard enough to be a personal embarrassment. My next Steam launch is slated for September 2024, and there is no fucking way I'll give this one my all.
I logged hundreds of hours in the latest project, and I noticed something interesting in my spreadsheet. 8% of my gamedev time is spent marketing. Research, design, and programming consume equal shares of the other 92%. lol
Should I even consider a career in this for a second? I'm not keen on the every-man-for-himself Unity/Unreal spammers who pump out a game every quarter, but I've met some good people who work on the AAA side of things and act like adults. Of course, I really don't like this kind of work anymore, so I just thought I'd tell you guys my thoughts in case anyone has anything to add.
I've heard many things from developers and others in the games industry within the UK about how they don't like alot of courses due to the lack of teaching in regards to the production side.
Would you say this is true are these courses lacking in this critical part of games.
Hi there,
I would love some feedback from somebody who has experience or knows somebody that has experience creating a cohesive art style for a game.
I’m coming up is from a non-artist producer perspective.
My biggest challenge right now is to great a level of variation in the team’s art.
I’m looking for something that’s relevant to a large scale team.
'm currently looking for any series of devlogs or better yet archived documentation of game development. I really enjoyed double fines series on YouTube and wondered if there was more
Is there anyone with good suggestions, perhaps calendars or other programs that make it most convenient to do this? The roadmap with events for the game is not enough.
Hi everyone !
I am curently looking for actual production documents to use as exemple in class. Like budget wise on a whole game production in time. Do you guys have any kind of real document I could use ?
Of course you can Hide all the names (game name, city, persons etc). My goal is just to analyse how budget works on a whole game production (any kind of game)
If you have something like this it would be super awesome ! If not maybe you have an idea where I could find those documents ?
I hope you can help me, thank you !
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Thanks to u/AgentFeyd for assisting to make sure this post stays above board for the rules.
Seeking guidance on transitioning from an IT Project Manager to a Video Game Producer. I have over 5 years of PM experience and have been informed that the 2 roles are essentially the same, just with different titles.
How can I market myself to studios in an effective way. I'm familiar with marketing myself for IT PM roles, however so far if gotten the following results from 5 different hiring managers.
for the Assistant Producer roles, I've consistently been told I am overqualified, one manager even went as far to say I am "overwhelmingly overqualified."
However, for the Game Producer roles I am being told I don't meet the requirements. Two of the hiring managers were the same managers that interviewed me for Assistant Producer roles. Which feels like mixed messages to me.
Is there a middle ground between the two? I'm sure I'm just not marketing myself properly. Has anyone come from a similar background find success in the transition?
Hi there fellow devs!
Me and my brother are making a strategy game at the moment. Now we have a working demo on our hands and want to try to raise money to buy some time for content work. We chose Kickstarter as our first option. The problem is we are located in a third world country (Kazakhstan to be exact) so now we are overwhelmed with these whole shenanigans - Stripe Atlas, virtual addresses, bills, taxes laws of the US - there is quite a lot to feel overwhelmed.
So my question is, has anyone here tried to do something similar? Or maybe someone could help to understand this process at least partially? Maybe you have an opinion about this all and you could give an advice? Note that we don't have much of a budget right now so we can't afford a lawyer to consult with (that's why I came here). If you can help with any information or opinion it would be very much appreciated.
Thanks you and sorry if the text is hard to read, english is not my native language.
Guys, I have a question for you. Are there any reasons not to upload a game video preview to the Google Play Store? Please don't ignore this question if this is your own situation: you have a game released on Google Play, but you intentionally don't add a video preview to the game's page. I eagerly want to know your considerations behind this decision. Your answer will mean the world to me. Many thanks!
Hi everybody!
I'm curious, has anybody come across PRINCE2 in game production? I'm studying the PRINCE2 Practitioner course now, and I'm curious if it is being used at all in the industry. Most studios seem to tailor Agile methods, and while I understand that managing a creative endeavor such as game development requires more flexibility, I'm just wondering if a more waterfall approach has been done and what the benefits/drawbacks have been?
"Hey game producers! We've been trying to find our place in agile game development, right? Well, I had an awesome chat recently that shed some light on our role. Read it and share your thoughts!"
​
Hello.
I've been building the content up recently for my passion project: Game Production Academy.
If anyone here fancies a look, you can visit at:
https://www.game-production.com/
I've added five or six videos recently on Game Production techniques around estimation, as well as a deeper dive into agile methodologies and how to adapt them to game development. That's ongoing and there should be more up this week.
https://www.youtube.com/@game-production-academy
There's also a podcast series with interviews, as well as more recent content provided through the Game Production Discord community.
It's all free and there from the heart - the feedback has been really positive so far and I'd love more people to benefit from anything there.
Cheers.
Liam
I had an idea. Its a fantasy world idea with the standard fanfare of fantasy kingdoms and tribes, civilizations, races and magic system in an anachronic period that mixes different existing ages and time periods. There is one stand out feature of the idea that is better for emmersion to the story I thought of that I think it is better if it is in a game medium; the protagonist switches to different realities from their own.
In the beginning when a choice is met and made and many others that are made, there are separated paths from the original timeline which the protagonist switches through.
It already sounds difficult to accomplish for someone like me who doesn't have any knowledge in programming or game design and production, but it gets much more harder when other elements of the story are taken in.
And making it more of a complete nightmare is that the protagonist may switch any time for an unpredictable amount of time that may even seep into combat where the protagonist switches into another reality where they fight a boss instead of the minions in their previous timeline, having already cleared them in the new timeline they are warped into. With an either slightly similar or completely different playing style of a rogue instead of a melee fighter and the different upgraded and selected stats, or even having the boss being in a different phase or form by virtue of being in an other reality that is affected by a choice that was made before.
And the story's path is still very much there to have a couple of endings that ends up being multiplied out of proportions due to the many aspects that have to be taken into account of.
It is all very complicated, and too much work, In the story elements where there are so many branching paths. In the gameplay elements where the player has to somehow adapt to different playing styles during battles where they have to improvise to survive an encounter or even to scrape by a major boss fight. In the progamming aspects and the storage capacity needed and the necessary work that needs to be put in to see if how the different elements can actually work first before being stuck together.
I don't have any experience in these things and I am very much out of my field. All I can did was coming up with a concept that ends up spiralling into something out of control. It's all a rant in the end, but at least it's out in the open instead of being stuck somewhere else hecause it is not an original idea just one that takes different ideas that is stuck together and exaggerated.
I really hope that any one can comment on this and give me some form of opinion about how they feel about this concept or idea.
But all in all, thank you for reading this.