Tamer Sioufi
The City Below contributions
Production
The role of the producer is that which provides planning and coordination. This includes but is not limited to:
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Facilitating a clear definition of the project's vision and scope.
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Developing and managing a structured project timeline.
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Clearly assigning tasks and ensure a balanced workload distribution.
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Review builds and communicate feedback.
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Maintaining clear and organised records of the project pipeline.
Managing team communication as well as internal conflicts is also a key part of the producer role, being able to problem solve as well as make sure the team stays on track are key factors that will impact the final product.
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As the producer I wanted to structure the team communication in a way that was cohesive, clear and structured. As a group we had an in person meeting scheduled every Monday and I scheduled an extra one on Thursday. I also wanted to have an online meeting each week to check over people's progress. We decided to do this on Saturday since that was when the majority were available.
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The way the module is structured is one person is the producer and each department has a department lead. I allowed each department lead to host their own department meetings, which I also attended to keep work coordinated.​​
Planning & Coordination
I held multiple online meetings as well as an in person meeting. The goal of this was to make sure each department was on the same page and understood their responsibilities.
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I did a writeup after each meeting mentioning all of the primary points, this was also to help anyone who was not able to attend a meeting stay in the loop. I also got in contact with people privately who were unable to attend a meeting to check on progress and provide support where needed.
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Moreover, I had weekly meetings with a supervisor who was a member of staff at the University. I would brief the supervisor on the project and how it was going. This was also a good learning experience as I would get advice as well as feedback on how I was doing.
To help keep organised and plan tasks effectively I created an Excel spreadsheet in the form of a Gantt chart. This immensely helped to keep track of each department and their respective tasks in a visual, and clear capacity. This chart included multiple sheets, one for each department. This also helped with task balancing for team members which helped me to see clearly how many tasks a person had been assigned as to avoid overworking individuals and keep the workload manageable.
The Gantt chart was setup to clearly outline the project's timeline as well as provide structure with clear milestones and deadlines.
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In addition to the Gantt chart we used Microsoft planner to keep track of micro tasks.
To help with planning lists such as VFX lists, 3D art lists and animation lists, I created a separate document and sorted it based on priority.
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For animations, as you see below, I discussed with the team's animators (of which there were two) and the design lead whether we should have a combination of hand keyed and motion captured animations or whether it would be better to stick to one or the other. For the sake of cohesion we decided to mo cap all of them. This meant we needed to book the motion capture studio and set aside a day for it.
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I took notes after the meeting and later added them to the production lists as you see below. A similar list was also created for VFX, audio and 3D art assets:
I also helped create the Games Design Document in coordination with the lead designer. I will mention what I contributed to the design document in more detail in the 'Design' page of my contributions.
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In essence I added a new section talking about the art direction as well as helping to re write sections to make sure descriptions were in keeping with industry standards, helping to make the document clear and concise. I also formatted the document to improve readability as well as visually improve it's design.
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Below is the full Games Design Document.
Playtesting & Feedback
Playtesting and reviewing the game builds is a critical part of the production pipeline. They help to identify problems that may arise through the development process.
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We made a build of the project weekly and I organised multiple internal playtesting sessions as well as the module wide group playtesting sessions which were available.
I wanted to gain clear and actionable feedback with which we could use to improve the end product. To do this I created a form using Microsoft Forms, in order to gain comprehensive feedback. Microsoft forms was especially useful as it compiles all the data from the forms into a clear and readable document with visual data representation.
Upon the internal playtest concluding I held meetings with all relevant departments to discuss all of the feedback. I presented the data and together with each department we came up with solutions.
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I then added those solutions to the Gantt chart as tasks.
This 'feedback loop' helped us iterate and improve the project considerably during the main production cycle. I would organise playtesting, craft forms and then conduct meetings to discuss the results and address issues.
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One great example of this working was the AI, which was labelled as one of our biggest weaknesses during the first internal and external playtests. I worked closely with our tech lead and deputy as they were the ones who were most capable of completing the task. I provided feedback as well as video examples and was there to help with the process.
As per the screenshots above the AI was heavily improved as we approached our deadline, and the tech department lead who I had assigned the task of fixing it got a really good grade in the end (a high first). This was a prime example of how we used testing and feedback on each build to improve the project.
Another example of triaging user feedback and using it to improve the end product was with the hub level. The designers originally wanted to have all 3 levels connect via an elevator. This would mean when someone plays they would go from one level and at the end of the level after defeating a boss an elevator door would open which the players would take to progress to the next level.
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After our first external playtesting session one of the biggest criticisms we received was regarding the level cohesion and checkpoints. So I organised a meeting with the designers and discussed possible solutions. I proposed adding a 'hub' level. A level that connects to all the other levels. This level would serve as the base from which the player could upgrade their gear and select their bounties. At this time the game's score system consisted of numbers from factors such as time completion. I proposed we changed that to a cash reward in keeping with the bounty hunter story. This would improve immersion and also add a currency with which the player could use to upgrade their weapons improving the game loop.
I coordinated these changes with the tech department and after assigning the tasks we got to work on them. In the following playtest the hub was praised for how much it improved the experience of the game loop. Players now had a reason to gain score, the hub also set the scene with views of the city at a distance which really helped to put the narrative into perspective, improving immersion.
