Founder-Game Director Workshop (Session 3)

A workshop about video game directors who are also studio founders.

1. FOUNDER-DIRECTOR
Leading Game Development Teams
Amir H. Fassihi

2. Hands-on Director?

3. Values of Hands-on Director
1 - Deeper Understanding of Practical Challenges

4. Values of Hands-on Director
1 - Deeper Understanding of Practical Challenges
2 - Enhanced Communication

5. Values of Hands-on Director
1 - Deeper Understanding of Practical Challenges
2 - Enhanced Communication
3 - Streamlined Decision-Making

6. Values of Hands-on Director
1 - Deeper Understanding of Practical Challenges
2 - Enhanced Communication
3 - Streamlined Decision-Making
4 - Inspiring Leadership

7. Values of Hands-on Director
1 - Deeper Understanding of Practical Challenges
2 - Enhanced Communication
3 - Streamlined Decision-Making
4 - Inspiring Leadership
5 - Agility in Problem Solving

8. Values of Hands-on Director
1 - Deeper Understanding of Practical Challenges
2 - Enhanced Communication
3 - Streamlined Decision-Making
4 - Inspiring Leadership
5 - Agility in Problem Solving
6 - Empathy Towards Team Challenges

9. What?

10. What?

11. What?
How?

12. PRODUCTION

14. Production
1 - Define what needs to be done.
2 - Set priorities.
3 - Assign work to people.
4 - Measure output and repeat 1.

15. Production
1 - Define what needs to be done.
2 - Set priorities.
3 - Assign work to people.
4 - Measure output and repeat 1.

16. Why Can’t We Define Everything?
Complexity
Innovation & Experimentation
Player Feedback
Technical Limitations and Solutions
Resource Constraints
Market Changes
Artistic Evolution

17. PEOPLE!

19. Director and Production

20. Director and Production
1 - Project Management
2 - Team Coordination and Leadership
3 - Quality Assurance
4 - Budget Management
5 - Risk Management
6 - Timeline and Deliverable Management

21. The Vision

22. Strategic Product and Studio
Development

23. GRAND VISION
EXECUTIONCREATIVE

24. “You are not in the game building business, you
are in the fan building business!”
Jason Della Rocca

25. Strategic P&S Development
1. Market Analysis and Product Positioning

26. Strategic P&S Development
1. Market Analysis and Product Positioning
Research
Consumer Preferences
USPs

27. Strategic P&S Development
1. Market Analysis and Product Positioning
2. Marketing Strategy Development

28. Strategic P&S Development
1. Market Analysis and Product Positioning
2. Marketing Strategy Development
Marketing Plan
Branding
Pricing
Distribution Strategies
Ads
Social Media
Influencer PartnershipLaunch Strategy

29. Strategic P&S Development
1. Market Analysis and Product Positioning
2. Marketing Strategy Development
3. Financial Planning and Revenue Models

30. Strategic P&S Development
1. Market Analysis and Product Positioning
2. Marketing Strategy Development
3. Financial Planning and Revenue Models
Budgeting
Revenue Projections
Funding

31. Strategic P&S Development
1. Market Analysis and Product Positioning
2. Marketing Strategy Development
3. Financial Planning and Revenue Models
4. Distribution Strategy
Platforms and Channels
Partnerships

32. Strategic P&S Development
5. Long-Term Studio Growth Planning

33. Strategic P&S Development
5. Long-Term Studio Growth Planning
Scalability
Staffing
Expanding to new Markets
Developing more Games
Innovation
Succession Planning

34. Strategic P&S Development
5. Long-Term Studio Growth Planning
6. Risk Management and Contingency Planning

35. Strategic P&S Development
5. Long-Term Studio Growth Planning
6. Risk Management and Contingency Planning
Financial, Tech, Market risks
Mitigation
Contingency

36. Strategic P&S Development
5. Long-Term Studio Growth Planning
6. Risk Management and Contingency Planning
7. Community Building and Customer Engagement

37. Strategic P&S Development
5. Long-Term Studio Growth Planning
6. Risk Management and Contingency Planning
7. Community Building and Customer Engagement
Feedback
Loyalty
Customer Support

38. Who doesn’t know all this?

39. Biggest Difference?

40. Empathy!

41. Empathy!
Team

42. Empathy!
Team Audience

43. Empathy!
Team Audience

44. Empathy with Audience
Player Needs
Feedback Integration
Market Sensitivity

45. Empathy with Audience
Player Needs
Feedback Integration
Market Sensitivity

46. Empathy with Audience
Player Needs
Feedback Integration
Market Sensitivity

47. Feedback Integration
Empathy with Audience
Player Needs
Market Sensitivity

49. Creativity
Curiosity
Meaning

50. Creativity
Curiosity
Meaning
Beauty

51. Creativity
Curiosity
Meaning
Beauty
Respect

52. Creativity
Curiosity
Meaning
Beauty
Respect
Social

53. Creativity
Curiosity
Meaning
Beauty
Respect
Social
?

54. Kano Model

55. Why Adding A Feature to a Game if not for
Player Need?

56. Some other game has it!
Someone said it is cool!
Designer curiosity.
Programmer challenge.
It must be a trend.
It increases play-time.
Good for streaming.
Show-off art.
Was easy to do.
Cloned from successful game.
To be different.
Wanted to learn.
Politically correct.

57. How to find their need?

58. Look at them!

62. Daniel Goleman

64. Empathy

69. What do they want?

70. What do they need?
What do they want?

72. Like the hero returning with an "elixir" for
their community, a game director uses
empathetic insights to enrich players'
experiences and align the game’s objectives
with the audience's deeper needs and values.

73. A few suggestions:

74. 1 - Cultivate a Clear Vision

75. 2 - Learn Continuously

76. 3 - Build the Right Team

77. 4 - Focus on Networking

78. 5 - Embrace Failure

79. 6 - Prioritize User Experience

80. 7 - Manage Resources Wisely

81. 8 - Develop a Strong Brand Identity

82. 9 - Plan for Scalability

83. 10 - Maintain Work-Life Balance

84. Work-life Balance?

86. Self-actualization!

87. Who should not become a founder-director?

88. Who should not become a founder-director?
1 - Low Tolerance for Risk

89. Who should not become a founder-director?
1 - Low Tolerance for Risk
2 - Difficulty in Handling Failure

90. Who should not become a founder-director?
1 - Low Tolerance for Risk
2 - Difficulty in Handling Failure
3 - Poor Communication Skills

91. Who should not become a founder-director?
1 - Low Tolerance for Risk
2 - Difficulty in Handling Failure
3 - Poor Communication Skills
4 - Lack of Leadership Skills

92. Who should not become a founder-director?
1 - Low Tolerance for Risk
2 - Difficulty in Handling Failure
3 - Poor Communication Skills
4 - Lack of Leadership Skills
5 - Inadequate Business Acumen

93. Who should not become a founder-director?
1 - Low Tolerance for Risk
2 - Difficulty in Handling Failure
3 - Poor Communication Skills
4 - Lack of Leadership Skills
5 - Inadequate Business Acumen
6 - Limited Passion for Game Devleopment

94. Who should not become a founder-director?
1 - Low Tolerance for Risk
2 - Difficulty in Handling Failure
3 - Poor Communication Skills
4 - Lack of Leadership Skills
5 - Inadequate Business Acumen
6 - Limited Passion for Game Devleopment
7 - Unwillingness to Learn and Adapt

95. Sample Questions

96. 1. Handling a Deadline Crisis
Question: "Imagine you are one month away from the scheduled release
of your highly anticipated game, but your lead programmer informs you
that there are still several critical bugs that need fixing, which could
take several weeks. Investors and fans are expecting the release on
time. How would you handle this situation?"

97. 2. Balancing Creativity and Budget
Question: "You have a creative team that proposes an innovative
feature that they believe will set the game apart from competitors.
However, preliminary estimates suggest that implementing this feature
would put you significantly over budget. What steps would you take to
evaluate and make a decision about this feature?"

98. 3. Managing Team Conflict
Question: "Two of your key team members, who are crucial to the
game’s development, are in conflict with each other to the point that
it is affecting their work and potentially the project’s success. How
would you intervene and resolve this issue?"

99. 4. Responding to Market Feedback
Question: "After releasing a beta version of your game, the feedback
from players is overwhelmingly negative regarding one of the game's
core mechanics, which your team had thought was a major innovation.
How would you process this feedback and decide what actions to take
next?"

100. 5. Navigating Investor Demands
Question: "Your main investor pressures you to change the direction of
the game's narrative to make it 'safer' and more commercially viable,
which goes against your original, more niche vision that your team was
passionate about. How would you handle this situation to satisfy your
investors while also staying true to your team’s creative vision?"

101. Sayonara Sentences

102. “Vision Guides, Flexibility Sustains.”

103. “People First: Empower, Engage, Excel.”

104. “Every Failure Is a Stepping Stone to Success.”

105. OBSERVE CREATE
WAIT

106. Thank you!