GDC 2012:  Art Director / Lead Artist Roundtable

3-Day Summary | March 7-9, 2012

Problem Topic:  Scope Creep

• Mini-milestones. 
• Weekly Reviews. 
• Milestone Bucket. 
• Prioritized Backlog. 
• Sprints.

The next question posed:  What is the greatest contributor on your projects to scope creep?

• Increasing Complexity. 
• Shifting Priorities. 
• Story Development. 
• Competing Art Direction. 
• Creative Director. 
• Buffers.

The next question posed:  What strategies have your studios employed to address scope creep?

• “Baby Kills.”    
• Broad vs. Specific. 
• Strike teams/Scrum/P.O. 
• Find Allies. 
• Pick Your Battles.  Priorities.
• Change Date. 
• Communicating Consistent Vision. 
• Overscope Early. 
• Broadcast for Ideas & Actively Cull. 
• Know Team Strengths. 

The next question posed:  Is scope /feature creep always a bad thing?

• Feature Creep Can Be Good. 
• Art Leads Manage Process for Change. 
• Tools Impact Viability. 

Problem Topic:  Creating Effective Art Critique

• Meetings. 
• Dailies. 
• Artist-driven vs. Director-driven. 
• Peer critique first. 
• Animation – block out, checkpoints, asset viewer, game approval. 
• Get it in Game. 
• Group Meetings > Emails. 
• Space Planning for Interaction. 
• Let it sit; Use time. 
• Remote Development -> Skype, Vid Conf ; Face-to-face > email. 
• No Meeting days; Preserve time. 
• Impacted by Team Seniority. 
• Time for playing the game

Peer Critique:  The next topic that was discussed was how peer critique was leveraged in different studios.

• 360 Feedback. 
• Adaptable / Flexible. 
• Safe but hierarchy for decisions. 
• Start with technical checklist and then teach aesthetics. 
• Break the production pace. 
• Too rigid a schedule for reviews. 
• Show WIP. 
• Allow for iteration time. 
• Different structures 
• Different teams critique. 

The last component of the critique discussion focused on:  Taking Non-artist Feedback. 

• Reframing / Understanding Comments. 
• “Lunch & Learn.” 
• Encourage whole team to participate. 
• Providing context. 
• Teaching visions and values. 
• Clarity of Design. 

The struggle between leadership and delegation.

• Student projects – lack of authority
• Programmer / Tools feedback – usability from staff and priorities from leads
• What type of leadership training is offered.

o   targeted mentorship

o   one-on-one interactions.

• Structure of leadership training, identifying the right people. 

o   best artists frequently do NOT make the best leaders. 

o    “theater analogy” director != artist

  How the attendees’ studios identified leadership potential

• The first quality voiced was sociability. 
• Consistency over time. 
• Response to critique
• Willing to let go of content creation
• Can share the vision
• Caretakers for the careers of others
• Maintain credibility with their team:

o   Regular interaction with the team

o   Focus on the culture

o   Commonalities

• Sharing the vision while adhering to the stylistic goal?

o   "Stubborn in vision, and flexible in details.”

o   Clearly establish the guiding principles

o   The right team to accomplish the goal

o   “Letting Go.” 

• Can learn from past mistakes,.

o   solicit input/feedback from the team

• Break the routine

o   events over lunch

o   after hours sessions

Career Development for Art Teams:

• Art Lead - reliance for input
• career development regularly (from content to leadership).
• Path to Senior Artist?

o   always respond with “Why?” 

o   talk about why they want to be a senior artist

• Principal Artist. 

o   Most difficult problems

o   Sets the standards, in both process and quality

o   Frontline of problem identification and risk mitigation.

• Senior Artist

o   Expanding influence

o   Mentorship. 

• Lead Artist

o   Management and Organizational Ability

o   Communication Ability

• Focus on those who ask for responsibility (not title)
  

What do you do when an employee asks for more money? 

• Send them to HR. 
• Discuss experience and level of contribution
• Kick-off a conversation around opportunities
• Number of projects shipped” as a contributing factor?
• Entry level (associate position), little relevant experience.
• Impact the individual has on the team

What was most important attribute in the next employer:

• Values of the studio
• Work / Life Balance
• Defining Individual Growth beyond work
• Size of company
• Opportunity to build the art culture
• Presence of Veterans (implied stability and satisfaction)
• Opportunities to network, learn from others
• Life drawing, Sketchcrawl
• MONEY WAS NOT MENTIONED