Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
—
producers, and whoever
can submit their detailed report for any other similar group
who wants to learn their lessons.
The team postmortem should focus on the game design, the project schedule, lines of
communication, and team process. If someone believes he has a good idea of how to
improve things, he should speak up, and if the group thinks the idea has merit, then
they should act on the idea.
One thing that isn
t learn everything
in a public meeting. Some of the most important information might be better dis-
cussed in private, in the hopes that someone
'
s feelings won
'
t be bruised. If you get
the chance to run a postmortem, don
'
t immediately obvious is the fact that you won
'
t forget to follow the public meeting with pri-
vate interviews with the team. It will take a long time, but it
'
'
s a good idea.
When I reached the end of my longest project to date, Ultima VIII, my first act was
to walk outside Origin
s offices, sit down at a picnic table, and enjoy the light, smells,
and sounds of a springtime Texas afternoon. I had been in a dark office working
overtime for two years, and I
'
'
d forgotten what daytime was like. I went home and
found a person there. After introductions and reviewing surprising evidence in the
form of a photo album, I realized that the person in my apartment was actually my
wife for over three years. I asked her out on a date, and she accepted. Then I asked
her to accompany me on a diving trip to Cozumel. She accepted that, too.
I suggest you follow my lead. If you don
'
t have a spouse, go somewhere fun with a
friend. See the world. Get away from your computer at all costs. It will do you some
good and may give you some fun ideas.
You won
t be able to stay away from work forever. The desire to make another great
game will soon overwhelm you. You may embark on a sequel to the game you just
shipped, or you might get to do something entirely new. Either way, you
'
ll be sur-
prised at the energy level. People on the team who looked like the living dead just a
few weeks ago will be ready to go around again.
There
'
'
s nothing quite like starting a new project. You feel renewed and smarter, and
if you
'
re really lucky, you
'
ll get to work with the same team. After what you
'
ve just
'
'
been through, it
ll have a good portion of mental telepathy worked out,
and you won
'
t need quite so many meetings.
One thing everyone will quietly do is make excuses to walk into computer game
stores looking for the box. Eventually, you
s likely you
s nothing
like it, holding a shrink-wrapped version of your game in your own hands. I sincerely
'
ll see it for the first time. There
'
