Managing the Game

I once had a superhero I had created called El Coyote. His arch-nemesis was a wizard who turned people into donkeys. His name was The Assumption because he made asses out of you and me. I always found that phrase funny but it really is true. Assuming things can be one of our greatest weaknesses.

Something I always try to get across with any team I work with is not to assume anything. If there is a decision to be made and you don’t have all of the facts it can be very dangerous and costly to assume you know the right answer. When working with a team I always stress that if they have a question they should stop what they are doing and ask someone what they need to know. It will save you time, money, and face to know the right answer even if your assumption was correct.

Why will it save you time, money and face even if your assumption was correct? Asking someone a question to clarify your assumption creates an even better habit for you which is communication. The reason people assume so much isn’t because they know everything. It is because people dislike communicating, at least not communicating in an effective and professional manner. People don’t like to appear ignorant and asking questions creates a perception that they are. However this is an incorrect assumption. Most people would rather you ask questions for clarification than do something incorrectly in your job. You will look more ignorant by doing it wrong and explaining that you assumed something than getting it right the first time by asking questions.

Asking for clarification is usually a better sign of doing a proper job. It indicates you have read or listened to the information given to you for a given task. It shows a willingness and want on your part to do your job correctly. It helps build communication skills between you and your colleagues and/or clients. These are all good things. Granted asking the same question multiple times or about things that are blatantly in the documentation given or was just recently explained verbally can be viewed badly. It is important to listen and read things that are given to you before asking questions.

The next time you assume you have all of the information or know what the client or colleague is thinking take a moment to stop and evaluate the situation. Ask yourself if the person ever answered the question directly that you are assuming to know the answer to whether in writing or verbally. If there is even a sliver of doubt take the time to clarify.

It’s been a while and I have been busy. Got a new job and moved again. New job and home have been taking a little time to get used to. However it is a new year and I have been thinking a lot about management and design. So I hope to be posting more here in the future. I make no promises but we will see how I do.

When I first became a manager I was taught these basic management skills. I have literally carried these five basic skills with me at all times over the years. One of my early mentors laminated and gave them to me when I became a manager.  I have seen different variations but at their core they remain the same.

1) Lead by example

2) Focus on the situation or behavior, not the person

3) Treat others with respect

4) Maintain two way conversations that are open & honest

5) Take it upon yourself to better the situation

I believe with a solid plan, the right leadership and a talented team you never have to sacrifice time, quality or cost.

Had a short but fun stint working at Petroglyph Games as a Senior Game Designer. I got brought in to work on End of Nations right before a restructuring of the company so sadly I am back on the hunt for a job. I enjoyed my time there, learned a lot, and made some great friends.

As of July 23, 2010 Red Dust Studios is closed. Which also means as of July 23, 2010 I am looking for work. I would appreciate any leads for game designer, associate producer or project manager positions in the game industry. Recruiters welcome.

I want to apologize for the lack of posting the last few months. I have been busy with a new change in my life. I left Icarus Studios and got a new position with a great new company in Las Vegas called Red Dust Studios. I am the Senior Game Designer there. Expect new posts in the near future.

Have an open door policy and stand by it. Let your employees come to you about their problems. Listen to them and their concerns. Then do what you can to help them out. We are all busy with what we do but if you don’t take those moments to listen then a small problem can grow into a bigger problem. Showing your team that you care and are willing to go to bat for them is one of the best things that you as a manager can do. I personally work harder and go the extra mile for my superiors who do it for me. Not just out of a personal work ethic but because I know I have value and respect from my boss.

Feedback is important for any project and any team. You need to be able to express to your team what they are doing right and what they are doing wrong. Communicating these things can be a challenge for some people. Regardless of difficulty feedback is essential to getting a job done. If you see behavior or work that is impressive let your team know. Chances are they will continue to do what you like rather than what you don’t like if they are made aware of it. It is more than simple praise. It is guidance and leadership which is what a team needs. If you see bad behavior or work you should also communicate that to your team but you should do so with recommendations of better ways to accomplish the work. Simply telling someone they are doing something wrong or you don’t like something is not helpful. Give examples of what you would prefer or like to see. Help them reach your standards and goals. If you don’t like something then obviously there is a reason or something else that you want. Communicate that want. Don’t say do something different. It is likely the people who did the work like what they did or they would have done something else. If you are the one with the problem you should help with a solution. People need some direction or guidance and that’s what being in a leadership position is for. It is important when communicating to your team and others to use words. Emoticons are not a language. Sad face or happy face tells your team nothing on how they can improve their work. Feedback should be done in a respectful manner. You will always find better results in doing so.

Fable 2 was a game I was quick to pick up when it came out. Peter Molyneux designs some very fun games and even if they don’t always live up to his promises they do always push game design forward. Fable 2 is no exception in this and brings together both simple story design with new tries at innovating the moral game design. Add in some innovative use of a trusted dog companion and a great concept in environmental change based on decisions and you have a fun game. Since I played this game they have added two DLC pieces which I will comment on as well.

Fable 2 starts you off with some decent control of your character design. As the game progresses you can add tattoos, change hair styles, color of hair, and your wardrobe. All of these changes have an effect on your interaction with other people and the comments they will give you. These interactions will also affect your good vs evil and purity vs corruption which are your moral compasses through out the game. Your character ultimately comes down to the decisions you make and based off those decisions your character will be shaped and grow.

Besides clothing and material appearance changes you will find that your diet will also affect your character’s appearance as will skill choices. Eating meat and pies will make you fatter and some will make you more corrupt. Eating vegetables and tofu will make you skinnier and purer. Simple mechanic but effective. Skills work in changing your appearance with strength based skills bulking you up and magic making you glow more with magical veins.

Going good vs evil shapes your appearance and your reputation, as does purity vs corruption. People tend to like good characters and will talk with you. My first play through I went all good and pure. I ended up with a halo over my head and could walk through town with no problem. My second play through everyone but quest giving NPC’s ran in fear of me because I went evil and corruption. I ended up with horns and red skin. It would seem that the world of Fable frowns on mass murderers who sacrifice entire towns to the Temple of Shadows.

The game presents you with many opportunities to do the right or wrong thing. For the most part the world doesn’t really care. Yes guards will punish you and like my second play through the peasants will run in fear but it is still simple AI. The peasants with red hair aren’t wearing kerchiefs to cover their hair because my character is known for killing them. That would be a real accomplishment and sort of what I remember being promised back in Fable 1. Still the game takes us closer in this direction than most games do and I can appreciate that. I also appreciate that other than running peasants the game doesn’t try to make you feel guilty for the horrible things you do.

As far as the story goes it is a decent one of a hero/villain who has to save the world. You do so with the aid of other gathered heroes in a very linear fashion. Fable 2 tries to give the illusion of an open world that you can explore and do the story in your own time but that is a lie. It gates your movement by forcing you to do certain activities before moving forward. Now it does so in a logical format and chances are the average player will be fooled by this seemingly open world but if you break away from the story long enough you realize you are forced to progress at the speed of the story and not your own will. Along with a decent story is funny dialogue and good voice over work. The dialogue is a little cheeky at times but can be forgiven.

Your dog companion is one of the best parts of the game. He helps you fight battles though kind of pitifully. Your dog also detects treasure for you to dig up or chests for you to open. This can be handy if you are not that observant of the environment or want to search every corner. Chances are your dog will find it for you. Your dog also loves you no matter what so you can always count on your dog no matter how good or evil you become. Your dog can learn fun little emotes that you can train him with from books you find or buy. The bunny hop and playing dead are favorites of mine.

Besides your dogs ability to learn emotes so can you. In fact it is about the only way to interact with other characters in the game since you are a mute who can only grunt. I guess this was a way to avoid lots of written and voiced dialogue for your character. Your emotes range from distasteful like farting and growling to flirty emotes like come hither. You can shape the opinion of townsfolk with these emotes and some, reaching certain thresholds, will give you gifts. Emote animations are an interesting form of communication and are done in a fun manner here.

The other thing I really liked in Fable 2 was how certain choices could be made that in turn shaped the environment. Sadly this is only done a couple of times in the game but when done I actually felt like my choices had an effect on the world. Again a slight illusion since it didn’t change the eventual outcome of the story and perhaps only changed my access to a few side quests. Still it is a start in the right direction. It gave me more reason to replay the game and see what my other choices would have given me. I would love to see more games do this. Granted it is not always feasible to create extra assets a player may never see but hopefully production will get to a point where it is easier to do.

Also I give Fable 2 a nod for being smart and letting the player continue to play the game after the overall storyline is done. There are a lot of things you can keep doing and even some quests that don’t open up till after you finish the main story. They don’t even charge for DLC content to do this (I’m looking at you Fallout 3). This little feature has had me drop back into the game every once in a while. It even made me more likely to buy their DLC which I did.

The first piece of DLC Knothole island was a fun little addition. There was a good bit of content there and nice level design. It made good use of a changing environment and gave the illusion of a larger area to explore than was really there. I was disappointed to see that the content was gated to your story progression. They added a good bit of new items and a fun story. It was a worthy addition to Fable 2 and felt like a complete package.

The second piece of DLC was See the Future. Instead of being one area with an intertwined story you get a collection of adventures loosely linked together. Though the story is weaker than Knothole Island the adventures themselves were solid. They felt at times like content that could have been in the game for release but had to be dropped do to time constraints. The addition of new costumes was cool and novel in their use in the game.

Fable 2 suffers in only that it doesn’t live up to the hype but not for a lack of trying. The game is a fun one and has a lot of opportunities for replay. Its a comfortable world and one I am happy to return to when nothing else presents it’s self. Fable 2 is another 4 star in my collection and the DLC is right there with it.