GDC 2005

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(No Transcript)
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When the Honeymoon Ends 12 Ways to Keep Your
Publisher in Love with You
Michael Fitch
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When the Honeymoon Ends

• So, who is this guy?
• Director of Creative Management at THQ
• Previously, a Creative Manager at THQ
• A fancy way of saying Publishers producer on
  creative topics
• Before that, Red Storm Entertainment
• Back in the day, at Atomic Games

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When the Honeymoon Ends

• Whats this talk about?
• Relationship management
• Simple, practical approaches
• Concrete actions you can take
• Building a reputation as a good partner

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When the Honeymoon Ends

• Whats this talk not about?
• How to pitch (finding a partner)
• Managing the due diligence process
• Contract negotiations
• Bitching about bad relationships
• On with the show

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Pre-Production

• 1) Talk early and often
• Set up regular calls, at least weekly
• When in doubt, pick up the phone
• Create opportunities for feedback
• Follow-up with e-mail, regularly
• Track issues, resolutions

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Pre-Production

• 2) Plan the future together
• Agree on a vision for the project
• Establish priorities early, revisit frequently
• Set expectations clearly
• Create opportunities to demonstrate progress

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Pre-Production

• 3) Get approvals before you actually need them
• Make milestone approval a foregone conclusion
• Pre-submit milestone materials
• Agree explicitly on build deliveries
• Use interim drops when valuable

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Pre-Production

• 4) Sell the game with every milestone
• Highlight all progress
• Include pretty pictures
• Over-deliver wherever you can
• No nasty surprises!

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Production

• 5) Make your builds a present, not a chore
• Package it up
• Schedule time to integrate and test
• Build notes are a guidebook to your work
• Create shortcuts to the good bits
• Give us something to brag about
• Deliver it on time!

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Production

• 6) Deliver bad news early, but bring flowers
• Shit happens, we know that
• Dont wait until the milestone is due
• Help us to understand not just what, but how and
  why
• Present a recovery plan with every problem

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Production

• 7) Be scrupulously honest
• Let us see everything
• Provide access to your wiki, source control,
  intraweb
• Visibility is cheap
• Control the conversation

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Production

• 8) Keep it a two-way street
• Come visit!
• Pick up a check every once in a while
• Ask questions
• Manage up

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Finishing the Game

• 9) Budget time and money for marketing
• Demand a timeline and asset list
• Build tools for screen and video capture
• Block out time for all your leads
• Dedicate an artist before you think youll need
  one
• Plan to lose days for visits, and industry
  events, and road shows

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Finishing the Game

• 10) Tell us what you need
• We have resources!
• Get QA on-site for free
• Insist on usability testing
• The best time to ask for more is when everyone
  can see the end
• The more of a confidence surplus youve built up,
  the more likely youll get what you ask for

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Finishing the Game

• 11) Share the load
• Your producer(s) can work for you
• Scheduling/prioritizing
• Testing/balancing
• PR
• Community management
• Content

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Finishing the Game

• 12) Test everything
• Pretend you dont know how it works
• Get into the dark corners
• Try wacky combinations
• Nothing hurts more than a slip thats too late to
  do anything about

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Takeaway

• A relationship is just that a relationship
• Communication
• Trust
• Collaboration
• You need to satisfy both partners needs
• Bumps happen its how you handle them that
  matters
• Treat every project as the courtship for the next
  one because it is

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Questions?
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When the Honeymoon Ends 12 Ways to Keep Your
Publisher in Love with You

• Michael Fitch
• Follow-ups web_at_micrysweb.com
• Slides will be posted at www.micrysweb.com