Session Name: | Production Essentials Summit: No Mavericks, No Martyrs: Sustainable, Collaborative Production |
Speaker(s): | Carrie Patel |
Company Name(s): | Obsidian Entertainment |
Track / Format: | Production Essentials Summit |
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Overview: | Most game teams have mavericks and martyrs--devs who work outside of normal pipelines and hours to get additional content and features into the game. Driven by "passion," they're often seen as leaders and MVPs. However, the habits and attitudes that martyrs and mavericks instill have long-term consequences for team and project health. Their work often leads to scope bloat for downstream departments, shortcuts that accrue bugs and tech debt, and mistrust between "less committed" devs who resent the scope creep on the one hand and rogue agents hacking in risky and unaccounted-for content on the other. This talk will examine how the unchecked enthusiasm of mavericks and martyrs can sabotage a team, healthier approaches that can foster sustainable and collaborative passion, and practical steps leads and producers can take to steer devs in a more productive direction without squashing their joy for their work. |