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Presentations
These are presentations I've given at previous events such as GDC. I can travel to your location
and give the same talk, but extend the Q&A session and find specific answers to your problems.
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GDC 2010 Presentation: Bend Microsoft Project To Your Will, Again!
60 Minute Lecture
Download size: 40.0 MB
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This lecture is an updated and improved version of the popular lecture first given at every GDC since 2007.
Almost everyone agrees that scheduling game production with Microsoft Project is somewhere between
difficult to impossible. This lecture teaches Microsoft Project tricks learned over ten years
of consistent use. You will learn how to organize your schedules, why you should never use the link button,
how to schedule milestones, how to set custom working schedules, and how to enter extra data to
keep everything in order. You will also see how to keep their schedule up to date, even in an agile environment,
making it a consistent and near-perfect picture of the current state of your project.
The download includes the complete PowerPoint deck, notes, sample projects, movies, and
everything you need to make your scheduling job a sane one again.
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Let's Reboot the Developer / Publisher Relationship
60 Minute Lecture
Download size: 7 MB
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I originally gave this lecture at the IGDA Leadership Forum in November, 2008.
Everyone wishes the developer/publisher relationship was better - one look at the boilerplate
dev/pub agreement tells a sad story of everything that has ever gone wrong during game development.
This lecture is not a rant, and it won't be from a single point of view. Rather, I'm using my contacts
in development, publishing, legal, and agency to collect opinions, sometimes anonymous ones,
about what can be done to bring our professional relationships back to a happier middle ground.
These people all want the same thing - a smoother way to propose, fund, develop, and publish new
game ideas - but the bumps and bruises of the past are getting in the way. This lecture is more than
just presenting the results of my research - it will present a new standard that can guide us
during good times and bad, and propose radical changes in our relationships.
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Anatomy of the Perfect Pitch
60 Minute Lecture
Download size: 6.7 MB
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Ever wondered what publishers want you to say when you pitch your game? Well, I was asked to present a lecture at the Independent Games Conference in Austin, Texas in November 2007 where I covered exactly that.
The download contains the Powerpoint deck I used at the lecture, a template deck you can use to create your own pitch, and the text of the article I wrote on my production blog.
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Catching a Thief on Camera
The Third Person Camera System for
Thief: Deadly Shadows
60 Minute Lecture
Download size: 49 MB
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This presentation covers the 3rd person camera technology I wrote for Thief: Deadly Shadows during my time at Ion Storm.
It includes almost two dozen movies of bad camera movement, tolerable camera movement,
and great camera movement (if I do say so myself). Each section shows what happens to a camera if you don't handle
a particular case of third person camera movement, such as linear
movement, fast rotations, and negotiating geometry in the environment or the player.
This lecture was originally given at Game Focus Germany 2008 in Hannover.
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Debugging Your Game
(or...That's Not Supposed to Happen)
60 Minute Lecture
Download size: 1.3 MB
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This lecture presents special debugging techniques for computer games; includes interpreting the call stack, saving and using minidumps, debugging techniques for particularly nastly
game flaws such as unpredictable hangs, memory leaks, and release mode only issues.
This lecture was originally given at the Austin Game Conference in 2003 and again at a University of Texas student group lecture in 2004. I recently updated it for a November 2007 lecture at FullSail.
The download contains both Powerpoint 2003 and 2007 decks...
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Starbucks and Aeron Chairs, Spare No Expense
60 Minute Lecture
Download size: 1 MB
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This presentation covers how my small studio, Compulsive Entertainment, spent our money and whether this money was considered effective.
It was originally given at GDC 2004.
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Tutorials
These tutorials are a great way to pass on some important lessons in production, team building, communcication,
and technology. They are similar in format and content to Tutorial sessions at GDC.
Production Tutorials
Scheduling Game Projects - 1 day
This program covers the entire process of creating a schedule for a game project.
Attendees are encouraged to bring their own schedules and work alongside the program
- they will leave with the knowledge necessary to make their schedules
more accurate and useful to their teams.
Tracking Game Projects - 1 day
This tutorial covers tracking game projects in the different phases of development:
preproduction, production, and finalling. Attendees will work with a sample project
file and be able to return to their projects with a firm grip on tracking its progress.
Solving the Communication Problem - 1 day
This tutorial will take attendees through the technical and logisitical communications
problems and provide tools that will make them better communicators on their teams.
Examples of good and bad communication style and content on various communications
technologies will be explored, and attendees will be able to demonstrate and
evaluate their new skills.
Technology Tutorials
Development Automation - 1 day
This tutorial covers development automation for builds and testing.
Various technologies will be investigated for application to a
particular problem space. Attendees will leave with a better ability to
automate development.
Deploying and Using Perforce - 1 day
Whether you are running one project or several, have one location or have studios all over the
world, I can show you how to use Perforce branches to organize projects, 3rd party technology, separate
different build targets for platform independence, and keep your team working full speed even during
milestone acceptance periods.
PC / Console Development - 1 day
Multiplatform development is critical to any project plan - publishers will usually require simultaneous
release of all platforms, even if one of them is the PC. Developing for vastly different platforms
requires special effort on the part of the developer to keep the team moving quickly without sacrificing
the quality of one platform over the other.
Management Tutorials
Team Structure - 1 day
This day long session investigates various solutions for organizing a team
on different kinds and sizes of projects. Attendees are encouraged to
participate and consider if a new team structure would benefit their current project.
Hiring the Best - 1 day
This day long session investigates the process behind recruiting and interviewing,
and how the difference between a good process and a bad process can be the
success or failure of the entire organization. Attendees will participate in
mock interviews and understand how to create customized interviews that
are guaranteed to be challenging filters that will find people with skills and
personality that fit your company.
Performance Reviews - 1 day
This tutorial shows how performance reviews can truly be a bi-directional process
and motivate both reviewer and reviewee to become better at their jobs. Attendees will
leave with practical tools to improve performance reviews at their company.
Spending Money Where it Matters - 1 day
This tutorial will investigate the how, when, and who of cash flow in your organization and
open possibilities for fine tuning to make the most of every dollar you spend.
Attendees are encouraged to bring actual monthly budget summaries for the best possible
session.
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Student Programs
These are presentations I've given in the past to student or enthusiast groups. I travel frequently, and I
always do my best to fit in a lecture when I have time. Call me and we'll discuss when I'll be in your area.
What it Takes to Be a Game Developer - 90 minutes
A run down of the skills and stamina you need to break into and become successful in the game industry.
21st Century Game Development - 90 minutes
A history of the computer game industry and how development has changed over the years.
Creating a Game Idea - 90 minutes
A case study of actual game ideas that were never created, what was good about them and what was a disaster.
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