Google Hangout Summary 10/16/12

Our team just got done with a 2 hour google hangout meeting. It was definitely a lot longer than I thought it would be, but it was necessary and we made a lot of progress. I'm grateful that the other leads and team members look to me for my opinion and creative ideas. I'm not very familiar with the designer role, but I'm very committed to making this project successful and most importantly fun. My old production background keeps showing its head when we tend to get off task and I try to give the team focus and direction. Whether we're in class or online, I can tell when we need to move on. I feel like I'm learning more about myself - I have a good ability at seeing the big picture and making sure that we stay dedicated to that vision. When I was in the pre-production phases of my initial pitch "Heroes of Rock" I had a good grasp of what we needed to focus on with AJ so we could get the prototype off the ground as well as what needed to be emphasized in the pitch. Focusing on the most important aspects of the game is now the task at hand with Ninja Royale and I'm happy to say we made significant progress tonight.

I've unofficially taken on the role as recorder for our team so here is the summary of what we discussed during the meeting in an email format I sent out to our group:

New Beginnings

It's official now: I am the lead designer on the future XBLIG title Ninja Royale (tentative name). While a part of me was saddened that I would not get to continue working on Heroes of Rock, the change makes a lot of sense. Having two designers/producers on the same project could be too confusing, complicated, or cluttered and more importantly unrealistic to the actual conditions project managers have to face in industry. Another reason the transition is sensible is the reality of the business world we live in. Very few people in management have the freedom to stay where they are if they want to move up in an organization. In my case, being on an entirely new project and finding what I can do to make the project successful will be a more productive and helpful experience in the long run. I know I'm not the only one who's a little disheartened at not being able to work on their pitched projects, but I'm moving on.

My New Game Developer Vows:

I am committed to making this new game great and putting in the time to learn what it takes to be a designer.
I appreciate the opportunity to be a leader in some capacity on this team and am excited to work with a new group of game developers.
I will put the time in to make this game fun and memorable.

Ross