A video game producer is in charge of a studio’s or publisher’s individual game development. Negotiating contracts and licenses for creative content is one of the first responsibilities of a video game producer. To create a game outline, the producer consults with programmers, designers, and artists. In collaboration with studio officials and publishing companies, a producer creates budgets for video game projects. These experts also collaborate with vendors to test video games before they are released to the general public.
The first step in making a video game is to get past the legal stumbling blocks. The video game producer meets with the legal team at the studio to discuss intellectual property rights for music, images, and story concepts. Producers meet with copyright holders to discuss intellectual property release or fair compensation for the rights. These negotiations are necessary to avoid costly lawsuits for unauthorized use of existing content. A video game producer also works with the studio’s lawyers to protect the studio’s original content from other studios.
Producers collaborate with the studio’s creative team to bring the game’s audio and visual elements together. At the start of the project, the creative team sits down to write a game script that details each level or stage. Determining where in the game voice-over acting and sound effects are required is another aspect of the creative process. The producer meets with game programmers on a regular basis to ensure that there are no bugs in the computer code that would jeopardize the game’s commercial viability. This process also necessitates consultation between the producer and the game cover artists.
A video game producer’s other responsibilities include staying within the studio’s budget. To keep labor costs in check, the producer keeps track of the number of hours worked staff programmers, artists, and other professionals. Voice-over actors and musicians who are scheduled for a game’s background audio are also included in these costs. Studio rentals and final product advertising are two additional costs associated with video game development. To encourage their creative teams to stay within their budgets, video game producers use daily schedules and production quotas.
The video game producer aids the studio in completing the final stages of a game’s sale to consumers. Producers supervise alpha and beta testing of games with quality assurance technicians and select groups of outside gamers. The producer can make last-minute changes based on the results of focus groups that have played the final version of a new game. Before sending the final version to a production team that can copy the game on CD or as an online file, these changes are made. To plan the production and delivery of a game to retailers, a producer consults with the studio’s logistics and sales teams.