Role & Responsibility:
Producer
Sprint planning & Progress tracking
Playtesting & Feedback documentation
Tools:
Unity/C#
Trello
My Thoughts:
The developer, Eli, was by far the best developer I have ever worked with. Eli was a very talented developer, artist, and music composer, who managed to put everything together all by himself in just 4 months.
Mini-Postmortem:
What when right:
Scope
Developer
Leadership style
What when wrong:
Time frame
Unfortunate event (Aka. LIFE)
Let me explain the Sap: School Days project in more detail. It was a four-month project with one developer, Eli, and one producer (me). Initially, I was unsure about how successful the project would be, as I was unfamiliar with Eli's skills and felt that the amount of creative work involved could lead to chaos. However, I was proven wrong very quickly. For the first two months, I communicated frequently with Eli to ensure that the project was on track and that he wasn't overworked. Each time we met, Eli was able to show me how much progress he had made, and I was always impressed with his work. After that, I trusted Eli's abilities and cut down on our meeting times, allowing him to focus more on his work. Overall, the project was a great success, and everyone who play-tested the game loved the concept.
Now, let's talk about the postmortem. The scope of the project went very well, and we were able to implement all the features we wanted without any major cuts. Eli's development work was also a key element in the project's success, as he maintained his motivation and professionalism throughout the four months, delivering quality work consistently. I also think that my management style worked well, as I didn't check on Eli too often, which could have been irritating. Even now, Eli and I still stay connected and talk to each other.
In terms of what didn't go as well, the time frame was a challenge. If we had had an extra month or two, Eli would have been able to add even more content to the game and make it more interesting. Another factor was Eli's family emergency, which required him to take a break, resulting in some content being cut from the game.
In conclusion, the Sap: School Days project was a resounding success, thanks to Eli's hard work, and I thoroughly enjoyed working with him. I believe that the democratic leadership style I employed, which allowed Eli to make decisions on game development, was a good decision. The next step is to publish the game on Steam!