2.6 Game Production Interviews: A Product Management Masterclass with Anil and Callum

Game Production Community Podcast

The last time we spoke with Callum Godfrey, we had a blast covering the intricacies of game production in an evolving world. This time around, he's joined by Anil Das-Gupta, a highly experienced product manager with an enviable mobile gaming background. These guys give us an incredible wealth of insights around the difference between production and product management, with a focus on understanding the latter.
Callum has worked as a Head of Production at Bossa Studios and done the rounds at EA, Wargaming, Microsoft, Playfish, Activision etc. Meanwhile, Anil has served his time at MindCandy, GREE, Capcom, NaturalMotion and Wargaming, before setting up his own studio, FirstLight Games:
https://firstlight.games/
If you come from a traditional game development background, this chat will be a game-changer. If you're a product manager and wishing there was more understanding and knowledge around the role, the chaps deliver and then some.
Topics covered include:
03:40 Setting the scene: the overlaps between production and product management
07:00 Business-driven product development - is it heartless compared to making games?
09:20 Prototyping and the power of fast feedback and iteration
Product Manager Deep-Dive
13:25 What is a product manager?
18:00 The natural conflict of who is really in charge
20:05 Inserting someone with no game experience into your team as a PM
24:30 The focus on making a scalable business
34:40 The Producer's role and how to work with a PM
36:30 Creative Direction and the Vision - who owns it when you have a PM?
42:00 Lowering risk and rapidly testing game 'improvements' is what PMs do
56:00 Evolving a PM from inside your team - can it work?
61:30 What do you lose if you remove the Producer from the mix?
67:40 Do Indies need a PM?
81:20 When bring in a PM to a PC/console game?
85:30 How to join a team as a PM and win their trust
92:00 How can you learn to be a PM?
Quick-fire round:
96:40 Can Publishers, Indies and a PM all get along?
100:50 Is a PM needed if you're just launching a game and publishing DLC?
102:20 Is a PM involved in the creation of a new game? How?
104:50 How does a PM and a Marketing Team work together?
106:00 Advice on bringing in a PM without alienating the team
107:50 Loot Boxes are evil - the Kinder Egg Controversy
Final Thoughts and farewells
Anil mentions that this is a good place for learning analytics and the like:
https://gopractice.io/
We would love feedback - leave it anywhere we can reach it! For more articles and interviews with producers and others in the games industry, check out:
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