Postmortems from Games Developer

Release your game complete and on time to ensure success. The realization of any good idea, or the brilliant and dedicated work of any development team, is in the execution. That is what makes project management as important to game production as the art, programming, and design.

Manage your projects with the expertise of a seasoned pro. The Game Developer postmortems are an industry institution because they deliver real-world knowledge of vital project management skills. Written by game developers and producers alike, the postmortems follow projects from start to finish with candid, thorough, and specific accounts of the good and bad decisions made along the way. You learn how each game was made, what kind of company and project team was involved, what tools were used, as well as major milestones. Most importantly, you get an honest account of What Went Right contributing to the project's success and What Went Wrong, a list of misjudgments, failures, or missed opportunities.

The solutions are here. Whatever your role in the endeavor, you will find insight and practical guidelines to serve you. The book is organized into five sections relevant to game production: Startups, Sequels and Sophomore Outings, Managing Innovation, Building on a License, and The Online Frontier. Each section is preceded by an overview of the lessons that you can employ in bringing your dream to market.

Editor Austin Grossman has expertly compiled and commented on the postmortems to bring insight to the collection. (Each Game Developer postmortem is credited to its respective author.) Presently a consultant on game design and interactive story development, Austin has 10 years' experience in the computer gaming industry. Notable writing and design credits include Ultima Underworld II and System Shock for Looking Glass Technologies and Trespasser: Jurassic Park for Dreamworks Interactive. Other credits include contributions to EA Games' Clive Barker's Undying, Ion Storm's Deus Ex, and Liquid Entertainment's Battle Realms.