A few months ago the Gnomon School of Visual Effects in Hollywood hosted a Making of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune talk, titled An Evening with Naughty Dog. The guest speaker was Richard Lemarchand, the lead designer for Uncharted. An excellent speaker, he opened by shining some light onto the environment of Naughty Dog. I wasn’t just there for the free booze and pizza — I also took some notes.

• Produced by Artisans. Everyone on staff at Naughty Dog actually has a role in making the game. No-one only does management. NO PRODUCERS (sounds like heaven to me). The people with responsibility are creatives that are making the game.
• Disciplined leads should know how long tasks should take to be completed because they do the same work themselves.
• Give people responsibility. Trust the members of the team to have good judgment and make the right decisions.
• Face-to-Face communication. Less disruptive than e-mail. Builds teamwork/camaraderie.
• Short meetings. Keep them brief to get the message across and to stay productive.
• Cross-functional team.
• Allocate work to those who are passionate about it. That’s where the magic comes from.
• Do-acracy — individuals choose tasks for themselves.
• Never get personal w/criticism. Don’t get bent out of shape.
• Micromanagement is usually the enemy of excellence.
• Waterfall development process from software development doesn’t necessarily apply to game development.
• Games are like painting. Before painting you make sketches, research, rough in charcoal, etc. before even touching a brush. Continue Reading…