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[eobet]

I just wanted to see what everyone here consider that a producer for a indie game should do.

(And, if you have worked with one, feel free to post what he really does instead.)

Disclaimer: Please don't argue the merits for/against having a producer. Just assume that it is a sufficiently large project with a sufficiently large team that one is required.

[Alex May]

• Get things that team members need (dev kits, software, other equipment, etc).
• Ensure all teams and sub-teams are communicating effectively and efficiently. Lots of bad communication is worse than no communication.
• Point of contact for external businesses - all press, platform holders, distributors, god forbid publishers, and in the absence of a community support chap, for the public too.
• In the absence of a project manager, organise the schedule and continuously monitor it. If it is slipping, organise rescheduling meetings.

[mewse]

"You know, [if] you're a writer, there's your script.  You're a director.. but if you're the producer, what did you do?  You see, nobody knows what you do.  The producer, I mean, all he's got is the credit.  You see?  And some plaques on the wall.  They don't know what we do.  Don't get me started."  -- Stanley Motts, Wag the Dog

This might seem like a glib answer, but the producer is really the one who is responsible for producing the game.  As in, doing whatever it takes to make sure the game actually gets made on time and on budget.  For this reason, the producer is typically the highest authority on the game team.  Usually the producer's job involves a lot of management of workers, scheduling, setting milestones (which is part of scheduling), staffing decisions, coordination between the different teams working on the game, negotiations with publishers (if applicable), external companies (subcontractors, translators, etc) and generally making sure that everyone on the team is able to get productive work done and is communicating with each other. 

To be effective, a producer must generally be one of the hardest-working people on the team, but to a casual observer or team-member they will usually appear to be doing almost nothing, because their work does not directly touch on the game itself, but instead facilitates other people's work... and if they're doing their job well, then things tend to go relatively smoothly.  If not, then things tend to go bad really quickly.

It's a very difficult and very thankless job.  And at the end of a project, if you've done your job right, nobody typically knows what you did.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_producer

I know this is a glib answer, but people don't write those articles for nothing

[AaronAardvark]

At EA, what Alex May said.
On one particular project at EA, this specific producer was responsible for:

• Telling the media we would have features which management said we would not have in a meeting the previous day.
• Taking tasks that were assigned to people and getting others to work on them via overtime with no tracking or communication to anyone else.
• Ignoring all previous decisions and making last-minute choices requiring many hours of overtime from all involved.

So, if you're a bad producer, your job is apparently to create animosity among your team members and do your best to derail the project.

(I'm sorry for ranting.  It comes out every now and then.)

[Alex May]

How does a producer like that not get fired? Just the first bullet point alone would be grounds for dismissal in my book.

[TeeGee]

You would be surprized what people can do in the AAA industry and not only don't get fired but get a promotion. And how many good people get fired for no reason (or to make more room for the mediocre ones). It's just that big companies are great if you want to hide incompetence.

[Alex May]

Nah I've heard all the stories a million times. It isn't surprising any more, I just wonder what goes through the minds of both the producers in question and their managers.

[bateleur]

Nah I've heard all the stories a million times. It isn't surprising any more, I just wonder what goes through the minds of both the producers in question and their managers.

In a question of priorities. You don't fire a producer mid-project because that will kill the game (in which you have far too much invested). At the end of the project the producer has a good chance of being made redudant anyway. OK, possibly not at EA, but a lot of studios can't afford to retain staff between projects, so unless a new game starts the week after the last one ships it's probably bye bye Mr Producer. (Not like being a programmer, where you can be shuffled across to another project halfway through its life cycle.)

[Alex May]

If a producer were behaving like that I'd fire him - he would represent far more of a danger to the project shipping on budget and on time than anything else I can think of. Simple business sense.

[Impossible]

How does a producer like that not get fired? Just the first bullet point alone would be grounds for dismissal in my book.

A couple of different ways

1) Drugs dealer - If you can supply drugs to upper management or other important people in the company they won't fire you.

2) Nepotism - If you are somehow related to someone important in the company it will be very hard to get fired.  This also applies if you aren't blood related, but good friends\buddies with the right people.  It's also a reason why, once you get a job, its good to make a lot of friends and not have everyone hate you.

3) Sex - If you are female and sleep with the right people it will be easy to be incompetent.  Hell, its the game industry, if you are female and decent looking and don't sleep with anyone you can keep your job.

Honestly, all three are pretty decent reasons to keep someone around, even if they are incompetent otherwise :D

[JasonPickering]

I always remember the statement:

A Producer is unique as being the only person on the dev team who actually doesnt produce anything.

all joking aside, the best producers I've had worked in more of a Big Brother Capacity. they made sure everything was going smoothly. they got you anything you needed, and they shielded you from any incoming heat. they are basically the bridge between the upper business and the lowly art team.

the worst producers spent all day on WOW and didnt read anythign we sent over. (this ended being hillarious when we were getting okays for many ridiculous things. on a side note always backup your emails.)

[AaronAardvark]

How does a producer like that not get fired? Just the first bullet point alone would be grounds for dismissal in my book.

A couple of different ways

1) Drugs dealer - If you can supply drugs to upper management or other important people in the company they won't fire you.

That reminds me of this series of rants about EALA

[Craig Stern]

That reminds me of this series of rants about EALA

:D Holy crap, I'm glad I don't work for EA!