Uncovering Human Challenges Behind Lack of Clear Vision in Game Development

At the GamesIndustry.biz HR Summit, Graham McAllister presented a talk titled 'Game Vision Alignment: Its Role in Team Effectiveness,' where he discussed how studios can improve their games by maintaining a clear vision. McAllister, who founded Player Research in 2012 and later TeamSync, emphasized that a creatively aligned team is crucial for success. He highlighted the Games Outcomes Project, which listed having a well-communicated vision as the top factor for great development teams. McAllister noted that when studios grow, their vision can become lost, and variations of the vision can occur within the team. He also pointed out that external collaborations and publisher involvement can further complicate vision alignment. McAllister cited the example of BioWare's Anthem, where a lack of vision led to internal issues and a largely unfinished game launch. He emphasized that addressing the underlying problem of vision alignment is essential to fixing related issues such as crunch culture. McAllister also discussed how language can be a problem, as people may think they are communicating effectively when they are not. He suggested using a shared mental model to structure thoughts and organize ideas, and acknowledged that there is no simple way to check vision alignment. Ultimately, McAllister's talk stressed the importance of acknowledging and addressing misalignment, and communicating with team members to ensure everyone is on the same page before the game development stage.