#15"We are artists and we should be artists."Roundtable2017.03.13

A day late but worth the wait! In this high signal-to-noise roundtable episode, each member of the club picks a topic that they are particularly passionate about:

Stephen shares his wisdom and guidance about playtesting your work early and often, Martha helps you get your act together in a practical discussion about project management, and Mark tries to explain the obligation he feels as an artist, but picks a weird hill to die on as he wrongly insists that Portal 2 isn't really about anything.

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Ice Cold Games@zacharyjohnsonNIce Games Club Feedback FormDemoing and Playtesting0:03:27Stephen McGregorProductionProject Management0:33:26Martha MegarryProductionToolstrelloAgile Development - WikipediaWaterfall Development - WikipediaKanban Development - WikipediaThe Blue Yarn - 99% Invisible - The Blue Yarn, 99% InvisibleNUMMI (2015) - NUMMI, This American Life

David Megarry's Three Questions all project managers should ask:

“Do you have all the resources you need?"

"Do you have any roadblocks or impediments?"

"Are you on schedule?”

“A project manager (PM) is more of a problem solver than anything else. If you don’t have the resources, the PM finds them. If there are roadblocks, the PM helps to find a way to get around them. If not on schedule, the PM alters it or adds more resources or changes scope. Above all, the PM communicates with management as to the state of the project so they can make proper decisions and not be blindsided or surprised.” -David Megarry

Messages and Meanings0:52:56Mark LaCroixGame DesignSummerland - Michael Chabon, NovelA Closer Look at How Three Assassin's Creed Games Have Handled Slavery - Evan Narcisse, KotakuFor Honor's accidental alt-right connection - Allegra Frank, Polygon