Office Space (Game Development Workplaces GDC2015) - Demetri Detsaridis
•
15 likes•4,849 views
In 26 slides, this lecture by veteran game developer (and former architectural historian) Demetri Detsaridis examines one of the most significant and least talked-about aspects of developing games: the environment in which they're created. What do we do when we design or refit a room, suite or building for the purpose of creating games in it? Through three short case studies (a renovated space in an existing office building, an architect-designed loft, and an indie co-working storefront) this talk will look at how game-making spaces change as our industry evolves, as well as revealing spatial design best practices and unmasking trendy concepts that almost never work as planned. Where we create has a profound effect on how and what we create - let's start thinking and talking about it now.
Recommended
More Related Content
What's hot
What's hot (20)
Viewers also liked
Viewers also liked (16)
Similar to Office Space (Game Development Workplaces GDC2015) - Demetri Detsaridis
Similar to Office Space (Game Development Workplaces GDC2015) - Demetri Detsaridis (20)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Office Space (Game Development Workplaces GDC2015) - Demetri Detsaridis
- 1. OFFICE SPACE Do’s and Don’ts of Game Development Workplace Design GDC 2015 Demetri Detsaridis Wednesday, March 4 // 12 Noon
- 2. How We Got Here Game development spaces draw on multiple traditions of workplace design. 1 The Factory
- 3. How We Got Here Game development spaces draw on multiple traditions of workplace design. 1 The Factory Time-and-motion studies + “scientific management” C
- 4. How We Got Here Game development spaces draw on multiple traditions of workplace design. 1 The Factory Time-and-motion studies + “scientific management” Surveillance + paternalism + price per square foot C C
- 5. How We Got Here Game development spaces draw on multiple traditions of workplace design. 2 The Artist’s Studio
- 6. How We Got Here Game development spaces draw on multiple traditions of workplace design. 2 The Artist’s Studio Warhol’s Factory - workplace + social space C
- 7. How We Got Here Game development spaces draw on multiple traditions of workplace design. 2 The Artist’s Studio Warhol’s Factory - workplace + social space Workplace as design object C C
- 8. How We Got Here Game development spaces draw on multiple traditions of workplace design. 3 The Laboratory
- 9. How We Got Here Game development spaces draw on multiple traditions of workplace design. 3 The Laboratory Computers emerge in the scientific workplace C
- 10. How We Got Here Game development spaces draw on multiple traditions of workplace design. 3 The Laboratory Computers emerge in the scientific workplace The ubiquity of PCs defines every type of workspace C C Where Engineers Work Today
- 12. Game industry Workplace big issues 5 According to a 2014 survey of game developers around the world, less than 45% are satisfied with the spaces in which they work. ∙ Noise / You’re trying to ‘collaborate’ where I need to code ∙ Personal space / We’re on top of each other without privacy ∙ Layout / Except we’re never near the people we need ∙ Collaboration space / There is never a meeting room ∙ Visual privacy / Everyone can see everything and it’s distracting ∙ Ugly and Boring / This office looks like placeholder art ∙ Light level / Lightswitch wars are not team-building
- 13. 5 Although it’s not the only issue, or necessarily the most important in organizing space for game development, one key factor that can inform the discussion is how the organization of a company is mapped onto its physical geography Game Game Game Organized by Game Team Design Engineering Art Organized by Discipline Production Game industry Workplace big issues
- 14. Game industry Workplace big issues Game Game Game Organized by Game Team Design Engineering Art Organized by Discipline Production Art Hybrid Organization Engine Team Game Game 5
- 15. Game industry Workplace CasE Study No.1 ZYNGA 6 Every game company tries to solve these problems in one way or another. Zynga had the advantage of very deep pockets – here’s how they spent that money. ∙ Almost purpose built / Gut renovation of former wholesale apparel mart ∙ Gigantic / 670k sqft, though Zynga only occupies ~65% ∙ Spacious / At its peak, home to more than 2,000 employees @ 140 sqft per ∙ Open-Plan + Group Rooms / Organized mostly by game team in groups of 20 - 80
- 16. Game industry Workplace CasE Study No.1 ZYNGA 7 Following the examples of advertising agencies in the 80s and 90s and Silicon Valley tech superstars like Google and Facebook, Zynga pushed the barriers of the “office as playground” trend. ∙ Message of “Play” reinforced everywhere ∙ Full-size Blue Bottle Coffee bar ∙ Arcade & table game room within a full bar ∙ Stadium-seating theater ∙ Basketball court and workout rooms ∙ Onsite massages, haircuts, reflexology, and acupuncture ∙ Daily catered breakfasts, lunches and dinners
- 17. Game industry Workplace CasE Study No.1 ZYNGA 8 In the office suites themselves, open seating at modular desks is the standard. Each team meant to have access to two conference rooms and a “phone booth” room to enable caves-and-commons workflow Zynga’s design solutions: ∙ Noise / High employee per sqft ratio ∙ Visual Privacy / Angled desk ‘pods’ ∙ Collaboration space / Many formal and very many informal gathering spaces ∙ Layout / Each game team physically distinct, central services groups also have their own spaces. Within these, arrangement is non- standardized and driven by team leadership
- 18. Game industry Workplace CasE Study No.1 ZYNGA 9 Challenge: This is very hard to balance and can create the specter of “forced fun”. In an era in which authenticity is prized, one of the worst possible outcomes is for employees to judge company culture as false and imposed from the top down. Other risks with Zynga’s approach: ∙ Cost / When revenues are down, perks look very extravagant & management looks foolish ∙ Scalability / Adding more employees is difficult + expensive with this much “hard” infrastructure ∙ Nesting / Employees want agency over their space: seating layouts intended to be changed by and for teams were only ever altered by management Design Thesis: Create a space that’s fun to be in. This atmosphere of fun and playfulness will show through in our games.
- 19. Game industry Workplace CasE Study No.2 Three rings 10 Gut renovation of a building is not possible for most game companies. San Francisco’s Three Rings (now a SEGA studio, but an indie at the time) had a limited budget, but a fairly large “white box” open workspace. ∙ Loft Interior Buildout / Space as leased very typical former- industrial Class B loft ∙ Mid-Sized / 8,800 sqft, 4,500sqft “back room” is redesigned entirely ∙ Intentionally Cozy / Though the space permitted 225 sqft per 20 employees, design was for less ∙ Small Group Workrooms / Large open space purposefully divided into semi-partitioned pods of 4-5 desks
- 20. 11 With a popular pirate-themed game in the market, Three Rings chose a steampunk/Jules Verne design theme and followed industry and local competition in the emphasis on amenities. ∙ Nearly all of the furniture and fixtures in the studio are bespoke designs or alterations ∙ Even desk hutch panels are custom milled to the designs of Three Rings’ artists ∙ Design whimsy extends to the presence of a “secret room” accessible via swinging bookcase Game industry Workplace CasE Study No.2 Three rings More common game-company perks are also included: ∙ Billiard room ∙ Videogame room with giant tentacle couch ∙ Card/boardgame table in lunchroom ∙ Wet bar
- 21. 12 Unlike Zynga, the Three Rings “back room” lowered square footage per employee to maximize communal space. Private meeting space was downplayed in the design, and seating shifted from hybrid to organization by discipline over time Three Rings’ design solutions: ∙ Noise / Low number of employees ∙ Visual Privacy / Partitioned workgroups with desks facing walls ∙ Collaboration space / Most studio sqftage dedicated to informal gathering spaces ∙ Light level / Curtains and custom fixture- covers mute fluorescent glow ∙ Layout / Teams sit in separate spaces, though clustered together for easy cross-talk. Many areas available for public meeting, only one for privacy Game industry Workplace CasE Study No.2 Three rings
- 22. 13 Challenge: Distinctive layout, aesthetics and features can freeze your company in amber. Scaling custom space risks creating 2nd-class employees (in the “front room”) or losing the group spaces that the physical workflow is built around Other risks with Three Rings’ approach: ∙ Taste / One designer’s delightful quirkiness is another’s odd affectation ∙ Aspirational Layout / Baking in team togetherness could have backfired ∙ Flexibility / Team size, hardware even production methodology is inflected by customization choices; “Anything works as long as it fits in a steampunk submarine” Design Thesis: Maximize a small budget by working with another small firm and create a unique space that’s custom-fit to our company’s organizational structure and culture. Game industry Workplace CasE Study No.2 Three rings
- 23. 14 Most small companies have to work with the spaces they get, even if the space is a former storefront tattoo parlor on New York’s Lower East Side, as it is for Waka Waka, an indie game incubator + co-working space ∙ Storefront As-Is / Long, narrow storefront with large front window, converted in white-box state ∙ Small / 2,000 sqft, L-shaped first floor, small yard + rectangular lower level – all open plan ∙ Difficult Layout / Too narrow for most desk layouts, both space and business model require small teams ∙ Flexible / Both floors can be reconfigured inside a day to suit teams, but walls are not an option Game industry Workplace CasE Study No.3 WAKA WAKA
- 24. 15 Real estate in New York is tremendously expensive and small indie game companies often find it easiest to share space. Waka Waka is a co-working space run by the game development veterans and expert visual designers behind This Is Pop ∙ Furniture and fixtures are high quality, often design objects ∙ Architect Nathalie Pozzi planned the conversion of the space from tattoo parlor to game studio ∙ Space optimization is key, while minimalist aesthetic conveys spaciousness in tight quarters Even here, perks are highlighted: ∙ Rare-to-Manhattan outdoor space ∙ Movable bar for receptions/parties ∙ Game systems with high resolution projectors ∙ Gallery-style lighting ∙ Playable indie game installations Game industry Workplace CasE Study No.3 WAKA WAKA
- 25. 16 Because Waka Waka only knows team sizes and composition on a month-to-month basis, layout flexibility is the primary design objective. Everything is on wheels or small enough to be carried. As few as ten or as many as thirty could work here. Waka Waka’s design solutions: ∙ Noise / Small teams, multiple spaces. Gallery- like main area encourages quiet conversation ∙ Visual Privacy / 2.5 levels allow some amount of separation between teams ∙ Collaboration space / Studio amenities and infrastructure are shared between teams. Business model also demands cooperation ∙ Layout / Changes from one day to the next depending on team needs. Little solitude is possible, however. Game industry Workplace CasE Study No.3 WAKA WAKA
- 26. 17 Challenge: Assuring that a rotating cast of teams in a small space with no walls shares a vision of how best to use a communal workplace is non-trivial. Seating can move or change, but there is little provision for multiple areas for conversation or silent work. Other risks for Waka Waka: ∙ Scalability / If even one of two or three resident teams experiences a success requiring expansion, they will likely leave randomizing the critical team mix and contributing to a trying air of transience ∙ Materials / Although polished concrete floors and smooth surfaces = sophistication, they also enable noise levels that discourage collaboration and frustrate teams ∙ Curation / The value of a spot at Waka Waka is space + access to expertise. This must be constantly maintained and refreshed. Design Thesis: Using smart spatial design and deep industry experience, create a workplace in which small game dev teams can work and collaborate with like-minded colleagues before they are capable of sustaining their own offices. Game industry Workplace CasE Study No.3 WAKA WAKA
- 27. Game industry Workplace TAKEAWAYS 18 There is no standard design of game development space, but certain best practices are emerging as the industry matures ∙ Disciplines Differ / Different spaces or environmental flexibility ∙ Privacy / Need is directly proportionate to amount of communal space ∙ Collaboration space / Does not have to be meeting rooms but it can ∙ Design / This is where working with your team can pay big dividends ∙ Personal space / Needs vary with work style + layout ∙ Layout / Understand its impact on your workflow ∙ Crazy Perks / Good for reach, meaningless for retention
- 28. CONTACT ME I like to talk about this stuff and I live and work in New York. You can reach me at demetri@softhome.net @detsaridis
Editor's Notes
- Hi folks, I’m Demetri – I’ve been in game development for about 15 years and I’ve done stuff like design casual games, produce casual games, design mobile games, start a company that makes mobile games, be the GM of a company that makes social games, be the GM of Zynga NY, and work on a giant console franchise which shall remain nameless. Before ALL of that stuff, though, I went to Grad School and studied Architectural History. That weird background is why I wanted to talk about something we rarely talk about in this business – not the games we make, but the places in which we make them.
- Before we start looking at some of those, though, let’s take a SUPER brief look at some history. The office you work in didn’t spring fully-formed out of Ralph Baer’s head (or his garage) – like games themselves, commercial office forms have a long history…whiiiich I’m going to cover in three slides. (CLICK) The first serious influence on Game Development offices starts with the modern factory. This is one of the first times we see a need to put a lot of people in a limited space to perform repetitive tasks without moving very much. (CLICK) Pretty soon, an industry sprang up around trying to make those movements even more efficient, and between that, the desire to have employees under something resembling permanent surveillance and the growing costs of urban real estate, you wind up with something like this. (CLICK) Just to get this out of the way, this is an “open office”. Every twenty years, this gets invented again and then ten years later, everybody decides that it’s horrible and there’s a bunch of pushback against it. For these reasons here – especially cost – Open Offices are not going away. So instead of starting another “studies show open offices suck” debate, let’s take them as a given for a minute and talk about how to make them better instead of pretending we’ll be able to abolish them anytime soon.
- Before we start looking at some of those, though, let’s take a SUPER brief look at some history. The office you work in didn’t spring fully-formed out of Ralph Baer’s head (or his garage) – like games themselves, commercial office forms have a long history…whiiiich I’m going to cover in three slides. (CLICK) The first serious influence on Game Development offices starts with the modern factory. This is one of the first times we see a need to put a lot of people in a limited space to perform repetitive tasks without moving very much. (CLICK) Pretty soon, an industry sprang up around trying to make those movements even more efficient, and between that, the desire to have employees under something resembling permanent surveillance and the growing costs of urban real estate, you wind up with something like this. (CLICK) Just to get this out of the way, this is an “open office”. Every twenty years, this gets invented again and then ten years later, everybody decides that it’s horrible and there’s a bunch of pushback against it. For these reasons here – especially cost – Open Offices are not going away. So instead of starting another “studies show open offices suck” debate, let’s take them as a given for a minute and talk about how to make them better instead of pretending we’ll be able to abolish them anytime soon.
- Before we start looking at some of those, though, let’s take a SUPER brief look at some history. The office you work in didn’t spring fully-formed out of Ralph Baer’s head (or his garage) – like games themselves, commercial office forms have a long history…whiiiich I’m going to cover in three slides. (CLICK) The first serious influence on Game Development offices starts with the modern factory. This is one of the first times we see a need to put a lot of people in a limited space to perform repetitive tasks without moving very much. (CLICK) Pretty soon, an industry sprang up around trying to make those movements even more efficient, and between that, the desire to have employees under something resembling permanent surveillance and the growing costs of urban real estate, you wind up with something like this. (CLICK) Just to get this out of the way, this is an “open office”. Every twenty years, this gets invented again and then ten years later, everybody decides that it’s horrible and there’s a bunch of pushback against it. For these reasons here – especially cost – Open Offices are not going away. So instead of starting another “studies show open offices suck” debate, let’s take them as a given for a minute and talk about how to make them better instead of pretending we’ll be able to abolish them anytime soon.
- So, besides factories turned offices, another ancestor of the modern game development space is this – the art studio. These spaces started out as places optimized for light and ease of access to supplies, but starting around mid-century, (CLICK) the idea of the studio as a social space and eventually as an art object itself starts to gather steam. (CLICK) Signifying that you’re “creative” through your workspace is an old idea, but we also have Andy Warhol’s Factory to thank for a lot of what we expect from a place called a “studio”.
- So, besides factories turned offices, another ancestor of the modern game development space is this – the art studio. These spaces started out as places optimized for light and ease of access to supplies, but starting around mid-century, (CLICK) the idea of the studio as a social space and eventually as an art object itself starts to gather steam. (CLICK) Signifying that you’re “creative” through your workspace is an old idea, but we also have Andy Warhol’s Factory to thank for a lot of what we expect from a place called a “studio”.
- So, besides factories turned offices, another ancestor of the modern game development space is this – the art studio. These spaces started out as places optimized for light and ease of access to supplies, but starting around mid-century, (CLICK) the idea of the studio as a social space and eventually as an art object itself starts to gather steam. (CLICK) Signifying that you’re “creative” through your workspace is an old idea, but we also have Andy Warhol’s Factory to thank for a lot of what we expect from a place called a “studio”.
- The third major branch in the ancestry of Game Dev spaces is the science labs – utilitarian spaces devoted to experimentation, (CLICK) laboratories are where computers first started to show up in the workplace…and (CLICK) the total takeover of the desktop by computer equipment was very much birthed in the lab.
- The third major branch in the ancestry of Game Dev spaces is the science labs – utilitarian spaces devoted to experimentation, (CLICK) laboratories are where computers first started to show up in the workplace…and (CLICK) the total takeover of the desktop by computer equipment was very much birthed in the lab.
- The third major branch in the ancestry of Game Dev spaces is the science labs – utilitarian spaces devoted to experimentation, (CLICK) laboratories are where computers first started to show up in the workplace…and (CLICK) the total takeover of the desktop by computer equipment was very much birthed in the lab.
- So, what you probably started to notice already is that despite starting down three very different paths, these workplace types wound up at a really familiar destination. Yeah, rows of desks. The key differentiator has become what you surround those desks with and how you arrange them. But the rows of desks themselves are really the nucleus of the commercial workplace.
- So in an industry famously on the cutting edge of technology and culture, what have WE done with all those rows of desks? Unfortunately, the first answer is: a bunch of bullshit that nobody likes. (CLICK) Last year, the amazing Kyle Drexel of Wargaming helped me run a survey about game industry workplaces. I guess I already spoiled this at the top of this slide, but one of the big takeaways from that survey is that most game developers don’t really like their workspace. Here’s why.
- One crucial factor in workplace satisfaction that came up again and again in both the survey and in my individual interviews was the organizing principle behind how those “rows of desks” are laid out. There are two main schools of thought about how this should be done and most survey respondents’ offices use either one or the other, in almost exactly equal proportion: (CLICK) in a “game team” layout, everyone working on a specific project is clustered together, regardless of what they do on that project. (CLICK) In the “departmental” layout, artists sit with artists, producers sit with producers, design sits over there and the engineers sit over there, even if there are two or three different games they’re working on. It’s pretty clear what the advantages and issues with these approaches are: if everyone working on a game is sitting together, you don’t have to go far to find and collaborate with other devs who are working on the same problems as you are. As we know from those factory studies 100 years ago, the less you have to physically move to get your job done, the more efficient you are at doing it. Of course, the main drawback here is the reason why the departmental seating model exists: it’s very easy for people to get siloed when they’re only thinking about their own problems and you quickly lose the advantage of having 30 master engineers if each group of 10 of them only draws on the knowledge of that group rather than the larger whole.
- For that reason, some workplaces – usually BUT NOT ONLY those with large or flexible physical space to work with – have adopted a hybrid model in which the groups most likely to work across all games sit with one another in as central a location as possible and the devs working on a single game primarily or only sit together on the periphery. Typically, these “central services” departments include groups like marketing, most business functions, some artists, some QA and very often a tools and/or game engine team. To be clear, none of these are the “right” way to lay out a space – first, you have to fit your staff into the physical space you have, so some spaces might not be workable for one or even ANY of these methods at all. In theory, you could design some kind of four-dimensional model where everything perfectly overlaps at acute angles, but it’s very rare that you can actually IMPLEMENT that in the space that you’ve got. So, let’s take things out of the realm of theory then and look at three different examples of how game companies of varying sizes and with varying stacks of cash dealt with these issues.
- First up is Zynga. (CLICK) These guys had a building they needed to work with, but it was basically a giant open shell. (CLICK) The key word there is GIANT. Zynga was only a bit more than half of it, but we’re talking about almost twelve NFL regulation football fields (or 9 world cup football pitches) (CLICK) Each employee has a LOT of space in a workplace this size (CLICK) and the model that Zynga tried to follow with this was a version of the Hybrid plan, where game teams sat together, central teams sat together and each had an open seating area with some amount of private meeting or collaboration space.
- The problem that Zynga tried to address in the most obvious way was the “ugly/boring” issue. (CLICK) Like a lot of Silicon Valley startups made good, these guys bought into the “office as playground” model that has come to prominence in the last 20 years. (CLICK) Seriously, Zynga went absolutely goddamn bananas making their office into a 12-year-old boy’s dream…and we’ll come back to what influence that had on their employees.
- Once you left the common areas, though, Zynga’s offices don’t look that different from any other corporate workplace, but with more knick-knacks, both employee and company-supplied. Here’s how they tried to deal with the key issues that we identified a few slides ago…
- So what was the overall approach here? (CLICK) Basically Zynga is trying VERY HARD to make everything fun and playful. The idea there is that if the employees are having fun, then it’ll be easier for them to make more fun games for the customers. (CLICK) Sometimes this worked, sometimes it resulted in cognitive dissonance and “forced fun”. Now this can be absolute culture poison, but it wasn’t the only challenge Zynga faced with the approach they chose. (CLICK) If you’re interested, there’s a whitepaper by Fleming and Sturdy called “'Being yourself ' in the electronic sweatshop: New forms of normative control” in the journal Human Relations that goes into these kinds of design issues in greater depth. Fleming, P., & Sturdy, A. (2010).
- Space number two is the Three Rings office. If you’ve never been to a meeting or a party there, this place is really unique. Though the studio’s owned by SEGA now, when they opened this office it was an indie, and they decided to take a pretty dramatic approach to one of the classic “small developer” problems of how to build out a white box loftspace. (CLICK)
- Even small companies (especially in SF?) wound up in the perk arms race – but according to Three Rings, it was IMPOSSIBLE to hire engineers at this time and that the office was a key marketing tool. So, despite superficial similarities, this is really a very different use of architectural playfulness than what we saw with Zynga. (CLICK) It’s also important to note that though the steampunk aesthetic was completely pervasive in the front half of the office, this was definitely “party in the back” portion of the Three Rings office mullet (CLICK) – there’s also a much more straightforward space on the far side of this area that has largely become home to business-type functions (vs. design and art work going on in the submarine). This is maybe one of the most literal examples of architectural determinism that I’ve ever seen and we’ll see how that affected the employees in a slide or two.
- Here’s how Three Rings tackled the game business’s “Big workspace Issues”. It’s a very differnet approach to the one Zynga took and is terrific example of a small company trying to play to its strengths and do the types of things a giant corporation really can’t. (CLICK)
- The TL;DR here is that through salesmanship, smart design and luck, Three Rings was able to give themselves a completely unique environmental calling card that actually explains how the company works and thinks of itself as you walk through it. (CLICK). The major issues that arose, though, are something you’ve probably already guessed – once you have a steampunk submarine in your office, your company is kind of ABOUT having a steampunk submarine in your office. (CLICK) That introduces risk around changing tastes (CLICK) the complexity of intentionally packing people into tight spaces in order to induce collaboration and (CLICK) the fact that you’re basically stuck with what you’ve got. As, Tom Schofield, one of the Three Rings principals told me, “Anything works as long as it fits in a steampunk submarine”
- The final case study looks at a different type of space, a different budget, and a different set of requirements entirely. This is New York’s Waka Waka, which is a game development co-working space and incubator in a hip neighborhood, located in a former storefront tattoo parlor. (CLICK) This space was inherited and tweaked, but in a lot of ways it’s the same TYPE of space now that it was when it was an art gallery a few tenants ago (CLICK) it’s small open room (CLICK) and it’s long and narrow, which rules out a lot of the desk layouts that we talked about before (CLICK) though without any real permanent walls, it’s quite flexible and has a second floor and a tiny yard that can be configured in a few different ways.
- Check this out, even a 2,000 square foot office makes an “amenity play” in it’s own way. (CLICK) People like to say that they don’t care about perks that much (like this yard), but again we see a significant effort to maximize the available resources. Waka Waka doesn’t have much furniture in it, but what there is is high quality and EXTREMELY stylish. (CLICK) Flexibility and minimalist chic are overflowing here, again underscoring the aspirational aspect of workplace design. We don’t necessarily design the workspace around our employees, we create a space that looks like it’s already home to the type of people we want working inside it.
- So how did Waka Waka address the Big Issues? (CLICK) It’s harder for them than for Three Rings or Zynga because they couldn’t really choose much about how there space is laid out or what materials it’s made of.
- The core of the Waka Waka workspace design approach as about allowing small independent teams to work in close proximity and share facilities they could never otherwise afford. The office signifies to potential coworkers and to those visiting that the people who work here understand the modern “indie game” aesthetic through and through. It’s spare but precise and above all else, elegant in both functional and visual design. This works to attract likeminded collaborators and immediately tells a compelling story to (for example) publishers attending meetings with developers based here. (CLICK) This approach definitely comes with very real challenges, however. The space is small and there are no walls. On teams the size Waka Waka wants to attract, there’s no real issue around layout choices, but all of the various privacy concerns are magnified tremendously. (CLICK) There’s also the question of scale – succeeding here actually means having to leave; this randomizes the balance of the people in the space and that can be huge in a workspace with only a dozen others around. (CLICK) The materials are actually a major question mark as well – this space is very, very pretty on a really low budget, but with more than a few people inside, it can get loud quickly…and noise was the number one issue that game developers brought up in the survey. (CLICK) And on top of the challenge of people scaling out of the office, you really have to trust the curation skills of the people that run the space. This particular spot is run by game business veterans, but is that always going to be the case? here’s also a challenge to making sure that This might be the place to alight briefly on the danger of aesthetics trumping function. No rough surfaces and no insulation means that if you put more than two people in there and it’s like a cheerleading squad in an airplane hangar. The aesthetic works to convince potential users/clients that these people understand design, but what about the message it sends to people about their understanding of operations?
- So, here is the “tweetable takeaways” slide at long last. I’m going to put them up there one by one so maybe wait to the end to take a picture…and I’ll make this whole deck available digitally if you want it as well…but let’s try to distill some of the most significant findings from my research, the survey, the interviews and these case studies so we can continue this conversation with each other, the rest of our discipline, and maybe for some of you, with the people you work with as you contemplate the design or redesign of your own development spaces. (CLICK) FIRST: Disciplines differ. This is huge – Engineers do not have the same requirements as designers or artists or marketers. If you have one type of space for all of these folks, you’re setting yourself up for a big, big challenge. Even in a small studio, do what you can to make sure that there’s quiet space and collaboration space and that they’re as distinct and distant from each other as possible. (CLICK) PRIVACY – too much noise was the most often mentioned issue in the survey, but close behind it were a few different types of issues around privacy. Physical privacy and VISUAL privacy are separate and important issues. Game devs, like anyone else, don’t want to feel like they’re being monitored in a time-and-motion study by their bosses all day long. If we’re going out of our way to provide jellybean footbaths delivered fresh daily by Uber, it’s irresponsible not to contemplate providing “phone booths” or arranging monitors so that people can read Kotaku when they’re burned out without worrying that they’re going to be fired. There are better ways to find out if your employees are shirking their responsibilities than by facing all their screens toward the boss. COLLABORATION is an enormous part of our work. About a third of the folks we spoke to said that their offices needed more meeting rooms, but when we changed the phrasing to talk about general collaborative space, that number shot way up. People are empathetic and they don’t want to disturb their colleagues. A lot of times, folks simply won’t talk to people that they would benefit by talking to because there’s nowhere to do it without disturbing someone else. There are a lot of innovative ideas about how to make this work even with really low square footage (like Waka Waka’s yard) so if you’re interested in going into greater depth on that, drop me a line, I can definitely offer some concepts. AS I WAS RESEARCHING THIS TOPIC and speaking with interior designers and architects I heard over and over again how important it is to consult with the people who are going to use the office during the design process. The impact of coming in on a Monday morning and having everything be in a different spot, or of seeing people roaming around taking measurements and jotting things down without knowing why or what’s going to happen is just huge. And hey, WE KNOW THIS. This is community management and usability testing and we do this in our games. If you’re designing a space, take some time and talk to the people that are going to be using it. Though a game is sometimes a passion project and a work of singular vision, it’s pretty unique to imagine an office space that way. PERSONAL SPACE: So we’ve mentioned this a lot and this is something that you may have less control over in your space just down to raw square footage concerns. But even in really small areas, remembers LAYOUT: Talk about the super-scheme And lastly, PERKS. I have a lot of data from the survey about this, but here’s the bottom line. You need to have something. The lack of a space to actually play games in the office was mentioned by about a fifth of the respondents – people notice when the office is too square. But there is definitely DEFINITELY such a thing as too much of a good thing. About 33% of survey respondents said that the reason they think their companies provide them with fun perks was to keep them at the office for longer hours. EVEN IF THIS ISN’T TRUE, you have to take into account that people are going to think it. So remember that before the guys show up with the three story waterslide you ordered.
- Probably won’t have time for questions now, so give them contact info so they can ask later.