Relearning lessons about quality

Brash is gone... and I think I know one BIG reason why. Variety had an interesting piece on the downfall of Brash Entertainment. The following quote made shivers run up and down my spine...

"More importantly, Brash quickly gained a reputation for pumping out low-quality titles for quick cash."

And my question is simple: WHY do we need to keep learning this lesson? I always tell the Producers I work with: "Focus on quality!" If you focus on making great games, the rest will mostly take care of it self. I'm not suggesting that your product will always come out on time, but when it comes to meeting or adjusting your schedule... you'll at least know that you're talking about a quality product.

I hate the idea of working hard on a game, fighting to get more time or to hit the schedule and then come to the realization that it didn't really matter because the product was bad from the outset.

I also tell Producers to never ever look into a bargain bin. They're bound to see a game they worked on, night and day with blood sweat AND tears, for $2.49.

Your thoughts?

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One Hit Wonder

I have been a "Producer" for 18 years. The title was invented at Electronic Arts to describe what they expected of their project managers. They expected a lot more than just to get the project out on time, so they patterned the job after the record industry.

When I was a C-64 programmer at Broderbund I wrote a lovely paragraph about how I wanted to help the other programmers complete their projects on time and with a higher quality, my boss said to me in response: "Why would we ever want someone to do this job?" I'll be the first to admit its a thankless job, but its still a required job.

But really, the Producer doesn't code or do art or the sound. He just does his best to push the quality of each part of the game, and get out of the way of those talented folks who actually make the game.

So then the question comes up, why aren't there many mega-developers? Those that produce hit after hit. I think we can say that Blizzard and Id might be the only two studios that have more than one hit. And I could argue that Id doesn't count because they specialize in the FPS area.

So why is that? Why can't a developer make two hits? (Remember, sequels don't count)

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