CTIN 558: Revised Assignment 2 + revised course material
Dear CTIN 558 Students,
I’m writing to follow-up on our conversation from class yesterday afternoon, 9/12. This message contains two things:
1) specifics on what you should do this week for Assignment 2: Project Plan
2) a few more tweaks to the course plan (please read)
WHAT YOU SHOULD DO THIS WEEK FOR ASSIGNMENT 2: PROJECT PLAN
As Bing mentioned, each student or team should revise your project plan using the individualized feedback he sent via e-mail.
In addition please adjust your plans thinking about the following (from Bing):
Crisper task management
Scope key parts of workload
i. xxx models, yyy characters, zzz animations
ii. 5000 line program for new engine module
iii. server code to handle 20,000 simultaneous users
iv. xxxx levels, about same complexity as existing game
v. xxx new game design ideas
budget expectations of which jobs, which month, which part of project
i. especially during first milestone
ii. validate your budget assumptions
iii. allow funders to “pull the plug” and test your productivity
special focus on start up month for all new team members
i. recruitment and initiation costs
ii. randomness of start dates
Crisper cost consciousness
For project budgets over $1Million, be more specific about
i. Fixed overhead—how can you reduce this to less than 100%?
ii. Fixed overhead – what effect would lowering this spending have on the project, if any? Why?
Salaries and long-term motivation
i. Can you save money on “typical” salaries without negative impact on the project? Where and why?
ii. Is there financial motivation for team members to finish strongly? Where is this budgeted?
1. Bonus allowance?
2. Royalties?
3. Stock options?
4. Producer markup?
5. Other?
University launching pad
i. What cost savings from starting your project while at university?
ii. Eg student workers, low/no rent, design validation for class credit, etc
Selling the deal
Why is this the right total budget number?
What would happen if budget were reduced by 30%? Increased by 30%?
How can you reduce funder’s risk?
Please e-mail Bing and Chris a revised version of your project plan – including goals, deliverables, schedule, and budget – by the end of the day on Friday, 9/16.
If you would like additional individualized feedback/support please request a meeting time with Bing and me next Monday, 9/19, during the day. Bing will be on campus that day.
TWEAKS TO THE COURSE PLAN (PLEASE READ!)
A revised course plan has been posted to http://www.swaincorp.com/558
The changes in this version are:
1) On Monday September 19 you will not get an Income Statement assignment. As a replacement, next week, we’d like you to read the book Positioning by Ries and Trout. This is a powerful book that will take you 90 minutes to read. This information will provide a solid set up for the lectures on Marketing on Customer Research.
2) We’ve decided to not take up limited class time with quizzes. Instead there will be some form of take home quizzes – dates and format to be determined. In any case, there will not be a quiz next Monday 9/19.
3) We’ve added another session with Tom Frisina (because he’s so excellent). The topic will be The Original Pitch. The date will be Week 10, October 24.
4) We moved the Serious Games lecture, previously scheduled for October 24 to Week 14, 11/14.
5) We’d like you to read the book The Art of Innovation by Tom Kelley. Chapters have been added as readings under various class sessions moving forward. This is another fantastic book that is directly relevant to this class. We removed some other readings to balance out the load.
6) We suggest reading the articles/documents hyperlinked from Weeks 1-5 on the current course plan if you haven’t already done so. As mentioned you should read the readings listed in prep for the class session. This means if the reading is Positioning for Week 6 then please read it prior to the class session on Week 6.
E-mail us if you have questions and comments about the above.
Many thanks,
Chris Swain
Asst Professor
Co-Director, EA Game Innovation Lab
Interactive Media Division
USC School of Cinema-Television