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You will also find that some Deadlines and Milestones just can't be obtained, either because the manager or investors don't understand the complicity of what you are doing or because of the situation of the game, which is usually a weak team issue.



Or because the individual or team doesn't know it's capabilities well enough to set realistic timelines.

Most deadlines and milestones are done with input from the ind/team -- "How long will it take you to complete task x?", "When can you have model y ready for review?" -- and then based on this input, you then setup a timeline and go from there.

The problem is that most people (yes, myself included) like to pad their answers to make themselves look good: "Oh yeah, I can complete that task in two weeks.", "It will take me only a month to have that model ready for you." This is particularly relevant when you have freelancers (over which you have no oversight control) vs. employees (whom you can oversee every day).

I've found out (having used both freelancers and employees) that the difference between an amateur and a pro is how close to your predictions you actually hit. An amateur will miss by 3 to 10 times their stated timeframe (talking from experience here, not just making numbers up). A pro will miss the mark by AT MOST 2 times their stated deadline. Note that I did not say that a pro will hit the mark every time. A person who states they will do something in one month and actually accomplishes it is a rarity in my experience and in game development in general. This is why missed deadlines (Cough Vista Cough) and crunch time (cough cough EA cough) are the rule rather than the exception. Furthermore you always have to account for a task being more difficult than originally planed, unexpected software bugs, personal issues, etc.

The bottom line is that for the above reasons it is critical for good game development (heck, for any development) to keep people whose abilities you know. Even if your team is always 5 times off their timeline, at least you KNOW the fudge factor and can adjust accordingly. If you don't have a well established team (either because it's brand new or you are constantly recycling personnel), then you don't' know what the personal fudge factor is (and like I said above, EVERYONE has one) and this will set your deadlines and milestones into disarray.

If you are ever curious as to why a publisher will not invest in an unproven team even if it's an uber game, keep the above in mind.


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