Star Citizen Live Gamedev: Production Discussion

Jared Huckabee hosted a Star Citizen Live session with Jake Ross and Philip Grob, members of the production team at Cloud Imperium Games. The group discussed their roles, the challenges they face, and how they manage their tasks in producing the video game, Star Citizen. They introduced themselves and explored the core pillars of their work: communication, risk, and planning. Both Jake and Philip emphasized the importance of clear and concise communication in managing team dynamics, schedules, and risk mitigation.

Jake and Philip outlined their roles further as supportive and leading, tasked with managing schedules, supporting the development effort and guiding the future direction of the development process. Their roles often involve dealing with developers’ frustrations and ensuring that projects are on track and completed as planned. They also shed light on the importance of flexibility and adjustability, especially in an industry as dynamic as video game development. Moreover, they described how they manage risks and incorporate buffers into their scheduling to mitigate unforeseen issues.

Toward the end of the session, Jake and Philip shared memorable moments from their careers, reflecting on both their wins and challenges. They discussed a time when they overlooked adding a "go live" date on Steam, which caused frantic, last-minute changes. They also reminisced about challenging periods such as the release of Arena Commander, a module for Star Citizen. Despite the long hours and stressful periods, they shared that these moments have in many ways been bonding experiences, improving their approaches to project management and collaboration.

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