Communication with Managers and Leads. As a manager, it would be irresponsible of me not to admit to a slight bias in this section -- but I also understand it from both sides. As I touched on earlier, production teams are growing in size; that means more capable managers are required. If management is growing, then it is almost certain that you will be required to interact with your leads and managers more frequently.

The organizational structure of any team differs from one studio to the next. One common thread I've identified is that people seem to operate as if managers and leads are infallible. They never say that -- sometimes the exact opposite -- but often their actions suggest that mindset.

A simple truth is that you're not going to agree with every decision that your manager or lead makes. That's okay. What is unacceptable is that people assume they can't speak up when they see a mistake or a problem on the horizon.

I call this a "code of silence" environment. It can derive from any number of factors, including fear of being dismissed out of hand, or some form of retribution for pointing out the problem.

Unfortunately, the results are the same. The production artists, the people who are doing most of the day-to-day work, become disengaged from the decisions that are happening around them.

They can foresee the problems, but choose not speak up and voice suggestions. In this environment, those individuals are just as culpable for the failures that arise from their own inaction.

The truth is that managers and leads rely on input from others to make their decisions -- or at least they should. As such, it is the responsibility of the production artists to help identify problems. Taking proactive steps to identify problems is far more beneficial than reacting to the problems after the fact.

However, there is a caveat to this statement. Pointing out problems is easy, but there's no guarantee that managers or leads will agree with your analysis. The most important ingredient of identifying problems is recommending reasonable solutions. This is the most difficult step for many artists. It's simply not enough to say that something is a problem. Managers and leads may agree.

However, in the absence of more effective options, that problem may have to stand in the interest of meeting the goals of the project. Therefore, if you're going to actively bring a problem to the attention of others, then you should also be ready with options to discuss.

How do you intend to circumvent the problem? What are the benefits/risks of your alternative? Is it a reasonable plan? This is a dialog that needs to occur between yourself and whoever the decision-makers may be.

The other caveat is the manner in which the problem is discussed. Some individuals feel that they can either be honest or nice. Imagine a frustrating personal or professional problem at work --which goes ignored for too long, because it's not "nice" to talk about it.

Eventually, someone's frustration comes out in a caustic or accusatory manner. As expected, people don't respond to the input, leading to a feeling that the only option was to be "nice" and ignore the problem.

What is periodically overlooked is that "honest" and "nice" are not mutually exclusive concepts. A professional can be honest and still be respectful, too. Respect is the key component when discussing a problem with a peer, a lead or a manager.

I've mentioned "problems" a lot, but let me clarify: problems and mistakes are not the same as failures. Mistakes are made in many aspects of game development; it is expected and understood as the normal practice of learning and experimentation.

However, mistakes still do carry the weight of cost. The most obvious cost is time. That loss of time could have a direct impact on features or assets that you, as an artist, deemed important or valuable. As such, it is in your best interest to be as proactive as possible in communicating with the managers and leads to whom you report.