CONSULTING

Every executive wants to improve the overall efficiency of his/her studio(s).

As a consulting Executive Producer/Art Director/Creative Director, I have helped a range of companies to solve a wide variety of problems. My process involves working closely with both leadership and ICs to help reach your goals. I have experience both producing and art directing for AAA PC/Console, VR, Social, web3, serious games, mobile & casino games.

I offer the following areas of expertise:

Generative AI

Since 2021, I've immersed myself in AI technologies for gaming, aiding executives in grasping their business implications. I can help your organization navigate the diverse landscape of commercial, Open Source, and proprietary AI tools. These discussions can assist in resource allocation and understanding the evolving development and production landscape. My ongoing work spans a variety of AI tools for different gaming genres, from art & animation to Language Models for storytelling and NPCs. I center AI ethics and team morale as essential considerations in this transformative era.

Production

Are you missing deadlines? Long “crunch” phases? Is the quality not there to be competitive? Do you feel communication could be improved inside your studio?

I am a Certified Scrum Master and Product Owner (CollabNet), and can help your organization across a variety of production related axis. I can help you transition to an Agile processes, or if your already using Agile, I can help optimize it for your companies unique culture. I have extensive experience with traditional (waterfall) schedules and my own homegrown solution that embraces a hybrid approach. Solid process is the first step to making quality content.

The "Vision" Thing

Often companies have adequate staff but have trouble formulating a solid vision for their product. Developing a great game requires buy-in from all stakeholders which can be difficult. In my experience, an outsider can sometimes offer a more neutral and objective voice to the conversation. Whether your working on brand-new IP or struggling to 'reboot' an older franchise, there are best-of-breed techniques for generating, defining and broadcasting a solid product vision.

Art Direction / Visual Quality Audit

As an Art Director with ~30 years in games, I provide a comprehensive visual quality review and competitive analysis of your studio's titles. My recommendations are based on current industry trends and targeted to help differentiate a product within a genre or category. I provide both written and visual direction for improvements including priority-ranked actionable tasks. Suggestions are cross-discipline (character, animation, environments, vfx etc.) and can also include quality issues that arise from Art / Design / Tech interactions. My report for Sony for a famous AAA games was 90+ pages!

Staffing Plan

Evaluate your studio's staff size, hiring needs and help w/ talent searches. Let’s be honest, the bulk of your development budget is headcount. Determine team size relative to project requirements and overall studio growth plans. Compare internal strengths to industry standards and your competitors. I can help you navigate the phases of production to avoid expensive 'ship and shoot' traps, determine multi-project logistics to maximize existing human capital or perform an honest audit on your current headcount with an eye towards reducing burn-rate.

Pre-production

Over the years at many companies I have developed a comprehensive ‘pre-production battle plan’ that can be customized for your studio’s next game. A great pre-pro process saves money throughout development. Avoid having ‘down time’ for staff twiddling thumbs between product cycles. Make mistakes "early and often" at very low cost and begin production on solid footing.

Pipeline & Tools

Lets find cost-saving opportunities by improving workflows and making strategic decisions on your toolchain. I have a long history of designing custom tools with engineering teams to tackle unique challenges in development environments, whether for AAA games on modern consoles or mobile & HTML5 projects. My expertise extends to popular middleware like Unity, Unreal, and Crytek, allowing me to provide efficient solutions tailored to your requirements.

Outsourcing

I have been working with outsource art solutions since the early 90s. I’ve managed >$10m in outsource art over the years, including a recent 9-studio global solution doing ~$300K/mo for a single AAA client. I can help you determine a plan and offer guidance specific to a particular developer’s goals (usually related to cost savings and increased productivity). Review existing in-sourcing relationships (if any) with artists/designers and discuss areas for improvement. I have a proven decision-matrix for outsourcing partner determinations and a deep bench of preferred outsource providers offering a wide variety of specific content creation strengths.

Team Morale

“The beatings will continue until morale improves!”
I provide executive teams with a unique and unbiased written assessment, pinpointing key issues and offering potential solutions within their teams, devoid of any bias or political influence.

By cultivating relationships with pertinent staff members, I delve into any underlying dysfunctions that may impede efficiency. Conducting comprehensive interviews with all staff members, I uncover informal conversations and insights, providing valuable context often missed by management, particularly in larger organizations where leadership may be less connected to ground-level realities. Recognizing that employees may hesitate to voice concerns directly to management due to fear of consequences, I ensure anonymity for such feedback, enabling leadership to access essential information for informed decision-making.

Organizational Development

Work with your HR department to help develop company-wide initiatives like Training, Leadership Development, cross-discipline communications & talent retention strategies. Help structure (or review) the company's annual performance review process. Train your next generation of managers and promote from within to minimize hiring risk.

Startups

Starting a new studio? I've been through it a few times and have a ton of advice. I sold my first company to Activision. I'll work closely with you to help define your goals, burn rate, business plan, product definition/scope etc. Short consultations at the beginning will pay dividends once the studio is up and running.

Web3 Gaming

With four years of experience in web3 gaming, I specialize in helping startups gain traction. My expertise includes NFTs, Tokenomics, Community Building, and product-market fit. As a consultant, I work closely with startups to optimize their gaming ecosystems, enhance user engagement, and drive monetization. Overall, I provide comprehensive support to startups, empowering them to succeed in the competitive web3 gaming landscape.

Why hire a contractor / consultant / outsider?

This role has many advantages over a traditional FTE. Some of the most important are:

* complete honesty and transparency - I try to get to the REAL dysfunction that may be happening within teams. I build rapport with individuals and find the patterns / issues they may not be comfortable telling their managers. My final deliverable (usually a comprehensive document) will pull no punches.

* temporary cost - you can engage for any duration necessary. Depending on the scope of your needs you can calibrate the process along the way.

* fresh set-of-eyes from outside the organization - the problem of "groupthink" is well documented. Having someone who has tons of experience elsewhere offer opinions/suggestions/solutions to your company can have immense value.

Together we can improve quality, save money and minimize risk. Lets discuss how I can help you Level Up!.

contact: jason@cosmicfoundry.io