Juan Tamargo, producer of Pyro Studios (In short, the producer is the project manager, the person responsible for deadlines and budgets.), and Néstor Matas, director of interactive content at Zinkia Entertainment, were telling us what the functions of a producer are within a video game company as well as the phases of the development of a video game and the most common mistakes that should be avoided.
The talk was a bit boring as it was all facts and figures, but some interesting conclusions could be drawn. The development of a video game is made up of 3 parts: pre-production, production and post-production.
Pre-production consists of checking that everything necessary to make the game is available, detailing each and every aspect of it, minimizing risks, etc. In short, plan absolutely everything (Master Development Plan).
Production consists of carrying out everything previously planned, managing production and controlling budgets, time and product quality in real time.
In the last stage: post-production, you have to polish and balance the game (for example in playability), to check that it has the quality we expected from it. Additionally, this is when mastering is done and versions are created for each system.