Production

Production is an element of visual novel development that describes tasks to support and enable the work of the creative team. It includes forming and managing the development team, project management & setting deadlines, and helping the team work well together. Other elements of development such as planning and funding are sometimes included in production.

Importance & Purpose

In order to produce a cohesive final product, a development team must work effectively together. Each type of asset and team member relies on other types in order to be useful in the final game.

Especially when working as an independent developer (indie), it is critical to set goals and deadlines to help keep the development team motivated and accountable. Many indie games fail to reach market simply because one or more components of production are never completed, or delayed for too long. A project management role is to keep track of each team member's work and alert project leaders when deadlines may not be able to be reached. This allows the team to change plans as needed to keep the project on schedule - or minimize delays.

Additionally, production work ensures that team members' work is coordinated with each other. For example, if the writing & editing team is not aware when the script will be sent to voice actors, they may not have a final version completed in time. Additionally, if an artist is not informed that a background must include the fountain mentioned in the script, it will create a continuity issue.