Black Excellence 
http://www.microsoftstudiosblog.com/inside-microsoft-studios-meet-a-hololens-producer-shana/
Inside Microsoft Studios: Meet a HoloLens Producer, Shana!
May 13, 2015 Pamela Wang Inside Microsoft Studios
This week for Inside Microsoft Studios we have found someone who currently works with Microsoft HoloLens and has previously worked on an impressive amount of different game franchises. I know, I know. We talked with someone from HoloLens last week, but I keep running into so many fun people from this group. So, again this week, let’s meet another member from the HoloLens team.
Everyone, Meet Shana!
Shana and a friend traveling!
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Howdy! My name is Shana T Bryant, and I’m a producer on Microsoft HoloLens. I’m a recent transplant to the Pacific Northwest after almost 8 years in the Bay. I’ve been in the game industry for going on 12 years, and this is week #7 at Microsoft.
What is your job here?
I’m a Producer. What does that mean? Well, I smash roadblocks that threaten our productivity. I’m a communicator, a facilitator, and I evangelize our product both internally and externally. I manage schedule and budget and staffing and workload, and I spend a lot of time staring at spreadsheets and making PowerPoints.
A producer really has their hands in a little bit of everything. You’re working with designers to scope out features. You’re coordinating with artists to make those features look and feel good. You’re negotiating with Engineering to see what’s possible and what’s not and then, of course, synching with QA to ensure that the feature actually works. My job is making sure all of that is doable within the time and budget allowed. Put another way, my job is making sure everyone else can do their jobs.
What are some of the game titles you’ve worked on?
I started my gaming career 12 years ago in QA at EA Sports, so I’ve worked on all their sports franchises — Madden, NCAA Football, NFL Street, Fight Night, and even NASCAR (aka Turn Left Simulator). At Midway San Diego (God rests its soul), I worked on some of the greats – Unreal Tournament, Mortal Kombat, Stranglehold, TNA Wrestling – and some of the not-as-greats – Happy Feet, PopStar Guitar, Hour of Victory…and yes, even Cruisin’ Wii. At Capcom, I produced Devil May Cry, Remember Me, Okamiden, Mega Man *cough* *cough*, and Resident Evil. I also provided production support on Street Fighter, MvC3, Ghost Trick, Steel Battalion, and many more.
Brief aside: I’m a huge Capcom fan, so getting to produce the original Devil May Cry 1-3 in HD was a nerd dream come true. I also produced a little handheld, retro de-make called Dark Void Zero. Besides DMC HD, DVZ is the game I’m probably most proud of; plus, it came with this off-the-wall backstory about the Capcom Vault and dual- screen arcade machines and Jimmy Fallon, and it’s all totally true, I swear! (Incidentally, the DVZ dev team are the same talented folks behind IDARB. Great guys. Great game.)
After your experiences on those games, any lessons learned about game design or development you wish to share?
The importance of failure. Seriously, you can oftentimes learn a lot more from a bad project than from a good one. Shipping a game is a very hard thing to do. For every game that’s canceled after announce, there are hundreds that don’t ever make it that far.
As creators, we want people to like us. And more importantly, we want them to love our Creations. We labor long and hard, often for years, and when you put something out there in the public space, it feels good to have that hard work validated with accolades and praise. But just as vital, if not more so, is the negative feedback, the criticism. Success feels good, but a success borne out failure feels earned.
How do you respond to community feedback on the titles you’re working on? Do you and your team consider what fans are saying?
Absolutely! It’s really important to find ways to connect with the community and to learn from other teams and try to build on success. At the same time, it’s also important to have a strong vision for the product and know when and where feedback is welcome.
As a developer, I want feedback. We need feedback. Feedback is valuable. It’s the only way to evolve and improve. But feedback has boundaries. It has to be timely, and it has to be targeted. It has to be real, and it has to be actionable. A hastily scrawled comment like “Feature X sucks!!!” might feel like feedback, but it’s not really actionable. Why does it suck? What makes it suck? Is the reticle too big? Was the control scheme too complicated? Did our tutorial fail to tutorialize? What specifically about the feature makes it not work, and are we far off the mark? It’s only after we intimately understand a problem being communicated that we can even begin to consider solutions.
For example, one Midway fan sent us a crushed up copy of a certain racing game with the note “This game is the worst. Pour this over the lead designer’s head.” We giggled sure, but what does that tell me? Ok, you didn’t like it, but what about it did you not like? That fan could have said, “The Garage system makes no sense. Why do I have to drive every car I acquire like a million miles back to the Garage? It takes FOREVER.” That’s feedback that’s real and actionable.
Shana playing drums for her local band.
What’s a feature in a game you really like? Why?
Let’s talk about perceived randomness. Randomness is an important part of many a game, because when done well, it adds variety and spice to a player’s experience. When done poorly, it leaves a game feeling broken or unfair. Consider the Enemy Encounter algorithm in a game like Left for Dead/2. The developers worked hard to make it seem as though Special Infected appear at random times throughout the experience, when in actuality, they’re triggered when a very specific set of conditions is met.
For example (and I’m totally making up these conditions, since I didn’t work on L4D, but…), if the group has:
1) not been in an encounter in the last 3 minutes AND
2) none of the group died in the last 2 encounters AND
3) a Special Infected has not been generated in the last 5 minutes
If and only if all of the conditions are met will the game trigger a Special Infected. In this way, the developers are able to generate a sense of dread and anticipation (“We’ve haven’t seen a Smoker in a while. I know one’s coming!”), while also making sure not to overwhelm players with endless waves of zombies or Special Infected, which would lead to controller-throwing and/or rage-quitting. Usually both.
Crafting this sort of experience takes a lot of skill and a lot of playtesting. The randomness has to be deliberate to be successful, but it has to look like it’s still random to feel fair.
Walk us through a typical workday for you at Microsoft Studios.
I’m currently a producer on <redacted> on the Microsoft HoloLens team. My day-to-day is pretty amazing. First, we start with <redacted> and then I work with the team to <redacted> and chat with <redacted>. Finally, we always make sure to <redacted> <redacted>. Holograms!
But really, as a producer, we start off the day with Daily Standup, where the entire team gathers, and we discuss what’s on the docket for the day. I then work with each of our disciplines to track down blockers, manage our workload, review designs with Team Leads, communicate up to executives, and make sure we’re tracking toward our sprint goals. Also, holograms. It’s pretty fantastic.
What about your job do you most enjoy?
I enjoy working with people. As a producer, it’s central to the job, and over the years, I’ve been blessed to work with some of the best and brightest this industry has to offer. Every project has its own unique quirks and gifts, and the same can be said of the people developing. Games are fun. Games are weird. People are fun. People are weird. People are what makes a game worth buying in the first place.
When you’re not working, where does life find you?
Well, I write, I draw, I game, and I play drums in small band local to the Bay Area. I also run a blog about politics, games, and other stuff called “The Mushroom Queendom.” I really enjoy traveling, and I’m hoping to get back out to Japan later this year. Lastly, I’ve only been in the Seattle area for a month+, so lately I’ve been exploring the area, getting my bearings, and trying to figure out what the heck a “Fred Meyer” is. (Seriously, what is that.)
Thank you Shana for taking the time to answer our questions! If YOU have any questions for Shana, feel free to ask away in the comments below. Don’t forget to let us know what studio in Microsoft Studios you want to hear from next and we’ll find someone for you to meet. And remember you can always tweet us questions and comments on this article or any other @MSstudiosblog using #InTheStudiosMS.
Interested in joining the team? Take a look at openings by clicking HERE.
See you next week.
http://www.microsoftstudiosblog.com/inside-microsoft-studios-meet-a-hololens-producer-shana/
Inside Microsoft Studios: Meet a HoloLens Producer, Shana!
May 13, 2015 Pamela Wang Inside Microsoft Studios
This week for Inside Microsoft Studios we have found someone who currently works with Microsoft HoloLens and has previously worked on an impressive amount of different game franchises. I know, I know. We talked with someone from HoloLens last week, but I keep running into so many fun people from this group. So, again this week, let’s meet another member from the HoloLens team.
Everyone, Meet Shana!
Shana and a friend traveling!
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Howdy! My name is Shana T Bryant, and I’m a producer on Microsoft HoloLens. I’m a recent transplant to the Pacific Northwest after almost 8 years in the Bay. I’ve been in the game industry for going on 12 years, and this is week #7 at Microsoft.
What is your job here?
I’m a Producer. What does that mean? Well, I smash roadblocks that threaten our productivity. I’m a communicator, a facilitator, and I evangelize our product both internally and externally. I manage schedule and budget and staffing and workload, and I spend a lot of time staring at spreadsheets and making PowerPoints.
A producer really has their hands in a little bit of everything. You’re working with designers to scope out features. You’re coordinating with artists to make those features look and feel good. You’re negotiating with Engineering to see what’s possible and what’s not and then, of course, synching with QA to ensure that the feature actually works. My job is making sure all of that is doable within the time and budget allowed. Put another way, my job is making sure everyone else can do their jobs.
What are some of the game titles you’ve worked on?
I started my gaming career 12 years ago in QA at EA Sports, so I’ve worked on all their sports franchises — Madden, NCAA Football, NFL Street, Fight Night, and even NASCAR (aka Turn Left Simulator). At Midway San Diego (God rests its soul), I worked on some of the greats – Unreal Tournament, Mortal Kombat, Stranglehold, TNA Wrestling – and some of the not-as-greats – Happy Feet, PopStar Guitar, Hour of Victory…and yes, even Cruisin’ Wii. At Capcom, I produced Devil May Cry, Remember Me, Okamiden, Mega Man *cough* *cough*, and Resident Evil. I also provided production support on Street Fighter, MvC3, Ghost Trick, Steel Battalion, and many more.
Brief aside: I’m a huge Capcom fan, so getting to produce the original Devil May Cry 1-3 in HD was a nerd dream come true. I also produced a little handheld, retro de-make called Dark Void Zero. Besides DMC HD, DVZ is the game I’m probably most proud of; plus, it came with this off-the-wall backstory about the Capcom Vault and dual- screen arcade machines and Jimmy Fallon, and it’s all totally true, I swear! (Incidentally, the DVZ dev team are the same talented folks behind IDARB. Great guys. Great game.)
After your experiences on those games, any lessons learned about game design or development you wish to share?
The importance of failure. Seriously, you can oftentimes learn a lot more from a bad project than from a good one. Shipping a game is a very hard thing to do. For every game that’s canceled after announce, there are hundreds that don’t ever make it that far.
As creators, we want people to like us. And more importantly, we want them to love our Creations. We labor long and hard, often for years, and when you put something out there in the public space, it feels good to have that hard work validated with accolades and praise. But just as vital, if not more so, is the negative feedback, the criticism. Success feels good, but a success borne out failure feels earned.
How do you respond to community feedback on the titles you’re working on? Do you and your team consider what fans are saying?
Absolutely! It’s really important to find ways to connect with the community and to learn from other teams and try to build on success. At the same time, it’s also important to have a strong vision for the product and know when and where feedback is welcome.
As a developer, I want feedback. We need feedback. Feedback is valuable. It’s the only way to evolve and improve. But feedback has boundaries. It has to be timely, and it has to be targeted. It has to be real, and it has to be actionable. A hastily scrawled comment like “Feature X sucks!!!” might feel like feedback, but it’s not really actionable. Why does it suck? What makes it suck? Is the reticle too big? Was the control scheme too complicated? Did our tutorial fail to tutorialize? What specifically about the feature makes it not work, and are we far off the mark? It’s only after we intimately understand a problem being communicated that we can even begin to consider solutions.
For example, one Midway fan sent us a crushed up copy of a certain racing game with the note “This game is the worst. Pour this over the lead designer’s head.” We giggled sure, but what does that tell me? Ok, you didn’t like it, but what about it did you not like? That fan could have said, “The Garage system makes no sense. Why do I have to drive every car I acquire like a million miles back to the Garage? It takes FOREVER.” That’s feedback that’s real and actionable.
Shana playing drums for her local band.
What’s a feature in a game you really like? Why?
Let’s talk about perceived randomness. Randomness is an important part of many a game, because when done well, it adds variety and spice to a player’s experience. When done poorly, it leaves a game feeling broken or unfair. Consider the Enemy Encounter algorithm in a game like Left for Dead/2. The developers worked hard to make it seem as though Special Infected appear at random times throughout the experience, when in actuality, they’re triggered when a very specific set of conditions is met.
For example (and I’m totally making up these conditions, since I didn’t work on L4D, but…), if the group has:
1) not been in an encounter in the last 3 minutes AND
2) none of the group died in the last 2 encounters AND
3) a Special Infected has not been generated in the last 5 minutes
If and only if all of the conditions are met will the game trigger a Special Infected. In this way, the developers are able to generate a sense of dread and anticipation (“We’ve haven’t seen a Smoker in a while. I know one’s coming!”), while also making sure not to overwhelm players with endless waves of zombies or Special Infected, which would lead to controller-throwing and/or rage-quitting. Usually both.
Crafting this sort of experience takes a lot of skill and a lot of playtesting. The randomness has to be deliberate to be successful, but it has to look like it’s still random to feel fair.
Walk us through a typical workday for you at Microsoft Studios.
I’m currently a producer on <redacted> on the Microsoft HoloLens team. My day-to-day is pretty amazing. First, we start with <redacted> and then I work with the team to <redacted> and chat with <redacted>. Finally, we always make sure to <redacted> <redacted>. Holograms!
But really, as a producer, we start off the day with Daily Standup, where the entire team gathers, and we discuss what’s on the docket for the day. I then work with each of our disciplines to track down blockers, manage our workload, review designs with Team Leads, communicate up to executives, and make sure we’re tracking toward our sprint goals. Also, holograms. It’s pretty fantastic.
What about your job do you most enjoy?
I enjoy working with people. As a producer, it’s central to the job, and over the years, I’ve been blessed to work with some of the best and brightest this industry has to offer. Every project has its own unique quirks and gifts, and the same can be said of the people developing. Games are fun. Games are weird. People are fun. People are weird. People are what makes a game worth buying in the first place.
When you’re not working, where does life find you?
Well, I write, I draw, I game, and I play drums in small band local to the Bay Area. I also run a blog about politics, games, and other stuff called “The Mushroom Queendom.” I really enjoy traveling, and I’m hoping to get back out to Japan later this year. Lastly, I’ve only been in the Seattle area for a month+, so lately I’ve been exploring the area, getting my bearings, and trying to figure out what the heck a “Fred Meyer” is. (Seriously, what is that.)
Thank you Shana for taking the time to answer our questions! If YOU have any questions for Shana, feel free to ask away in the comments below. Don’t forget to let us know what studio in Microsoft Studios you want to hear from next and we’ll find someone for you to meet. And remember you can always tweet us questions and comments on this article or any other @MSstudiosblog using #InTheStudiosMS.
Interested in joining the team? Take a look at openings by clicking HERE.
See you next week.
would wife
when speaking on this topic
