Incubation Teams

Platform: PC · Engine: Unreal · Team size: 9-19 · Timetable: Variable

We had down time twice between projects at Nerve where I was selected to lead our incubation efforts while we waited for new contract work. Each time I partnered with a Game Designer, Art Lead, and Engineering Lead in pursuit of developing a fun prototype we could pitch to potential publishers. The first prototype was developed around asymmetrical team-switching, and the second was a FPS extraction shooter. The extraction shooter prototype was developed into a pitch and the Game Designer and I pitched the title to WB, Amazon, Epic, and Gearbox.

We spent a handful of months in this pre-production incubation phase. I worked with the team to set up a rapid prototyping and playtesting schedule. We were spending the first weeks of every sprint working on new content, and then using the second weeks to rapidly iterate and evolve our idea. We prioritized having a playable version of the game that could demonstrate the fun to our internal stakeholders. My collaboration with the game designer included setting sprint goals and holding the team accountable to them, grooming a simple living backlog, removing inefficiencies to increase iteration speed, and preparing presentations for stakeholders. We took the second idea and developed it into a full pitch that collected a pitch deck, cultivated video, and a playable multiplayer demo into the culmination of our pre-production efforts.