TIM LETOURNEAU
Former SVP of Games, Zynga
Tim LeTourneau is an experienced game producer whose credits include SimCity 3000 (1999), The Sims (2000), The Sims 2 (2004), MySims (2007), and FarmVille 2 (2012). Before Zynga, he worked at EA/Maxis on the SimCity and The Sims series of games.
On game designers:
I wouldn’t call myself a game designer. I would call myself a game producer, and more importantly a game maker. I’ve had the opportunity through my career to work with some of the most talented designers in the industry and not only learn from them, but interpret their designs to the screen with a focus on the player.
On games that have inspired him:
Beginning my career in game production at Maxis, I think I have been most inspired by games with interlocking systems that influence and react to one another. The tapestry of simulation layers and their workings in SimCity 3000 was really the first time I got under the hood of a game. How those systems interacted with one another, and even more importantly how you communicated that interaction to the player is the foundation of much of my design thinking. Couple that with the ability for players to express themselves through the mastery of those systems, and you have the foundation of my design philosophy. I love games that put the power to create in the hands of the players—I’m not sure if you can call Lego a game, but it’s definitely been one of my biggest inspirations.
What is the most exciting development in the recent game industry?
Smartphones. Everyone now has the ultimate gaming system in their pocket and it’s connected to a world of other gamers.
On his design process:
So many of the games that I have worked on are based on the simulation of real-world elements, so I often start with a question of what would people find fun to play with digitally. More importantly, can we translate that real-world experience into something engaging and understandable on the screen?
As a process, it usually starts as a brainstorm with a bunch of creative folks from a variety of disciplines (engineering, art, production, and of course design). Past the initial brainstorm, as a particular interest starts to resonate, I like to move to a mind-mapping type of approach to see whether the idea has legs—how deep can we take it. Mind mapping is particularly effective when looking at how simulation layers might work with one another because you can start to draw connections between nodes and formulate how they will interact with one another—the interactions are the game design.
From there it is about getting prototypes created for key interactions—prototypes come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but the key is to get something to which you can respond. Prototypes help build conviction, and that conviction is what drives the game forward.
Once conviction is built, you have to start to understand how you will build it “for real.” One of the things I’ve seen is that there can be a desire to take a “prototype” to “shippable.” Prototypes are disposable. They are meant to create clarity and provide direction; they are learning tools.
Beyond the design, the tech and the team are what are going to make or break your game. And my true philosophy is that “games are made by teams.” It’s all about assembling the right team with the right chemistry. True polish comes from passionate team members who have pride in what they are making and a desire to deliver an incredible experience to the player.
Do you use prototypes?
Absolutely! They take a variety of forms. As a process, it’s generally a question of what approach is going to give the most clarity the fastest. I think the most important element of prototyping is having a clear understanding of what you want to learn from the prototype. Paper, physical, visual, and code can all be effective, provided you know what you want to learn from the start. I have found that the best prototypes are generated by the individual most interested in proving the case, and that they pick the medium they think is most effective for doing so. The key to prototypes is that they are disposable—they are sketches, not blueprints.
On a particularly difficult design problem:
Oftentimes the design is not the problem; the communication of the design is the real challenge. For example, in Farmville 2 we had a very cool design for water on the board. Water is a key resource in the game and is required to grow crops. Players harvested water from wells (which run on timers). However, crops planted by water didn’t require watering (so planting crops near water was beneficial and strategic). Even though we taught players to harvest from the wells, which they seemed to get intuitively, once their wells were dry, they would consistently try to collect from the water on the board. No matter what we used to communicate the difference, there was invariably a consistent moment of frustration and confusion on the part of the players when they ran out of water. For the team, water on the board was one of our favorite features and created a lot differentiation between farms. How did we solve the problem? We cut water on the board. Regardless of our passion for the feature, we recognized that it was causing confusion rather than delight. I have learned to never be afraid to cut something that isn’t working, no matter how cool it might be. Some of the best games are a reflection of the features the designers chose not to include—great design is often the practice of great editing.
What are you most proud of in your career?
That is such a great question. I often ask this in interviews. I am most proud of Hot Date (the 3rd Sims expansion pack). My pride came not only from the game itself, which allowed The Sims to finally leave their homes and get out on the town. But more importantly, it was also the first game team that I built; a team that stuck together for four more expansion packs.
On advice to designers:
Great designers not only understand the art and craft of design, they understand the business of game making. The more you know about the business, the more effectively you can bring your designs to fruition.