A videogame is a product of combined expertise across dozens of disciplines. But in a recently-published Youtube video titled "Have an Idiot at the Table," former BioWare producer Mark Darrah said it's valuable during a game's development to have someone with only a layman's understanding present in discussions about design and direction—provided they understand when and where their feedback is useful.
Darrah, who worked as executive producer on the Dragon Age games and the ill-fated Anthem, said he's spent more than half his career as just that kind of "professional non-expert." During the projects he worked on, he said discussions about game design, art direction, and audio—disciplines he isn't trained in—benefited from the presence of a layman's perspective, because it helps ground the ambitions and impulses of the project's experts.
English (US)