gamer207 said:
I do have experience leading teams in other industries, like film production and working with investors, but gaming is definitely a new space for me.
It's a combination of several.
You are already familiar with film, which is an art/creative industry. Games include that.
You are already familiar with investors, and figuring out funding and business development are part of games.
Software development is another element in games. Software is notorious for being badly scoped, making it eventually both late and over budget. Games are no exception. Even with experience it is difficult to properly scope the size and cost of software.
gamer207 said:
Are you suggesting that it might be better to hire someone to create a working prototype or game first, and then use that as a foundation to attract like-minded collaborators
It is quite common for there to be multiple directors working together as part of the leadership team.
Whether it is better to do it or hire it out gets complex, and depends on details including the size of the organization.
The executive producer is often a business owner or executive officer in charge of the business side, often with a title of CEO. The creative director handles the creative side and various art disciplines, sometimes with a title of senior game designer, director of game design, or similar, often working with lower-level art director, music director, design director, etc. The technical director or technical officer handles the software development side of developing software, and in some studios also manages the IT department, more typically it's a parallel IT is managed separate from the software development groups. There are also business development directors or bizdev looking at securing contracts, working with lawyers, and making sure the business side is thriving.
In a larger studio with many projects it is typical for each individual project to have all three (or more) in the form of a senior producer, a senior designer or creative director, and tech director or tech lead, the three (or more) together mange the project.
You may be fully competent and able to do the work, but it is typical to have at least three distinct roles represented in larger projects working as a management team. For small businesses with <10 workers the senior people will likely have multiple roles. For startups and hobby projects everybody does a bit of everything.