Why all great games need a product vision

Game studios all too often find themselves stuck in the same situation: Production should be underway, but the dev team is still somewhere in discovery mode. Rather than execution and content-build being in full flow, time is being spent debating over fundamental questions that should have been answered at the start. What is the game actually about? Why is it unique? How will it work? This frustrating yet frequent reality wastes significant time and money which, in turn, ramps up pressure on the project and all involved. At best, teams suffer severe burnout. And at worst, the studio may not survive.

The root cause, however, is typically the same. And thankfully, completely avoidable. What all game production needs, but often entirely lacks, is a proper product vision.