A Comparison: Web and Game Development
While researching the gaming industry, I thought writing a post comparing my software engineer experience to my game development process research would be suitable.
Similarities
The Idea
Video games and web applications begin with an idea. While the motives around bringing the concept to life may be different (to entertain, improve processes, profit, etc.), it is essential to identify the necessary steps and questions to realize but also test the validity of the idea:
What tools, people, and other resources are required?
How long will it take?
How much will this cost?
What is also crucial during this initial process is that people from other disciplines participate in these discussions. These individuals include subject matter experts who can contribute their expertise to help answer questions like those stated above and other teams who will need to be involved.
Plan and Prototype
While the excitement around the idea might tempt you to start building immediately, planning is essential. Planning will reduce the possibility of significant rework and headaches during development. Designers will use this time before development to conduct user research and start prototyping solutions via drawings, wireframes, and mockups. Programmers want to make tech stack decisions and set up their development environments. Product owners, scrum masters, producers, and other project management personnel will convene to discuss timelines and milestones while working with department leads and stakeholders to refine their artifacts.
Implementation
We have a plan, and our resources are ready to go. The process of bringing the idea to realization begins. Departments will work on their assigned tasks in tandem with the project's overall schedule. Ensuring no obstacles for any department, product owners, or producers will have coordinated the dependencies well enough to make handoffs of assets, research, and documentation available when necessary.
However, without fail, there will always be something unexpected that threatens the flow and delivery of the project, from personnel to technical limitations to reevaluating design decisions. The various departments must continue communicating effectively so that product owners or producers can consider and develop workarounds when needed.
Reflection
When the feature or product is complete, retrospectives or postmortems allow team members to provide feedback about the overall experience.
These meetings aren't about placing blame on any individual and instead focus on identifying root causes of issues that occurred during the development process by asking questions such as:
What went well?
What didn't go well?
What could we do better next time?
Differences
Complexity
Proper planning and effective communication are vital throughout all phases of the development process. More facets in game development require more planning and coordination—disciplines ranging from but not limited to artists, animators, sound engineers, writers, and marketing. Effectively planning and coordinating between these teams and ensuring a shared understanding of the overall product is a tremendous feat.
Something I have always enjoyed from my experience is the unique collaborative moments that bring people together from multiple disciplines and teams to discuss solutions that improve the product. These moments inspire me by reminding me how everyone has a stake in the outcome and wants to contribute their best work.
“Imagine the very best outcome and do everything in your power to manifest it”
