I got an email recently asking for my advice on bug fixing vs. completly rewriting a broken tool. The email described the complexity of the tool in question being caused by the addition of new features on top of an already shakey starting point. This sort of problem always comes down to time and money. The perception among [...]
Some of you may have read my recent Gamasutra article, Game Tools Tune-Up: Optimize Your Pipeline Through Usability but I wanted to discuss something that writing that article has really brought to the forefront of my mind. As an industry, we aren’t very reflective on the methodologies we use regarding the development of tools. This blog [...]
Several years ago, I developed an effects tool at High Voltage Software. I was rewriting the effects system we had used on Hunter: The Reckoning and a couple of follow-up titles while creating the tool. The original system had given us some really great results for our first generation Xbox titles and the company wanted to reuse [...]
When I was in college I was a double major — computer science and English. I know, I know, strange combination. Anyway, of the few things that people have said over the years that have really stuck with me, one such pearl of wisdom came from an English professor. He said that a piece of [...]
03.03Scheduling Tools
Scheduling tools is tricky business. Most tools aren’t even started until they’re needed, unless you’ve got some very forward thinking management (an unlikely scenario at many game companies). The time constraints are impossible since they’re in sync with an equally impossible game production schedule, and budget constraints can be equally constricting. So, how do we [...]
In these trying economic times, companies are finding ways to cut back on development costs. This often means job losses. When one or more games need to be finished and the tools are relatively stable, it’s hard to sell cutting anyone on gameplay or content. The tools team often bears the brunt of layoffs, especially among the [...]
There are many reasons game development tools fail. Perhaps not all of these apply to you, but every game studio I’ve seen has had one or more of the following problems. 1. Design as you go All too often, game companies are in too much of a hurry to allow proper upfront design of tools. [...]