Development Cycles...

[@\NightandtheShape/@]

Now I don't usually do things like this, and usually I wouldn't think it warrented a mention really, accept I was wondering what people would think, especially those who have experience in developing software...

 

Now I can't really go into much depth, but lets just say that over the last 7 months give or take a few days... weeks... I was tasked with a lead programmer role developing a game engine & a game. That's from scratch, in a language I didn't know(C#) and using a new API(XNA). In the early weeks of development it was simply myself and another programmer working upon the project, mostly conceptually researching the game after two weeks we deemed the game significantly more complicated than other projects that had been pitched.

 

Management told us to go off and develop the game more, so we did so, and after a few weeks I had the data structures in place to show the game world as envisioned by the designer, at this point, the game's design needed updating the concept was simple, and there was little else we could really develop at that stage, I either didn't have permission to develop the required technology or we didn't have the assets.

 

Thusly, begins the nightmare.

 

The programmer I was working with was being exceptionally difficult at the time, and even more difficult to work with and communicate with than usual, he'd taken to arguing and asking me upon every next step what he should do, literally down to the level of variable names... He was also not providing any results in regards to player movement. He'd actually begun bitching and begging other programmers to swop tasks with him, this was partly because he wasn't the best gameplay programmer around and partcially because the task itself was very challenging. So to save stress I took the task from him added it to my huge list of tasks, and tasked him with developing the front end menu system something i knew he was very good at.

 

I also began asking my manager to increase my team, at which point I briefly got another programmer to work with me on developing shaders to aid the games look. Shader development was something somewhat new to everyone in the studio. Especially myself so I was glad for the help I gave him a list of shaders I required and got back to working on the engine. May i also state that the Designers ambitions were increasing dramatically on a daily basis...

 

Eventually I ended up being tasked with a huge amount of work, which basically meant I had to develop a scripting language, a world builder, change the entire renderer, restructure the level data, add in player interaction, and after a couple of shaders I lost my only other programmer to another project so I had to develop those aswell.

 

I'd been working single handed on this game for quite some time, when it was decided to make the other project the studio was undertaking a priority, everyone was to work on that apart ffrom myself and the guy I had developing the menu, the design team was quite large so we had alot of assets under development, I began again asking the management for help, at first I was just told that there wasn't anyone as the other project had a 2nd of july deadline, and despite it being significantly less complex it was a studio priority. So I kept asking for help, and eventually got another coder, this meant we could begin developing some really cool stuff, I could concentrate on getting the engine working and work with him on getting some of the ideas the designers wanted incluiding into the game, mostly concerning particles and particle physics, but I also had the guy develop the HUD, he actually prooved himself very capible and very easy to work with.

 

I'd been crawling through developing a skinned model animation engine and driving that in the game(not a nice experience as I had to use an undocumented file format, and not one of my own design or choosing), we'd managed to finally get a character in the game and working quite well, but the implementation wasn't complete, we'd not managed to get much of the gameplay into the game, but we'd really started to see some light at the end of the tunnel and the game was slowly coming togeather it actually looked pretty cool, and with the bouncing particles and gravity and such it was looking very promising. we were all happy. We had all been working 12 to 16 hour days for about a month at this point and we really needed to take a bit of a break and slow down for a while.

 

Okay now we're coming to the topic of the post if you've stayed with me this far, and I hope folks like Meta, Kaften... etc... have done... A week and a half ago the guy who runs the studio (he's not actually there very often he tends to pop in for 10 minutes and leave and this isn't even daily), comes into the studio and demands the game finished for the 2nd of july, we'd told him 3 months previous and repeated it to him up until this point that this wasn't possible.

 

So he demands that we scale back our ambitions and brings in an experienced designer to help the designers, the result of which throws everything into disarray, most of what i developed was seen as usless for hitting the deadline so our best artist got put onto developing bloody sky sphere's, we scaled back alot of the artwork. We lost a texture artist, and a 3D modeller from the design team, the designers and artists basically had to put up with being told their work was s**t. It wasn't.

 

I was given two weeks to develop 1/3 or the gameplay mechanic (a huge task) and integrate the entire menu system into the engine and get everything running smoothly, and as bug free as possible, as for any other tasks they've given me two programmers who both have no knowledge of the engine.

 

So to be brief, I've had to pretty much single handedly make an entire game engine and game over a 7 month development cycle, I've been given a deadline I didn't know I had... The result of all this is that it looks very unlikely that we'll hit this deadline, even if I work overtime.

 

Now I've tired to be brief and I've tried not to go on, or into too much depth, but can it really be done can a single programmer develop a sophisticated game engine and game in 7 months pretty much single handedly? Or is it me?

[thepixiesrock]

So you've got seven days to finish a game, and you're wasting your time posting here? You'd better get cracking pal.

[@\NightandtheShape/@]

So you've got seven days to finish a game, and you're wasting your time posting here? You'd better get cracking pal.

 

More like 4, I don't get paid for overtime.

 

And I did post well after I'd finished at work...

[Tale]

Know what'd help? Licensing an engine. :pokes Night with a stick:

[Gfted1]

On the bright side, you pull this off and you'll come out looking like a champ. Good luck.

[@\NightandtheShape/@]

Know what'd help? Licensing an engine. :pokes Night with a stick:

 

No budget. If I could have done I would have... But *Sigh* such things are out of my hands.

 

On the bright side, you pull this off and you'll come out looking like a champ. Good luck.

 

Knowing the people I work with I'd just be met with scorn.

 

Don't get me wrong, there is a chance I can pull it off for the 2nd of july, but for some bizzare reason and strange twist of fate I can't work past 9pm because the access cards we have to the building are now void, so unless it's sorted quickly it looks even less unlikely.

 

It's not the problem either, it's the sheer amount of code that's required. I dunno, I fixed all the bugs I knew about and still have to finish most of the mechanics.

 

The bizzare thing is that after the 2nd, we just go back to doing what the lead designer orginally specified. It's a bit of a waste, and a hack session.

Edited June 25, 2007 by @\NightandtheShape/@

[Tale]

Know what'd help? Licensing an engine. :pokes Night with a stick:

 

No budget. If I could have done I would have... But *Sigh* such things are out of my hands.

Whaaaa?! I was... trolling you and this is what I get? You suck!

 

Good luck, though.

[Wistrik]

Sounds like you work for EA, but it could be anyone this day and age. Gone are the peaceful days of the 80s and the lone programmer.

 

All you can do is your best. Time will tell if that's enough. Make sure to put all your accomplishments into an updated resume, just in case.

[@\NightandtheShape/@]

Sounds like you work for EA, but it could be anyone this day and age. Gone are the peaceful days of the 80s and the lone programmer.

 

All you can do is your best. Time will tell if that's enough. Make sure to put all your accomplishments into an updated resume, just in case.

 

Thanks for the advice, I will certainly bare that in mind...

 

Heh... As I've said before to folk in the past:

 

When you work for EA you're overworked and underpaid, when you work where I work, you're overworked, treated like crap, used up spat out and maybe you'll get enough to buy yourself a cookie.

 

It's alot worse than EA.

[Tale]

You work for SOE?

[metadigital]

Let me tell you a story.

 

There once was a programmer, who was brought into a similar situation to you (as a can-do super-fixer), where many other programmers had tried, failed and made a big mess. The new programmer was given the ludicrously long list of goals, which was duly scanned and filed. Then, the programmer found a really neat, visually stunning little effect that everyone had always wanted to implement into the game, but never got around to it owing to the ever-tightening deadlines and piling workload. So the programmer did nothing else except this really cool feature.

 

Anyway, this took some time. All the time that the superstar had been given (about a week). To be fair, the implementation was fantastic. But what about the game?

 

Well, as expected, the programmer was called in front of the directors to explain the situation and give a progress report. The programmer gave an intelligent, realistic and quite devastating status report. Then, during the questions, the demo (a looped view of the really cool visual feature) caught the attention of every management suit at the table. Every question met with the demo re-run, which was really cool to watch.

 

the management team didn't remember all the details, but they were impressed with the demonstration and the skill of the programmer, as well as the brutal honesty of the status report and decided that the best way to recoup their investment was to invest just a little bit more into this super programmer.

 

[Tale]

Let me tell you a story.

 

There once was a programmer, who was brought into a similar situation to you (as a can-do super-fixer), where many other programmers had tried, failed and made a big mess. The new programmer was given the ludicrously long list of goals, which was duly scanned and filed. Then, the programmer found a really neat, visually stunning little effect that everyone had always wanted to implement into the game, but never got around to it owing to the ever-tightening deadlines and piling workload. So the programmer did nothing else except this really cool feature.

 

Anyway, this took some time. All the time that the superstar had been given (about a week). To be fair, the implementation was fantastic. But what about the game?

 

Well, as expected, the programmer was called in front of the directors to explain the situation and give a progress report. The programmer gave an intelligent, realistic and quite devastating status report. Then, during the questions, the demo (a looped view of the really cool visual feature) caught the attention of every management suit at the table. Every question met with the demo re-run, which was really cool to watch.

 

the management team didn't remember all the details, but they were impressed with the demonstration and the skill of the programmer, as well as the brutal honesty of the status report and decided that the best way to recoup their investment was to invest just a little bit more into this super programmer.

 

 

I love it when a good con comes together.

[metadigital]

It is a judicious use of resources to emphasize the benefits of the project, whilst realistically confronting the challenges. "

[Guard Dog]

Let me tell you a story.

 

There once was a programmer, who was brought into a similar situation to you (as a can-do super-fixer), where many other programmers had tried, failed and made a big mess. The new programmer was given the ludicrously long list of goals, which was duly scanned and filed. Then, the programmer found a really neat, visually stunning little effect that everyone had always wanted to implement into the game, but never got around to it owing to the ever-tightening deadlines and piling workload. So the programmer did nothing else except this really cool feature.

 

Anyway, this took some time. All the time that the superstar had been given (about a week). To be fair, the implementation was fantastic. But what about the game?

 

Well, as expected, the programmer was called in front of the directors to explain the situation and give a progress report. The programmer gave an intelligent, realistic and quite devastating status report. Then, during the questions, the demo (a looped view of the really cool visual feature) caught the attention of every management suit at the table. Every question met with the demo re-run, which was really cool to watch.

 

the management team didn't remember all the details, but they were impressed with the demonstration and the skill of the programmer, as well as the brutal honesty of the status report and decided that the best way to recoup their investment was to invest just a little bit more into this super programmer.

 

 

If you cant dazzle them with brilliance then distract them with B.S.

[Walsingham]

A surprisingly interesting post. Lessons, possibly, are:

 

1. Your strategic authority (the big boss) was too much out of touch with his operational leaders (you).

 

2. Your operational plans and the knowledge contained in them are being ignored.

 

3. Your tactical assets are indisciplined and lacking in the gumption caused by good motivation.

 

Without wanting to be harsh you have a part responsibility for all the above. But as forum member and friend, commiserations. It sucks to be you. Your boss is ultimately responsible. Kick him in the nuts.

[Guard Dog]

Nothing makes a workplace more miserable than high expectations coupled with bad management.

 

On another note, I read an article a little while ago that I just cannot find to link. I remember it was in Time magazine. Anyway, it had suicide rates broken down by profession. Police and psychologists were number one and two. Surprisingly (or maybe not after reading Nights post) Computer Engineer/Software Engineer was in the top 10, around 5-6.

 

Good luck Night. It sounds only a little less difficult than climbing Everest without supplemental oxygen though.

[Kaftan Barlast]

This is a very common scenario in the world of game development, Ive had it happen to alot of friends of mine. The worst scenario Ive heard of is with a friend of mine who was working freelance developing an online education game. He's worked like a slave since christmas only to find out that the serverside development is in a complete standstill, and the project coordinator having embezzled their paychecks it seems.

 

 

The main reason why this happens to people is because you're afraid to say "no" because then maybe you will be seen as overly negative or work-shy. But it's common to have management people with no technical background whatsoever dictating the terms of development and they *will* make your life hell. They will take a look at the budget and most often come to the conclusion that "shorter development time = less costs = more profit" without realising what the consequences are.

 

 

I have developed both a good sense of how long things take to make, aswellas as a "spidersense" of when a deal is dubious. I was offered to work on the project mentioned above but I turned it down because the schedual was so tight that it was obvious that the management didnt know what they were doing. If you're already in a project and the management tries something like this, then its time to firmly plants both heels in the ground and pull the break with all your might. Explain that Task X will take a minimum of two weeks to do, or it wont get done at all. Assert your technical authority, if you say it cant be done, it cant be done. Make it clear to them that if you dont get the time and resources you need, they WONT get a product. Make them think youre indispensable, and then threaten to quit if you dont get your way.

 

 

 

It might seem suicidal to take such a hard stance, but an artist I know is even more adamant than I am, and he is among the most well-paid and often-hired in Sweden. So it does work.

[kirottu]

Now I've tired to be brief and I've tried not to go on, or into too much depth, but can it really be done can a single programmer develop a sophisticated game engine and game in 7 months pretty much single handedly? Or is it me?

 

Isn

[Tale]

I thought 50 would be enough for a couple teams.

 

For example, Valve has 104 and at least four teams. And I'm guessing low with that.

 

Obsidian has 110 (according to Wikipedia, anyway). They've got at least 3 teams working right now. Aliens, Mask, and a new IP (supposedly).

Edited June 26, 2007 by Tale

[kirottu]

Hmm... Bioware had 220 at 2005.

 

I think I need some inside information from someone who works in game industry, like Cantousent.

[Tale]

300 currently according to Wikipedia

 

Dragon Age

Mass Effect

Sonic RPG

unnammed MMO

??????

 

Zombie jesus, even with two studios, that's a lot of employees.

Edited June 26, 2007 by Tale

[Cantousent]

Good Lord, don't use me as a source of information. I'm more interested in the human side of things than the technical. Other than the project on which I'm working now, I don't pay much attention to what goes on around here. However, I will say that there are a lot of folks working on this project. That's just on the developer side. If you count the folks on the publisher side, it's even more. Remember, I work for the publisher, not the developer. The tally of developers wouldn't include any of the publisher QA folks even though we work on the project daily. I wouldn't be surprised to think that 50 people might be working on some of the larger projects. That's art, design, programming, etc.

 

Remember, though, I'm not really an insider. More like an intruder sticking his nose into industry business. I'm more of a industry busybody, I guess. :Cant's sheepish grin icon:

[Tale]

I like the consider myself an industry analyst.

 

In that I have no experience or personal connections with the industry but I'm going to pretend I know what I'm talking about.

[Gorth]

In that I have no experience or personal connections with the industry but I'm going to pretend I know what I'm talking about.

Those are known as critics and reviewers

 

But yeah, been in a similar situation in a different line of business nearly a decade ago. Management lacked skill and project managment was non-existing. Spent better part of 12 months working crunch time (and gave me half of the gray hair I have now) on a system that was in the end a failure and a bitter lesson. Best advice is the one about keeping your resume up to date and start looking elsewhere. Unless they go bust, get bought out and put under new supervision, things are unlikely to improve.

[metadigital]

I have developed both a good sense of how long things take to make, aswellas as a "spidersense" of when a deal is dubious. I was offered to work on the project mentioned above but I turned it down because the schedual was so tight that it was obvious that the management didnt know what they were doing. If you're already in a project and the management tries something like this, then its time to firmly plants both heels in the ground and pull the break with all your might. Explain that Task X will take a minimum of two weeks to do, or it wont get done at all. Assert your technical authority, if you say it cant be done, it cant be done. Make it clear to them that if you dont get the time and resources you need, they WONT get a product. Make them think youre indispensable, and then threaten to quit if you dont get your way.

 

 

 

It might seem suicidal to take such a hard stance, but an artist I know is even more adamant than I am, and he is among the most well-paid and often-hired in Sweden. So it does work.

 

Don't let ANYONE bully you into agreeing to something you don't agree with, ever.