John Bolton

I make computer/video games at 3DO.

Developing software for games involves these issues:

• the code must be fast
• the design changes constantly (major design changes at the end of development are common)
• the platforms change constantly
• the platforms have very diverse architectures
• platform limitations and constraints are idiosyncratic
• customer expectations are very high
• management expectations are very high
• the industry is hit-driven (i.e. 90% of sales are generated by 10% of the products)
• product shelf-life is short

Software development methodology in the game industry is typically 5 - 20 years years behind the rest of the world. One result is the chronic 3 - 6 (or more) months of 80-hour weeks that have become the norm. This has been very frustrating for me because it is obvious that the root of the problem is poor management of the software development process. My long-term focus is to accelerate the acceptance of modern methodologies in the game industry in order to reduce my frustration (and workload).

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