Finding the Fun First: An Agile Mobile Game Development Case Study

Speakers: Jeferson Valadares

Track: Mobile: Production

Format: Lecture

Experience Level: All

Description: The most important - and difficult - part of game development is to get the core of the gameplay right, find that magic that makes it fun. It doesn't matter how well the game is executed if it is missing that essential ingredient that hooks the player to come back for more.

Agile Game Development is gaining ground, particularly a method called Scrum. Basically, Scrum is about delivering a new playable versions in short iterations and seeing if it is any fun or not. You are iteratively looking for the fun, the core of the game, before you start building all the fancy (and expensive) meat on top of the bones. But Scrum is no silver bullet. Agile can fail just like any other approach. There are pitfalls to avoid and to overcome to succesfully navigate a Scrum project. It also takes guts to let go, to lose some of the feeling of being in full control, even if it is just that – a feeling.

Idea Takeaway: A short introduction to basics of Scrum is provided but most of the presentation will focus on how to apply it to mobile game development environment. This lecture gives the audience a chance to learn from the very latest experiences we have gained trying to take Scrum into use. This case study will have tons of concrete hands-on knowledge to share.

Intended Audience: This session is intended for those interested in what agile and iterative methodologies - Scrum in particular - have to offer and how well they fit mobile games development. Prior familiarity with Agile and/or Scrum is not required, but helps get more out of the presentation.