Book Notes #11: Agile Game Development with Scrum by Clinton Keith

Agile Game Development with Scrum shows how to form successful agile teams and promote effective collaboration within and beyond those teams, throughout the entire process.

Title: Agile Game Development with Scrum
Author: Clinton Keith
Year: 2010
Pages: 227

Game development is in crisis—facing bloated budgets, impossible schedules, unmanageable complexity, and death march overtime. 

It’s no wonder so many development studios are struggling to survive. Fortunately, there is a solution. Scrum and Agile methods are already revolutionizing development outside the game industry. 

Now, long-time game developer Clinton Keith shows exactly how to successfully apply these methods to the unique challenges of game development, sharing on Agile Game Development with Scrum.

As a result, I gave this book a rating of 7.0/10.

For me, a book with a note 10 is one I consider reading again every year. Among the books I rank with 10, for example, is Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People.

3 Reasons to read Agile Game Development with Scrum

Tailored to Game Development

Unlike other Agile books that focus on generic software development, Agile Game Development with Scrum is specifically written for game developers. The book offers insights into the industry’s unique challenges and how Agile practices can be adapted to meet them.

Practical Approach

The book is filled with case studies, examples, and step-by-step guides on how to implement Scrum in real-world game development scenarios. It doesn’t just teach theory but provides a practical framework for application.

Experienced Author

Clinton Keith’s vast experience in both game and software development ensures that readers are getting advice from someone who understands the intricacies of both fields. His guidance is based on years of hands-on experience.

Clinton Keith has spent more than fifteen years developing games, seven of them with Scrum and agile methods.

Drawing on this unparalleled expertise, he shows how teams can use Scrum to deliver games more efficiently, rapidly, and cost-effectively; craft games that offer more entertainment value; and make life more fulfilling for development teams at the same time.

Agile Game Development with Scrum helps you in understanding Scrum’s goals, roles, and practices in the context of game development, helping to communicate and plan your game’s vision, features, and progress. 

In Agile Game Development with Scrum, Clint shares his experience and insights, telling us everything we need to know to successfully use Scrum in the challenging field of game development. 

In doing so, he provides an introduction to agile and Scrum and tells us how they can help manage the increasing complexity facing most game development efforts. 

Along the way, Clint offers invaluable guidance on getting all the specialists who are necessary on a game project to work together in an agile manner. He even delves into how to use Scrum when working with a publisher.

In providing all of this guidance, Clint doesn’t shy away from the challenges. Instead, he generously shares his advice so that we can perhaps avoid some of them.

The book explores agile basics and provides readers with the tools and strategies needed to successfully manage game development.

Some key insights and learnings from Agile Game Development with Scrum include:

  • Understand agile principles and Scrum methodology.
  • Utilize Scrum tools and techniques to create successful games.
  • Foster collaboration and trust between teams.
  • Increase productivity and reduce costs.
  • Manage risk and make informed decisions.
  • Optimize game design and development processes.

With over 20 years of experience in both software development and video games, Keith’s expertise shines through in this book. He explains how Agile methods like Scrum can adapt to the unique challenges of the game development industry, where projects are often long, complex, and subject to rapidly changing requirements.

The book begins by discussing the traditional approaches to game development, which are often linear and struggle to cope with the fluid and creative nature of the industry. Keith contrasts these methods with Agile principles, showing how Scrum helps teams deliver value incrementally while responding to change. He dives into the mechanics of Scrum, breaking down roles (Scrum Master, Product Owner, and Development Team), events (Sprint Planning, Daily Standups, Sprint Reviews, and Retrospectives), and artifacts (Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog, and Increments). Each of these is explained through real-world examples tailored to game development, giving readers practical tools to start using Scrum immediately.

Keith’s book is filled with case studies and examples of how Agile principles have been successfully applied in major game studios. He details the benefits of iterative development, frequent feedback loops, and the importance of continuous collaboration between developers, artists, designers, and stakeholders. It’s not just a guide for software engineers; it’s a playbook for cross-functional teams to work together more effectively and to stay flexible when faced with creative and technical uncertainties.

The book’s structure makes it easy to follow, whether you’re new to Agile or an experienced developer looking to improve your team’s efficiency. Each chapter builds on the last, gradually revealing how Scrum can be adapted for game studios. Keith doesn’t shy away from discussing common challenges, like how to handle creative differences between team members or the complexities of working with distributed teams.

The most valuable takeaway from the book is its focus on iteration and feedback loops. In an industry as fast-paced and uncertain as game development, having a framework that allows for quick pivots is crucial. Keith’s advice on how to implement Scrum in a game development environment, combined with his practical examples and case studies, provides readers with actionable insights they can apply immediately.

What are the Key Ideas

Agile Principles in Game Development

Agile isn’t just about delivering faster—it’s about delivering better. In game development, where projects are often highly creative, Agile helps teams stay focused on delivering value early and often. The iterative process allows developers to adjust features and gameplay based on continuous feedback.

The Scrum Framework

Scrum is the Agile methodology best suited for game development because of its flexibility and adaptability. Scrum roles, artifacts, and ceremonies are explained in detail, showing how they apply to multidisciplinary game development teams. Keith shows how each of these components integrates with the creative and technical aspects of game creation.

Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration

One of the key points the book drives home is the importance of collaboration between developers, designers, artists, and stakeholders. Keith emphasizes that Scrum encourages continuous communication, helping teams align their creative vision and technical execution.

Dealing with Uncertainty

Game development projects are notorious for uncertainty—changing player expectations, new technologies, and evolving design ideas. Agile helps teams manage these uncertainties by focusing on flexibility and continuous improvement rather than rigid long-term planning.

What are the Main Lessons

Cross-Functional Teams are Essential

Keith stresses the importance of cross-functional teams in game development. Game creation involves more than just programming—it requires input from designers, artists, audio engineers, and writers. Scrum creates an environment where every discipline can contribute equally and early in the process.

Adapt to Change

Agile and Scrum allow teams to adapt to changes quickly. In the dynamic world of game development, where design choices or technology can change mid-project, having a framework that supports rapid adaptation is essential. Scrum ceremonies like daily standups and sprint reviews provide a built-in mechanism for teams to stay aligned and address changes.

Prioritize Features Based on Value

Scrum uses a prioritization model based on the value of features, helping teams focus on what matters most to players and stakeholders. Keith explains how Product Owners can manage backlogs by prioritizing the most impactful features, ensuring the game delivers maximum value from the outset.

My Book Highlights

Because Scrum is iterative and incremental and forces a team to put the game into a playable state at least every two to four weeks, the team members can see new features and scenarios develop right before their eyes

A ScrumMaster’s role on the team is compared to a sheepdog. They guide the team toward the goal by enforcing boundaries, chasing off predators, and giving the occasional bark

The goal isn’t to find ways to utilize everyone’s time fully. To respond to work that couldn’t be planned for, there has to be a certain amount of “slack” available. Ultimately this slack, which allows everyone to respond quickly to problems, is more effective than attempting to plan it all away

In conclusion, Agile Game Development with Scrum is a must-read for teams who want to develop successful video games. 

Featuring practical advice and real-world examples, Agile Game Development with Scrum provides readers with the tools and strategies needed to implement agile principles to develop games efficiently and effectively. 

By using Scrum tools and techniques, teams can foster collaboration, reduce costs, and manage risk to ensure successful game development.

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