RPG Codex - 2008 In Review
- Thread starter Dhruin
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txa1265
SasqWatch
- Joined
- October 18, 2006
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A few general disagreements and the race to see who could make a single page post that was ultimately foiled by the forum limit of 10,000 characters per post ...
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2006
- Messages
- 14,953
Squeek
connoisseur of tidbits
The crux of all this was that The Witcher was cited as an example, and probably a significant one due to the accolades it earned, of an unsatisfactory trend in gaming software. And that is shipping a "finished" product before it's actually "finished."
It was naivety vs. experience and, frankly, common sense. The dilemma of when to consider something finished that can always be improved is resolved the moment one enters into the world of the professional.
Or it should, anyway. Plenty of small businesses still wing it by approaching their work the way their managers always imagined they would before they ever made their first nickel. But here's what never should have been in dispute: If they had their druthers, those managers would certainly want to do it better.
Who would argue that point? And why would they argue it? If the head of programming at CD Projekt jumped into this thread, would he say he preferred not having a handle on his projects? That he would rather just wing it and hope for the best?
A competent business considers its product finished when the person who "owns" it declares it finished. The benchmark he uses for determining that is the one laid out in the product plan. That plan, having been approved by the company, meets their standards. Those standards are determined by its top management and approved by its board.
Here's why businesses sometimes rush things out the door. More often than not it's done to extend the perceived window of opportunity. Think about it -- the only way to extend that with certainty is to ship early.
A product plan will evaluate the competitive landscape as part of its assessment of the market opportunity. That changes over time. If you're running late and worried about missing the boat, it can be tempting to just drop everything and jump on board.
I'm not accusing CD Projekt of that. I'm only agreeing with BN and DU that it's something to take seriously. As fans, we should be in the habit of speaking out about it every time.
It was naivety vs. experience and, frankly, common sense. The dilemma of when to consider something finished that can always be improved is resolved the moment one enters into the world of the professional.
Or it should, anyway. Plenty of small businesses still wing it by approaching their work the way their managers always imagined they would before they ever made their first nickel. But here's what never should have been in dispute: If they had their druthers, those managers would certainly want to do it better.
Who would argue that point? And why would they argue it? If the head of programming at CD Projekt jumped into this thread, would he say he preferred not having a handle on his projects? That he would rather just wing it and hope for the best?
A competent business considers its product finished when the person who "owns" it declares it finished. The benchmark he uses for determining that is the one laid out in the product plan. That plan, having been approved by the company, meets their standards. Those standards are determined by its top management and approved by its board.
Here's why businesses sometimes rush things out the door. More often than not it's done to extend the perceived window of opportunity. Think about it -- the only way to extend that with certainty is to ship early.
A product plan will evaluate the competitive landscape as part of its assessment of the market opportunity. That changes over time. If you're running late and worried about missing the boat, it can be tempting to just drop everything and jump on board.
I'm not accusing CD Projekt of that. I'm only agreeing with BN and DU that it's something to take seriously. As fans, we should be in the habit of speaking out about it every time.
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DArtagnan
Guest
I've never experienced a more obvious example of injustice in the gaming industry when justice was called for.