Improving Video Game Development: Facilitating Heterogeneous Team Collaboration through Flexible Software Processes

Based on our observations in the Austrian video game software development practices we identified a lack of systematic processes and method support and inefficient collaboration between various involved disciplines, i.e. engineers and artists. Video game development includes heterogeneous disciplines, e.g. creative arts, game and content design, and software. Nevertheless, improvement of team collaboration and process support is an ongoing challenge to enable a comprehensive view on game development projects. Lessons learned from software engineering practices can help game developers to increase game development processes within a heterogeneous environment. Based on a state of the practice survey in the Austrian games industry, this paper presents (a) first results with focus on process and method support and (b) suggests a candidate flexible process approach based on Scrum to improve video game development and team collaboration. The results showed (a) a trend to highly flexible software processes involving various disciplines and (b) identified the suggested flexible process approach as feasible and useful for project application.