Software Development Processes for Games: A Systematic Literature Review

O’Hagan, Ann Osborne; Coleman, Gerry; O’Connor, Rory V.

doi:10.1007/978-3-662-43896-1_16

Cited by 30 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Co-creation is “collective creativity” and co-design specifies that this principle “is applied across the whole span of a design process” [ 32 ], bringing decision-making, power, and stake in the end product [ 33 ]. Additional considerations were setting priorities based on user needs, input from domain experts, iterative co-design for localization and contextualization, and controlled environment testing [ 30 , 34 , 35 ]. The game design methodology builds on these guiding principles and typical software development processes [ 34 , 36 , 37 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

MANTRA: development and localization of a mobile educational health game targeting low literacy players in low and middle income countries

et al. 2020

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Background: Mobile technology is increasingly important for delivering public health interventions to remote populations. This research study developed, piloted, and assessed a serious game for mobile devices that teaches geohazard, maternal, and neonatal health messages. This unique mHealth intervention aimed at low-literacy audiences in low resource settings is part of the Maternal and Neonatal Technologies in Rural Areas (MANTRA) project: Increasing maternal and child health resilience before, during, and after disasters using mobile technology in Nepal. Methods: The serious game was developed through a co-creation process between London and Kathmandu based researchers by email and video-calling, and face-to-face with local stakeholders in Nepal. The process identified core needs, developed appropriate pictograms and mechanics, and tailored the pilot serious game to the local cultural context. Evaluations and feedback from end users took place in rural villages and suburban Kathmandu in Province Three. Field evaluation sessions used mixed methods. Researchers observed game play and held focus group discussions to elicit qualitative feedback and understand engagement, motivation, and usability, and conducted a paired pre-and post-game knowledge assessment. Results: The MANTRA serious game is contextualized to rural Nepal. The game teaches 28 learning objectives in three modules: maternal health, neonatal health, and geohazards, through picture matching with immediate audio and visual feedback. User feedback from focus groups demonstrated high engagement, motivation, and usability of the game.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

MANTRA: development and localization of a mobile educational health game targeting low literacy players in low and middle income countries

et al. 2020

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“…The iterative approach was chosen, because it seems that the overall game development is not suited for typical software life cycle methods, such as the waterfall model. This view is shared by O'Hagan et al [15] in their literature review on software process models used for game development. They state that agile and hybrid approaches are used by most organizations for game development.…”

Section: A Mobile Game Developmentmentioning

confidence: 96%

Testing methods for mobile game development a case study on user feedback in different development phases

Annanperä

Yli-Kantola

Sauvola

et al. 2018

2018 IEEE 6th International Conference on Serious Games and Applications for Health (SeGAH)

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Mobile games are relatively new industry, and their relevance on the game markets are rising. At the same time, it is very competitive market, as new games are coming out by hundreds every day. The challenges for the new game development come from the creative process and the human factors on how to make the game appealing. In this research, we study the use of test groups as part of new mobile game and concept development process in the early phases. They were used to complement the testing automation at the development phases when use of analytics was not yet possible. Six separate feedback collection sessions were arranged using different methods. The paper presents the main learnings of each used method, the perceived usefulness of the methods for the entire development process. We also contribute to the growing knowledge for mobile game development, focusing on methods for the testing with test user approaches. We conclude that testing with user groups can help clarify the mobile game design to create a more appealing game, but choosing the right groups and right moments in the game development phase can be difficult, as can be the interpretation of the feedback for decision making.

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“…Example include: (1) lightweight development methods that offer flexibility (ad hoc development), (2) evolutionary prototyping (minimum viable product, iterative development), (3) simple requirements engineering to reduce waste (game design document, backlog, waste reduction), (4) relying on well-known frameworks (Unity), and (5) use of open source software tools (code reviews, static code analysis). Finally, Paternoster et al report that (6) software testing and QA is often compromised in startups and recommend using early adopters as a QA team (external playtesting) or outsourcing QA to experts to let the developers focus on programming (dedicated tester). Due to the many contextual similarities, we hypothesize that the ranking of development practices used at game jams (cf.…”

Section: Generalizing To Time Pressure Beyond Game Jamsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Video Game Development in a Rush: A Survey of the Global Game Jam Participants

et al. 2020

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Video game development is a complex endeavor, often involving complex software, large organizations, and aggressive release deadlines. Several studies have reported that periods of "crunch time" are prevalent in the video game industry, but there are few studies on the effects of time pressure. We conducted a survey with participants of the Global Game Jam (GGJ), a 48-hour hackathon. Based on 198 responses, the results suggest that: (1) iterative brainstorming is the most popular method for conceptualizing initial requirements; (2) continuous integration, minimum viable product, scope management, version control, and stand-up meetings are frequently applied development practices; (3) regular communication, internal playtesting, and dynamic and proactive planning are the most common quality assurance activities; and (4) familiarity with agile development has a weak correlation with perception of success in GGJ. We conclude that GGJ teams rely on ad hoc approaches to development and faceto-face communication, and recommend some complementary practices with limited overhead. Furthermore, as our findings are similar to recommendations for software startups, we posit that game jams and the startup scene share contextual similarities. Finally, we discuss the drawbacks of systemic "crunch time" and argue that game jam organizers are in a good position to problematize the phenomenon.

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Software Development Processes for Games: A Systematic Literature Review

Cited by 30 publications

References 38 publications

MANTRA: development and localization of a mobile educational health game targeting low literacy players in low and middle income countries

MANTRA: development and localization of a mobile educational health game targeting low literacy players in low and middle income countries

Testing methods for mobile game development a case study on user feedback in different development phases

Video Game Development in a Rush: A Survey of the Global Game Jam Participants

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