Core Practices : XP at Game Development

Core Practices XP at Game Development can be grouped into several categories
  • Fine scale feedback
    • Test Driven Development via  UnitTests & Acceptance Tests
    • Planning Game
    • Whole Team
    • Pair Programming
  • Continuous process rather than batch
    • Continuous Integration
    • Design Improvement
    • Small Releases
  • Shared understanding
    • Simple Design
    • System Metaphor
    • Collective Code Ownership
    • Coding Standard or Coding Conventions
  • Programmer welfare
    • Sustainable Pace

Avoid Reluctant Ideas : XP at Game Development

An Idea - "Why should I use a Version Control System?, I have always had my IDE safe my project right into the remote file system on the server and do backups locally. Using a CVS would only slow me down!"

The "reluctant ideas" are those who are more like a tradition in the sense of "We have always done it like that" than based on experience or know-how. It takes courage on all sides to identify and to get rid off "reluctant ideas".

If you are communicating with others from your team and you'r all suggesting solutions (Feedback)... especially if your know-how levels differ ... you sometimes have a situation where a certain "idea"/"solution" for the xyz-problem is based on false assumptions or based on missing know-how.

Those who miss the know-how to see another solution will always come back to the xyz-solution for the xyz-problem. Those "ideas" are called "reluctant".

From my point of view the "reluctant ideas" are those who are more like a tradition in the sense of "We have always done it like that" than based on experience or know-how. It takes courage on all sides to identify and to get rid off "reluctant ideas".

The "reluctant idea" would be that you are faster (e.g. better coder) by circumventing a CVS. People who never ever used a CVS will often come up with this idea, where as those who use a CVS on a daily basis know (know-how) why using a CVS is the way to go.