[game_edu] Resource division for games

[Mark Baldwin]

Actually, I think generalizing has a great deal of value.  It doesn't tell
you the specifics about any single project but it does tell you a lot about
the nature of entertainment software and the creation process.   Consider
the two possible comparative cases:

Case 1 (my current approximation for games):
Management	10%
Design	20%
Programming	25%
Art/sound	40%
Testing 	5%

Case 2 (which might apply to software like Quicken or Word):
Management	5%
Design	5%
Programming	75%
Art/sound	5%
Testing	10%

The first case implies a great deal of the resources go into the creative
(art and design).  That even the creative might be the most important part
of games. The second case if it was true about games implies most of the
resources go into software engineering, and engineering is the most
important aspect of games.   Consider what each case if generally true ABOUT
GAMES might mean for education, game ludology, game software engineering or
even games management.  Certainly, approximations and rough estimates have
errors, but if we want to look at the big picture, we have to have these
types of approximations.

I would suggest that understanding the mix of components that goes into
games can be a powerful insight into the huge difference between tool
software and entertainment software.  

Mark 
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Mark Lewis Baldwin
Baldwin Consulting
685 Trailside Rd
Golden, CO 80401
303-526-9169
303-408-3727 (m)
mark at baldwinconsulting.org
http://baldwinconsulting.org
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