Foreword

The insight that Scrum (indeed, agile software development in general) and game development were a near-perfect match was no surprise to Clinton Keith. As the CTO of his studio, he was a pioneer in the pairing of Scrum and game development. Though some were skeptical, Clint saw the possibilities, and as a result, he not only created the first game developed using Scrum but also helped his teams put the fun back into game development.

And why shouldn’t game development be fun as well as profitable? It’s true that the game industry is well known for aggressive deadlines and that teams are working with ambiguous requirements in a very fluid marketplace, but that is exactly the kind of environment where Scrum can help the most. Because Scrum is iterative and incremental and forces a team to put the game into a playable state at least every two to four weeks, the team members can see new features and scenarios develop right before their eyes.

In Agile Game Development with Scrum, Clint shares his experience and insights with us. He tells us everything we need to know to successfully use Scrum in the challenging field of game development. In doing so, he provides an introduction to agile and Scrum and tells us how they can help manage the increasing complexity facing most game development efforts. He explains how something as large and integrated as “AAA” console games can be developed incrementally. Along the way, Clint offers invaluable guidance on getting all of the specialists who are necessary on a game project to work together in an agile manner. He even delves into how to use Scrum when working with a publisher. In providing all of this guidance, Clint doesn’t shy away from the challenges. Instead, he generously shares his advice so that we can perhaps avoid some of them.

There is little doubt in my mind that the book you are holding can have a profound effect on any game project and studio. Once introduced to and accustomed to Scrum, team members will not want to work any other way. They will have learned what Clint knew long ago—that Scrum is the best way to handle the complexity and uncertainty of game development.

—Mike Cohn
Cofounder, Scrum Alliance and Agile Alliance