78 added, 40 removed. Audit A to A.
---
name: production-planning
group: Plan
description: >-
Plan the build: vertical slice, milestones, scope cuts, and what actually ships in the first
playable. Use when planning milestones, scoping features, or building roadmaps.
---
- # Production Planning
- Plan the build: vertical slice, milestones, scope cuts, and what actually ships in the first playable..
+ # production-planning
- ## Process
+ ## Core Philosophy
+ Game development is the most chaotic engineering discipline in tech because creative fun cannot be scheduled on a Gantt chart. Traditional waterfall planning leads to catastrophic death marches, while unstructured agile causes endless scope creep where games remain in development for 7 years without shipping. Successful game production operates on rigorous phased gating: moving from a brutal Proof of Concept to a polished Vertical Slice, enforcing aggressive scope triage, and defining an unshakeable Definition of Done for First Playable milestones.
- 1. **Intake & Scope Definition**
- - Identify specific objectives, inputs, constraints, and operational context.
- - Inspect existing project documentation, configurations, or relevant repository assets.
+ ---
- 2. **Analysis & Strategic Formulation**
- - Evaluate options against best practices, security posture, and domain requirements.
- - Deconstruct complex components into discrete, actionable phases.
+ ## 4-Step Game Production Framework
- 3. **Execution & Synthesis**
- - Produce structured, production-grade deliverables matching the required format.
- - Ground all recommendations in concrete project evidence rather than abstract generalities.
+ ### Step 1: The Phased Milestone Lifecycle
+ 1. **Prototype / Core Loop Validation (Months 1-3)**:
+ - *Goal*: Prove the core interaction is mechanically fun with gray-box geometry and zero final art. If the movement and combat do not feel satisfying with untextured cubes, no amount of 4K graphics will save the game.
+ 2. **Vertical Slice (Months 4-7)**:
+ - *Goal*: Build 10-15 minutes of final-quality gameplay containing all systems: final art, shaders, combat, UI, audio, save/load, and localization pipeline. This proves the production budget and velocity.
+ 3. **Production / Content Scalpel (Months 8-16)**:
+ - *Goal*: Factory-line asset and level generation using established Vertical Slice pipelines.
+ 4. **Alpha $\to$ Beta $\to$ Gold Master (Months 17-20)**:
+ - *Alpha*: Feature complete. Zero new systems allowed.
+ - *Beta*: Content complete. Bug fixing, balancing, and optimization only.
+ - *Gold*: Zero blocker/crash bugs. Console platform certification compliance.
- 4. **Review & Refinement**
- - Validate against the verification checklist and domain edge cases.
- - Highlight open questions, explicit trade-offs, and next milestones.
+ ### Step 2: The Vertical Slice Audit Criteria
+ 1. **Vertical Slice Must Include**:
+ - 1 complete, polished level/mission.
+ - Fully animated player character and minimum 2 enemy archetypes.
+ - Polished HUD, inventory, pause menu, and audio mix.
+ - Profiler telemetry demonstrating stable frame budget (60 FPS on target hardware).
+ 2. **The "Throwaway Code" Purge**:
+ - Strip all prototype hacks and spaghetti code before beginning full production.
- ## Deliverable & Output Format
+ ### Step 3: Scope Triage: The MoSCoW Feature Razor
+ 1. **Must Have (Core Pillar)**:
+ - Features without which the core loop collapses (e.g. gun recoil, cover system, enemy AI).
+ 2. **Should Have (High Value)**:
+ - Deepens gameplay but game could launch without it (e.g. weapon crafting, dynamic weather).
+ 3. **Could Have (Scope Cut Candidates)**:
+ - First to be chopped when schedule slips: photo mode, fishing mini-game, branching dialogue trees.
+ 4. **Won't Have (Post-Launch / Sequel)**:
+ - Multiplayer co-op in a planned single-player game, procedural world generation.
- ### 📋 Executive Summary
- - **Objective:** Key goal addressed
- - **Status:** Complete / Action Required
- - **Primary Recommendation:** Core actionable conclusion
+ ### Step 4: Velocity Tracking & Burndown Metrics
+ 1. **Asset Velocity Calculation**:
+ $$\text{Sprint Asset Velocity} = \frac{\text{Completed Game-Ready Assets}}{\text{Target Asset Quota}}$$
+ 2. **Scope Contingency Rule**:
+ - Always budget **25% buffer time** before certification and submission dates for unanticipated console platform compliance (TRC/TCR) failures.
- ### 🛠️ Detailed Implementation / Analysis
- - Concrete technical, operational, or strategic specifications.
- - Clear code, configuration, or documentation blocks where applicable.
+ ---
- ### 📌 Decisions & Next Steps
- - [ ] Immediate action items with designated owners.
- - [ ] Required dependencies or prerequisite milestones.
+ ## Deliverable Format: Milestone Roadmap & Scope Triage Ledger
- ## Instructions & Operating Rules
+ ```markdown
+ # Project: "Aetheria" Production Roadmap
- - Lead directly with actionable findings and structured results.
- - Never introduce speculative abstractions or unrequested complexity.
- - Maintain consistency with existing architecture and naming conventions.
- - Provide explicit rationales for non-obvious trade-offs.
+ ## Milestone Gates:
+ - [x] M1: Graybox Core Loop (Movement + Melee Combat) — Approved Week 6
+ - [x] M2: First Playable (1 Boss Arena + Graybox Telemetry) — Approved Week 14
+ - [ ] M3: Vertical Slice (15 Min Final Level + 60 FPS Target) — Deadline: Week 26
+ - [ ] M4: Alpha Gate (Feature Complete, 4 Levels Playable) — Deadline: Week 42
+ - [ ] M5: Beta Gate (Content Complete, Zero P1 Bugs) — Deadline: Week 54
- ## Verification & Quality Checklist
+ ## Scope Cut Contingency Tiers:
+ | Tier | Feature Name | Estimated Dev Weeks | Cut Trigger Date |
+ |---|---|---|---|
+ | Tier 1 | Dynamic Day/Night Lighting Cycle | 4 Weeks | If M3 delayed by > 2 weeks |
+ | Tier 2 | Companion Pet AI System | 6 Weeks | If Alpha milestone slips by 3 weeks |
+ | Tier 3 | Weapon Dye Customization UI | 2 Weeks | Immediate cut if console cert fails |
+ ```
- - [ ] Deliverable directly satisfies all stated user requirements and criteria.
- - [ ] Edge cases, boundary conditions, and error states are addressed.
- - [ ] Output contains zero placeholder tokens, broken references, or unverified claims.
- - [ ] All cross-references and formatting comply with repository conventions.
+ ---
- ## Anti-Patterns & Constraints
+ ## Worked Example: Emergency Scope Cut to Save a 6-Month Slipping Release
- - **NEVER** output generic boilerplate without grounding in specific project inputs.
- - **NEVER** silently omit unresolved contradictions or unverified assumptions.
- - **NEVER** make unrequested modifications outside the stated deliverable boundary.
+ - **Context**: An action-adventure studio was 14 weeks behind schedule entering Alpha. The team was attempting to build 12 distinct weapon classes and 4 open-world vehicle types.
+ - **Intervention**: The production lead applied the MoSCoW razor: slashed the 4 vehicle classes entirely (saving 18 weeks of physics engineering and animation), and consolidated the 12 weapon classes into 5 highly polished archetypes.
+ - **Outcome**: The team recovered 12 weeks of schedule, eliminated mandatory weekend crunch, and hit console certification on the first submission attempt.
+
+ ---
+
+ ## Verification Checklist
+
+ - [ ] Every milestone has an objective, non-negotiable Definition of Done.
+ - [ ] Prototype phase verifies gameplay fun before art asset production begins.
+ - [ ] Vertical Slice benchmarks real production velocity and frame budgets.
+ - [ ] Pre-determined Scope Cut list exists before delays occur.
+ - [ ] Minimum 25% schedule buffer allocated for console certification (Sony TRC / Microsoft TCR).
+
+ ---
+
+ ## Anti-Patterns
+
+ - **Starting Full Production on Unfun Graybox**: Investing $500K in 3D character art while the movement mechanics still feel clunky and unresponsive.
+ - **Endless Prototyping (Feature Creep)**: Adding new mechanics every week based on whatever game the creative director played over the weekend.
+ - **Zero Scope Cut Contingency**: Treating every single planned feature as a sacred requirement until the studio runs out of runway.