Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
they serve different purposes. Mostly, programmers will run and develop with a pro-
file build target, and they will use the debug target only when something really nasty
is in their bug list.
Don
'
t Go Too Long Between Builds
Try to keep all your build targets alive and working every day. If you ignore any
build configuration, especially the release build, it could take a very long time
to figure out why it
s not working properly. Build it nightly, if you can, and
make sure any problems get handled the very next day.
'
Over the years of developing complex projects, I
ve experimented with different direc-
tory structures trying to find the ideal structure. I
'
ve learned that it is important to have
a good working directory structure from the start. It will help you work your way
through all the stages of developing a project
'
from writing your first lines of source
code to testing and debugging your project. You also need to keep in mind that you
—
ll
likely need to share aspects of your project with others during the development pro-
cess, even if you are the only one writing all the source code. For example, you might
need to hire an independent testing team to work over your game. If you organize your
project well, you
'
ll be able to share files when necessary with a minimum of hassle.
Keeping all of this in mind, here is my recommended directory structure where you
should store each project you develop, including your game engine:
'
n
Docs
n
Assets
n
Source
n
Temp
n
Lib
n
Game
The Docs directory is a reference for the development team. It should have an orga-
nized hierarchy to store both design documents and technical specifications. I always
put a copy of the contract exhibits and milestone acceptance criteria in it for my
team, since these documents specify our obligations to the publisher or investor.
(You don
'
t want to ever forget who is paying the bills!) While I
'
m developing a proj-
ect, it
s not unusual to find detailed character scripts, initial user interface designs,
and other works in progress in the Docs directory.
'
