Boss: Plan the big one

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Read the numbers

Playtests, day-1 retention
Kill rule: below 35% Playtest A   38%Playtest B   36%

What does the studio's kill rule say now?

  1. The bet passed both playtests, so the game earns its next budget
  2. Stop, since the numbers are close to 35%
  3. Raise the rule to 40% now that the results are in
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The bet passed both playtests, so the game earns its next budget

Both results are above the 35% written down before the test. Changing the rule after seeing the numbers would defeat its purpose.

Quick check

A non-goal is something that could reasonably be a goal, but the team chose not to do it.

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True

That is how Malte Ubl's "Design Docs at Google" describes them. Battles at launch are a non-goal for Shard Garden.

Quick check

How long does Rust's final comment period on an RFC last?

  1. Ten calendar days
  2. One hour
  3. Until everyone agrees
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Ten calendar days

Ten calendar days, so that it is open for at least 5 business days.

Fix the record

The team reverses ADR 7. What happens to it?

  1. It stays, marked superseded, and points to the new ADR
  2. It is deleted
  3. Its number goes to the new ADR
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It stays, marked superseded, and points to the new ADR

Nygard's format keeps every record and never reuses a number. The old reasons stay readable.

Quick check

At the first idea, a skilled estimate says 6 months. What range does the cone of uncertainty give?

  1. 1.5 to 24 months
  2. 5 to 7 months
  3. Exactly 6 months
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1.5 to 24 months

At the first idea the cone runs from 0.25 times to 4 times the estimate.

Quick check

A risk has likelihood 3 and impact 5. What is its score?

  1. 15
  2. 8
  3. 5
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15

Likelihood times impact: 3 times 5 is 15.

Price check

A game built with Unreal earns US$1.5 million in lifetime gross revenue, none on the Epic Games Store. What royalty does Epic get?

  1. US$25,000
  2. US$75,000
  3. Nothing
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US$25,000

The first US$1 million is royalty-free. 5% of the remaining US$500,000 is US$25,000.

Quick check

A vertical slice is every level of the game at prototype quality.

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False

It is the opposite: one small part, like one garden, at final quality through every layer.