Design vs. Tech Debt: Journaling Key Differences Explained

Design vs. Tech Debt: Journaling Key Differences Explained

Building a game is like constructing a building, brick by brick. The blueprints (design) dictate the overall structure, while the actual construction (tech) brings it to life. But what happens when the blueprints are incomplete, or shortcuts are taken during construction? This leads to design debt and tech debt, issues that can cripple indie game development. Often, design choices can lead to unexpected technical consequences if you’re not careful.

Defining Design Debt

Design debt is the accumulation of compromises and shortcuts made in the game’s design. This often manifests as poorly defined features, scope creep, or a lack of clear documentation. Think of it as the cost of cutting corners in the planning phase.

Imagine you decide late in development to add a complex crafting system without properly considering its impact on the existing inventory management. Or perhaps you’ve only partially sketched out the enemy AI leaving significant gaps in their behavior patterns. These are examples of design debt.

Indie developers frequently struggle with scope creep, where new ideas are constantly added without considering the development time or resources required. This leads to unfinished mechanics and a lack of polish, ultimately hurting the player experience. Poor documentation is another common problem, making it difficult for team members to understand the design rationale and leading to inconsistencies.

Defining Tech Debt

Tech debt arises from prioritizing speed over quality in the coding process. It’s the result of using quick fixes, workarounds, and inefficient code to get things done faster. It’s the cost you pay for those shortcuts.

Design debt is a major contributor to tech debt. Rushing to implement a poorly planned feature will almost always result in messy, buggy code. For example, trying to shoehorn in that crafting system at the last minute might require you to bypass existing systems, creating spaghetti code and introducing new bugs.

Common mistakes indie devs make include neglecting code refactoring, skipping unit testing, and failing to comment their code adequately. This makes the codebase difficult to maintain and extend, leading to increased development time in the long run.

The Interplay of Design and Tech Debt

Design and tech debt are intertwined. Poor design decisions almost inevitably lead to technical compromises. The longer design debt goes unaddressed, the more it compounds, ultimately resulting in significant tech debt that’s much harder to fix.

Consider this: you change the core camera system late in development, impacting existing character movement code. The designers did not forsee the technical ramifications of swapping the system, and now a developer has to scramble to implement the system in the short time allotted. This leads to quick fixes and workarounds, creating bugs and performance issues. This adds complexity and maintenance costs down the line. Addressing the design flaw early would have prevented this cascading effect.

Prioritizing a clear design vision and solid documentation from the start is crucial to minimize technical debt.

Journaling as a Solution

A game dev journal becomes an invaluable tool for proactively managing both design and tech debt. Think of it as a centralized record of your decisions, rationale, and potential problems. Journaling promotes clarity, encourages foresight, and fosters accountability within your development process.

By systematically documenting your design choices and tracking potential technical bottlenecks, you can identify and address problems early before they snowball into major issues.

Actionable Journaling Techniques

Implement these journaling strategies to tackle design and tech debt head-on:

Design Journal Prompts:

Use these prompts to guide your design documentation and uncover potential problems:

• “What are the core pillars of this game’s design? Why?”
• “What assumptions are we making about player behavior and player intent?”
• “How will this feature scale if the game becomes more complex or more popular?”
• “What are the potential edge cases or exploits related to this design decision?”
• “How does this feature align with the overall game vision and target audience?”
• “What are the alternatives to this design and what are their trade-offs?”

Tech Debt Journal Prompts:

Track potential technical debt by answering these questions regularly:

• “Which areas of the codebase are currently causing the most difficulty?”
• “Are there any ‘hacks’ or temporary fixes that need to be addressed later?”
• “What are the performance bottlenecks in the game, and what is causing them?”
• “What parts of the code lack adequate documentation or unit tests?”
• “Are we following consistent coding standards throughout the project?”
• “What refactoring tasks need to be prioritized in the near future?”

Organizing Your Journal:

Structure your journal for easy reference. Use clear headings, tags, and dates to categorize entries. Consider using a digital tool that allows for search and cross-linking, such as dedicated game development journal software or a simple spreadsheet.

Preventative Measures and Staying Consistent

Consistency is key. Make journaling a daily or weekly habit. Schedule dedicated time for reflection and documentation. The more consistently you journal, the more valuable your record becomes.

Encourage open communication within your team about potential design flaws or technical compromises. Regularly review journal entries to identify recurring problems and adjust your development process accordingly.

Be honest in your journal. Acknowledge design flaws or technical compromises early on. Don’t try to hide problems. The sooner you address them, the easier and cheaper they are to fix.

Ultimately, a well-maintained game dev journal empowers you to proactively address design debt before it morphs into costly tech debt. It helps you build a solid foundation for your game, brick by brick.

Ready to take control of your game development process? Start journaling today and build your game on a solid foundation. Check out our game development journal tool and start tracking your progress effectively: Your Game Dev Journal Awaits