Milestones

Game Development Milestones & Testing

• Testing Throughout Development:

• Continuous testing during development
• Key milestones linked to specific tests
• Critical for publisher relationships

• Milestone Types:

• Vertical Slice

  • Shows sample of all features
    • Player abilities
    • Opponents/obstacles
    • UI/multiplayer capabilities
  • Demonstrates “core actions are present”

• Alpha

  • “Code complete, not content complete”
    • Most code present/tested
    • May lack:

      Art assets Complete levels Audio/music Post-production

• Beta

  • “Code and content complete”
    • Full functionality
    • All assets included
    • Finding missed issues

• Release (Gold Master)

  • Everything complete
  • All bugs regressed
  • Ready for replication

• Post-Release:

• DLC (Downloadable Content)

  • New content/mechanics
  • Requires maintenance testing

• Early Access

  • Pre-alpha release
  • Builds player interest
  • “General expectation of problems”

Milestones serve as crucial checkpoints in game development, especially for publisher-funded projects. Each stage represents increasing levels of completion and polish, from initial feature demonstration through final release and post-launch content.