Technical Debt in Game Development
Rosputnia, Anna (2025)
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025061322937
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025061322937
Tiivistelmä
Technical debt is a known phenomenon in software development, yet its implications in the context of game development are largely underexplored. Game projects are similarly affected by it and by extension experience similar consequences that can potentially harm the development process.
A generalized introduction to the topic was made in order to help educate developers to avoid the worst effects of technical debt. Various sources in software and game development were explored to define and identify technical debt, the causes and effects of it on the development process, and how it can be managed.
To gather understanding of the concept from the perspective of game development, a qualitative survey was conducted to investigate how technical debt is perceived and handled by individuals in the game industry. The results of which were then summarized and analyzed through thematic analysis to provide an overview of some common opinions and experiences with technical debt as reported by various game developers.
A generalized introduction to the topic was made in order to help educate developers to avoid the worst effects of technical debt. Various sources in software and game development were explored to define and identify technical debt, the causes and effects of it on the development process, and how it can be managed.
To gather understanding of the concept from the perspective of game development, a qualitative survey was conducted to investigate how technical debt is perceived and handled by individuals in the game industry. The results of which were then summarized and analyzed through thematic analysis to provide an overview of some common opinions and experiences with technical debt as reported by various game developers.