Would consumers benefit:?

[xNYGx]

Perhaps I'm wrong, but how it seems to me is that Tiburon is lacking something when it comes to team work. Almost as if there's not enough people working together on this HUGE title they put out yearly. They've done a decent job so far since the team direction has changed, but the game is ridiculously behind considering we're 6 years into this generation. It's BS, and just about everyone is aware of it. So my question for you is:

Would consumers benefit from EA Tiburon having FULL teams working ONLY on specific aspects of the game (as of Madden 12)? Explain why or why not.

Examples:

• Gameplay [animations, fluidity on the field, AI]
• Offline and Online Franchise [self explanatory]
• Game modes [madden moments, practice, etc.]
• Stadiums and Player Models [architecture and proper scaling]
• Customization and Art [player model editing, logos, uniforms, ratings]
• Online [OTP, fun quick play modes, other various features]

I ask this because when watching this interview, the guy states that they have 2 separate teams working on the game. That got me to thinking that maybe EA needs to get more people on the job at Tiburon so more ground can be covered.

[BezO]

I think they need more folks, but I've heard them say that would put too many cooks in the kitchen.

But there's a LOT of work to be done. At the least, I think there needs to be a separate team working on big projects a year in advance. Tiering the defensive play calling comes to mind. A separate team could be working on that right now for Madden 12 instead of us waiting for Playsation 4 / XBox 720, if ever.

[The GIGGAS]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mythical_Man-Month

[xNYGx]

Quote: Originally Posted by BezO

I think they need more folks, but I've heard them say that would put too many cooks in the kitchen. But there's a LOT of work to be done. At the least, I think there needs to be a separate team working on big projects a year in advance. Tiering the defensive play calling comes to mind. A separate team could be working on that right now for Madden 12 instead of us waiting for Playsation 4 / XBox 720, if ever.

Yea, that wouldn't be a bad idea. I mean, even if it was like another 2-3 guys per section, it could go a long way.

[xNYGx]

Quote: Originally Posted by The GIGGAS

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mythical_Man-Month

I see what you're saying and agree to a certain extent. But that's why I think it would be important to bring in people before the end of the current cycle to get a hang of what they'll be working with.

[The GIGGAS]

Quote: Originally Posted by xNYGx

I see what you're saying and agree to a certain extent. But that's why I think it would be important to bring in people before the end of the current cycle to get a hang of what they'll be working with.

Quote:

When N people have to communicate among themselves (without a hierarchy), as N increases, their output M decreases and can even become negative, i.e., the total work remaining at the end of a day is greater than the total work that had been remaining at the beginning of that day, such as when many bugs are created. * Group Intercommunication Formula: n(n − 1) / 2 * Example: 50 developers give 50 · (50 – 1) / 2 = 1225 channels of communication.

Don't overlook that part of the explanation.

[The GIGGAS]

Another thing, outside of software engineering talk...

Would it really be cost effective for EA to have 7 teams all working on one game? I mean, how many developers is that? Let's assume 30 per team, and then you've got 210 workers. Each one of those developers is making at least 60k a year. In my simplistic example, you're spending 12.6 million dollars a year on staff, just to make your product.

[xNYGx]

Quote: Originally Posted by The GIGGAS

Don't overlook that part of the explanation.

Hmmm. That is interesting. It makes sense, but at the same time I feel like it doesn't. Glad you brought that up though. Adds more to this discussion.