Thread by @TheVTran

so overtime i've had to try and explain to game communities why devs cannot "just" implement things, or why something takes months and not a week.

here is my non-exhaustive list:

1.

- making sure it works on all devices
- ^ mobile devices in particular are a nightmare with all their different versions, updates, and operating systems
- if being ported to different devices, needing to rework the art/UX
- legal blockers (contract revisions, approvals, etc.)

2.

- abiding by appropriate media and platform policies
- potentially breaking servers for millions of people
- making sure it's actually fun
- if doing stuff with external partners, fitting their timelines, events, specific requirements or additions to your game

3.

- trying to change one aspect of the game means the entire code needs to be reworked, as it wasn't initially done to handle ____ (e.g. a new platform, online multiplayer, certain DLC, etc.)
- code just breaking completely somehow
- unable to reproduce game breaking bugs

4.

- not all bugs can be found -- trying to replicate testing a game being played a million times on a multitude of devices is impossible
- halfway through development, can realize one element of the design is completely borked and need to start over

5.

- sometimes can implement it technically, but would mean a shitty product and would rather wait
- ensuring product is in line with the quality and values
- if indie, 1 person can have several roles
- team burn out (or prevention)
- holidays, vacations, sick days, ppl quitting

6.

- players will actually hate it
- "simple" design/art doesn't mean it's actually simple to make or implement
- running out of funding money (or have no money in general)
- waiting on approvals/replies on emails
- stakeholder or publisher wants
- interpersonal disputes

7.

- fighting diff priorities: new content updates, quality of life updates, safety and moderation needs, etc.
- hiring programmers/artist doesn't scale production speed up as much as ppl tend to think
- during beta testing, giant flaws are pointed out and need to be fixed
- ???

it's hard to explain why things break or take a long time without having to explain how coding works, or explaining the entire infrastructure of a studio!! but whew~