Demo, Vertical Slice, Minimum Viable Product (MVP), many concepts to be familiar with when you start working in the software industry in general.
- The Demo is simply a demonstration of the game. It can be very brief, it can be extensive, but its purpose is to show the public what the video game is like. Nowadays this concept is no longer used so much, especially because in the industry open Beta or limited access to Alpha versions are used more and more often.
- By Vertical Slice to, rightly, a “slice” of the game showing all the main game systems, the final art, music, sound effects, cinematics if any. Everything complete, but a small fragment.
- Instead, the MVP can focus on developing some carefully selected elements of the game so that it can give an idea of what the final game will be like. It can be without sound effects, without any audio-visuals, with placeholder art, but it has to reliably demonstrate gameplay.
Both Vertical Slice and MVP are, in essence, Demos, each with their own goals and purposes.
And what does the Scope of Work have to do with it?
That’s what I was getting at, hey, patience.
Scope of Work is a document (or should be a document) that states what is to be developed in a particular task.
For example, in my case I want to make a Vertical Slice of my Indie game project, so my Scope of Work document will detail what I have to work on in order to make that slice of the game as complete as possible.
It allows me to focus on finishing certain assets and mechanics vitally needed for Vertical Slice.
In this transmission, we develop the Scope of Work: