GDC 2025 Session Viewer
Productive and Pragmatic Prototype Programming
Andrew Fray (Co-Founder, Studio Enso)
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass - Get your pass now!
Track: Programming
Format: Lecture
Vault Recording: TBD
Audience Level: Intermediate
There are countless talks about how to run a prototype from a design point of view, and talks aplenty about what makes good production code, but when it comes to writing code for prototypes, best practice is either "treat it like production", or a license to be slapdash and casual.
There's more to effective prototype code than this!
Andrew Fray has a decade of experience leading prototyping code teams at Spry Fox and Roll7, and will lay out his framework for implementing and maintaining prototype code in a way that lets designers answer important questions as effectively as possible, without coders getting bogged down in spaghetti code.
Takeaway
Attendees will hear about the differences between prototyping and production code, what goals they satisfy, and how they both differ from gamejams. They'll see how to selectively cut corners to deliver features fast without codebase anarchy, be warned of potential gotchas, and hear about options for the transition to production.
Intended Audience
This talk is aimed at intermediate level programmers, or those new to prototype programming, particularly those working in smaller teams.
