Misc. notes

bad things in sw

  • Functional correctness: It doesn’t produce the results we expect.
  • Reliability: It mostly shows correct answers but sometimes it doesn’t.
  • Usability: Sure it works but it is inconsistent and frustrating to use.
  • Accessibility: Like usability, but exclusionary and probably illegal.
  • Predictability: It has random spikes in resources such as memory, I/O, or CPU usage, or occasionally hangs for a noticeable amount of time.
  • Observability: It mostly works, but when it doesn’t it is hard to identify why.
  • Compliance: It works but it doesn’t handle personal information correctly, say.
  • Security: It works as designed but it exposes security vulnerabilities.

The purpose of testing is to increase confidence (reducing uncertainty) for stakeholders (anyone who is affected) through evidence (data, not reputation).

Future of game industry

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2021-09-03/ex-playstation-chief-mulls-future-of-gaming-and-his-new-job

  • Game development “seems to double in cost every platform,” Layden said, noting that his budgets for recent big PlayStation 4 titles each hit $100 million. “If we can’t stop the cost curve from going up, all we can do is try to de-risk it. That puts you in a place where you’re incentivized toward sequels.” He predicted that PS5 games will cost $200 million to make and that prices will continue to grow exponentially from there.
  • ProbablyMonsters, a game developer founded by former Bungie executive Harold Ryan, pulled off what it said is the largest first round of financing in the video-game industry. The startup raised $200 million from LKCM Headwater Investments
  • This is not the only monster round of funding into gaming this year (remember Epic Games' $1 billion round in April?). And there have been many, many under-$10 million deals lately too.