So, where does that leave us?

We are back to that question that was raised earlier: “What would the contract for a SCRUM development deal look like?” There will, of course, need to be periodic payments to the developer to cover the development budget. These payments have to be attached to a triggering event that the publisher (or other third party funding entity) can use to assure itself that the development is, in fact, on track for completion within the basic parameters of the game that was pitched. (After all, even with SCRUM, there is still an underlying finished game concept that is the objective of the development).

The triggering event could be as simple as an acknowledgment, or even passive approval, of the ongoing progress of the project by the publisher. Or it could require written publisher approval of a monthly written milestone completion report based on target comprised of the previous month’s Sprint (monthly) goal set.

In a stretch, a similar result could be accomplished with that stale old traditional publisher/developer agreement through periodic amendments to the contact adjusting the milestone deliverables, though this would, for sure, be tedious.

One thing is certain, as more developers incorporate SCRUM into game development, the terms of the contracts that govern their projects must also change. And for those who do want to make the transition to SCRUM, obtaining the appropriate contracts necessary to support the new development model is a must in order to proceed without huge additional potential risk.

After all, if the contract does not reflect the actual business relationship between the parties, problems inevitably follow. And since it is the developers who are driving this innovative transition, it is the developers who will need to take responsibility for the contract alterations.

Don’t expect your publisher’s legal department to help create a unique contract for you that adapts to your new project management model and protects your economic interests in the process. It won’t happen. As with all contracts, care needs to be taken to assure that the contract reflects the deal. New innovative business methodologies demand contracting solutions just as creative as the management ones offered by SCRUM development-based deals... Good, Bad or Ugly!

(© 2007 Thomas H. Buscaglia. All rights reserved.)