Data Driving Tools

Bold Moves is a data-driven game, which means that the content is completely separate from the code base and can be loaded in a separate step. It does some incredible things for us, as we're able to dynamically change level content and perform A/B testing just by changing a few files on the server that all the devices download from.

Currently, I'm the only person capable of managing the data on the server, and what data each device downloads. Anytime data needs to change on the server--whether it's test, dev, staging, or production data--I have to be there to make sure that it happens correctly.

I really hate processes like this, where one person is the only one capable of making changes to the game, so I've been spending the past few weeks developing some publishing tools to allow other people to make changes to data, as well. This next launch, Chris is going to do all the data management and give me feedback on how to make the tool more intuitive and user-friendly. The hope is also that we'll be able to identify the most important missing features of the tool and put time towards that, as well.