DayZ Critique - Part 10/10 - Update #2 - Script writing (Patreon)

I'm continuing to work on this latest video of mine in the form of the 10th and final chapter of this DayZ Standalone video critique. Thank you for letting me do this, it's something of a passion project.

And I'm all finished with my pre-production and have since moved onto writing the script as of last Wednesday.

I reckon I'm about halfway through. And good lord, my expectations about this chapter are proving to be correct. It's the most complicated one by a fair margin. And looks like it's going to be pretty big. I'm not yet sure whether it's a good idea to do it all in one sitting. Bear with me.

Basically I've read through and have tried to digest the DayZ changelogs, dev blogs and video presentations to the best of my ability, between the years 2012 to 2018. And have built up a timeline of events. Also listing useful things to pull out and talk about. And I've then been sitting typing out a rough draft of a script, before wandering around my flat reading it back to myself, modifying it and trimming it down where needed. Lulu just stares at me as though I've lost my mind.

Thus far, I think I've come up with the following talking points in the following order:

• 1.) An introduction.
• 2.) A brief overview of "Agile" and "SCRUM" - A primer on the development fundamentals and processes that Bohemia Interactive selected to develop the DayZ Standalone. Explaining their nature and advantages for the layman audience, because understanding the process is crucial to understanding their decision making.
• 3.) A discussion about the severe engine challenges they faced - A frank and sympathetic look at the serious architectural challenges they encountered when trying to modify an existing game engine to do things it was never originally designed to do. Resulting a trend that put them in a very difficult position that any studio would have a tough time digging out of.
• 4.) Over complexity in scoping - It's my opinion that they did also go too far in places when it comes to their design. Drilling down into levels of complexity that provide limited return benefit insofar as the average DayZ player is concerned. Then getting hung up on these features for a long time.
• 5.) A look at the development concept of the "MVP" - Or "minimum viable product". An often misunderstood concept, which revolves around cycles of feedback and iterative improvements. And whether or not I think they followed it well and what affect that had on the product. Or even whether they should have followed it at all.
• 6.) Final thoughts and summary

As mentioned, this one is proving to be super complicated. As I've got to structure and cite specific mentions of things from the devblogs, sometimes using their wording as precisely as I can to avoid misrepresentation. I rather hope I can make it interesting and engaging. And certainly far more nuanced than the typical "DayZ is dead!!!" Youtubers that just scream from the rooftops.

The work continues! :)