Constructing and Analyzing a Cross-Artifact Build Dependency Graph

Modern video games are composed of different types of artifacts, such as images, sounds, and software code. All these artifacts are developed at the same time by different teams. While the independent creation and modification of each artifact allows different teams to make changes without blocking each other from making progress, how artifacts are combined into the final game must be carefully coordinated. If two or more artifacts are dependent on each other, and a change occurs to one artifact, all other artifacts must be updated and (re-) evaluated. while techniques exist to track dependencies within artifact families, cross-artifact dependencies are not tracked at a fine-grained level. Therefore, it is difficult for Ubisoft stakeholders to recognize when changes need to be propagated across artifacts.
In this project, we will develop a solution that will identify and track dependencies across different artifact types. The goal of this solution is to prevent undesirable side-effects from going unnoticed and allow artifact creators to concentrate on producing top quality content. We anticipate that our solution will allow Ubisoft to improve their game development process by detecting cross-artifact inconsistencies earlier in the development process, e.g., prior to releasing them to the public.

Faculty Supervisor:

Shane McIntosh

Student:

Partner:

Ubisoft Toronto

Discipline:

Computer science

Sector:

Information and cultural industries

University:

University of Waterloo

Program: