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by JohnFen 730 days ago
> Microsoft doesn’t build anything in an afternoon, not even Minesweeper.

Heck, once you factor in alpha, beta, and user testing, I don't think anyone could build a releasable Minesweeper in an afternoon unless it's just a junk implementation.
1 comments
ndriscoll 730 days ago
Surely e.g. the version that was good enough to ship to hundreds of millions in Windows XP is not junk, and it seems like something on that level should be totally doable in an afternoon by someone familiar with GUI application programming? The actual game logic should take like 10 minutes.

Like what would be the scope of an "alpha" that isn't a working game? Opening an empty window? Writing a console version of the logic?

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JohnFen 730 days ago
> The actual game logic should take like 10 minutes.

True, but there's a lot more to it than the game logic. Regardless, it's not a complex application by any standard -- but I don't think I know any dev who could implement it well and in its finished form in an afternoon.

> Like what would be the scope of an "alpha" that isn't a working game?

I don't understand this question. Any alpha is a working program. If the devs don't think it's done, then it's not yet an alpha.

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