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DevOps

Bygoktugulvan@gmail.com

DevOps stands for Development + Operations.

It is a philosophy and set of practices designed to break down the wall between “The people who write the code” (Devs) and “The people who run/maintain the systems” (Ops/QA).

In the past, these two groups were enemies.

  • Developers: “I wrote the code, it works on my machine. I’m done.” (Throws code over the wall).
  • Operations/QA: “This code crashes the server/game. The installation is complicated. Why did you break everything?”

DevOps is the art of automating that relationship.

The Simple Goal of DevOps

To make the path from “I wrote a line of code” to “The player is playing the game” as fast, automated, and safe as possible.

How it works in Game Development

Here is a real-world scenario comparing “No DevOps” vs. “Good DevOps.”

Scenario: A Developer fixes a bug with the Jump logic.

Without DevOps (The “Old” Way):

  1. Developer fixes the code on their laptop.
  2. Developer manually uploads the files to a server.
  3. Developer emails the QA lead: “Hey, I fixed the jump. Can you test it?”
  4. QA Lead waits 4 hours to see the email.
  5. QA Lead tries to build the game on their PC, but it fails because they don’t have the right SDK installed.
  6. Result: It takes 2 days to verify a 5-minute fix.

With DevOps (The “Tech Lead” Way):

  1. Developer fixes the code and pushes it to Git/Perforce.
  2. Automation (DevOps): A server (Jenkins) detects the change immediately.
  3. Automation (DevOps): The server automatically downloads the code, compiles the game, and builds an .exe.
  4. Automation (DevOps): The server runs a test script: “Load Level 1, Press Spacebar.”
  5. Automation (DevOps): The test passes. The server uploads the new .exe to the QA folder.
  6. Automation (DevOps): The server sends a Slack message: “New Build Ready (Jump Fix). Status: PASSED.”
  7. Result: It takes 20 minutes to verify the fix, and no humans had to talk to each other.

The 3 Core Pillars of DevOps

1. CI (Continuous Integration)

“Merge code constantly.”
Instead of every developer working in isolation for a month and trying to merge everything on Friday (which causes chaos), everyone merges their code into the main system every day. The DevOps tools check if the merge broke anything instantly.

2. CD (Continuous Delivery/Deployment)

“Ship the game constantly.”
You should be able to create a playable version of your game at any moment. Ideally, a script does this automatically every night (Nightly Builds) so testers always have a fresh version.

3. Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

“Setup servers with scripts, not hands.”
If your Multiplayer Server crashes, you shouldn’t have to manually log in and reinstall Windows. You should have a script that spins up a brand new, perfectly configured server in seconds.

Summary for a Tech Lead

When someone asks “Do we have DevOps?”, they are asking:
“Is our process automated, or do we rely on Dave manually copying files to a USB drive?”