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Software Engineering vocabulary · Testing

Vertical slice

Meaning in software engineering, with examples

nounCommon term

In software engineering, vertical slice means: A short but fully finished part of a game, such as one level, that shows final quality in art, sound and gameplay to prove what the whole game will be like.

In Turkish: vertical slice, dikey kesit, örnek tam bölüm

How it is used

Studios build a vertical slice to convince publishers or investors, or to test their production pipeline. It is different from a prototype, which is rough and tests only the idea. You build, deliver and demo a vertical slice.

Example sentences

  1. The publisher wants to see a vertical slice before they commit to full funding.

  2. Our vertical slice is the harbor level with final art, music and two enemy types.

Common collocations

  • build a vertical slice
  • vertical slice demo
  • deliver a vertical slice
  • vertical slice milestone
  • prototypeA quick, rough version of a game or feature made to test whether an idea is fun or works, before the team spends time on final art and polish.
  • milestoneAn agreed point in development when specific work must be delivered and reviewed, such as a playable demo, alpha or beta; publishers often pay the studio per milestone.
  • alphaThe stage of development when all main features are in the game and it can be played from start to finish, but it still has many bugs, placeholders and no polish.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Testing

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