Plan for iteration and the unknown — schedules must budget discovery

All game scheduling and production planning, especially for novel or design-risky games where much is genuinely unknown. Less so for well-understood, formulaic production (a known genre, a sequel) where uncertainty is lower.

The core activity of making a good game is finding out what's fun by trying, testing, and adjusting (DESIGN-0001, PROTO-0006), which is inherently unpredictable — you cannot schedule "discover the fun" like you schedule "lay bricks." Plans that assume linear execution therefore systematically under-budget the loops that actually produce quality, and the overrun shows up as crunch or cut quality [S-scope-production]. Planning for iteration means building slack and re-work into the schedule, front-loading the riskiest unknowns (PROTO-0002), and updating the plan as discovery reveals reality. The schedule's job is to manage uncertainty, not to deny it.

Identify what's genuinely unknown and schedule discovery/iteration time for it explicitly; schedule the known work normally. Front-load the riskiest unknowns (PROTO-0002) so surprises arrive while cheap. Invest in iteration speed (ARCH-0005) to get more loops per unit time. Re-plan as reality is revealed — treat the schedule as a forecast you update, not a promise you defend against the facts.

Iteration-budgeted, adaptive planning (embrace uncertainty, re-plan often) vs. fixed milestone planning (predictability for stakeholders, funding, coordination) — publishers and large teams need commitments the creative reality resists. Most teams blend: firm outer milestones, adaptive iteration within them.

The scheduling face of the iteration truth (PROTO-0006, DESIGN-0001); pairs with iteration- speed architecture (ARCH-0005). Confidence 4.