How SilkRaven works

A milestone in SilkRaven starts with what players should experience. Then it shows how close the work really is, while there's still time to change course.

Get early access

SilkRaven opens to studios on 30 November.

Every screen on this page is from Hollow Tide, an example game we made up.

Plan the milestone around players

Phases, milestones and goals sit on one plan. Each milestone carries the goals it has to meet, written around what players should get from it, and the plan shows how each goal stands today.

Hollow Tide's vertical slice, three weeks out, with its goals and their checks.
Hollow Tide's plan with the Vertical slice selected, showing its goals; for Boarding plays end to end without a cut, both checks are met and the verdict is partly met.

Hollow Tide's vertical slice, three weeks out, with its goals and their checks.

See what isn't ready, while there's time

A milestone lists the work items that are still below the stage it needs, in every discipline, and who can sign each one off. When nobody can, it says so, weeks before the review.

Three work items are below Polished three weeks out, and nobody can sign the hatch off for Design yet.
The Vertical slice's readiness: three work items below Polished, the hatch with nobody to sign it off for Design, and who can sign the others.

Three work items are below Polished three weeks out, and nobody can sign the hatch off for Design yet.

A rating for the game at every milestone

Readiness tells you whether the work is done. The person who holds the game's vision, usually the creative director, also rates the game at each milestone: on track, at risk or off track, always with a reason. Beside the rating, each pillar shows how many of the milestone's work items serve it. SilkRaven never rates the game for you.

The creative director rates the slice at risk and says why. Seven of its work items serve the first pillar; none serve the third.
The Game card for the Vertical slice: at risk, with Oskar Lindqvist's reason, and the work in the slice for each pillar: Every boarding is a gamble, 7 work items; The ship fights back, 1; Your crew has your back, none.

The creative director rates the slice at risk and says why. Seven of its work items serve the first pillar; none serve the third.

Quality you can sign off

Each work item moves through your quality stages, such as Blockout, First pass, Polished and Final. The right lead or director signs each stage off, against the criteria your studio sets for it.

Start a work item from a pipeline template and its tasks and estimates for every stage are there.

The grapple rope, with its Polished sign-off requested.
The Grapple rope work item at First pass, with its sign-off for Polished requested.

The grapple rope, with its Polished sign-off requested.

Decisions beside the evidence

A goal's checks show what the work says: experiences at their stage, quality targets, playtest results. The verdict is still yours. When it differs from the checks, the reason sits right beside them.

Both checks are met, but the producer calls it partly met, and says why.
The goal Boarding plays end to end without a cut: both checks met, verdict partly met, with the producer's reason.

Both checks are met, but the producer calls it partly met, and says why.

Experiences across every discipline

An experience is what players should get from a moment of the game. It brings together the art, design, audio and code it needs, so a milestone can promise something players will feel, beyond a pile of closed tasks.

First boarding, and the work from four disciplines it depends on.
The First boarding experience with work items from Art, Design, Audio and Code and the stage each has reached.

First boarding, and the work from four disciplines it depends on.

Keep the scope honest

Give the work a rough size and a priority for the milestone: Must, Should or Bonus. SilkRaven adds up the days and tells you when the Musts take too much of them, so there's room for the things that grow.

When a work item's estimates grow past its rough size, SilkRaven marks it and tells the producers and team leads of the teams involved.

The vertical slice is tight: the Musts take more of the work than the aim.
The Vertical slice's scope: Musts are 64% of the work against a 60% aim, so it reads Tight, with the work grouped by Must and Should and the cargo crates under Not contributing to milestone checks.

The vertical slice is tight: the Musts take more of the work than the aim.

The boss fight grew from M to L, with 14 more days of Combat team tasks.
The Leviathan boss fight work item: grew from M to L on 7 Nov, with 14 more days of Combat team tasks, and the choice to set it to L or keep M with a note.

The boss fight grew from M to L, with 14 more days of Combat team tasks.

Every change keeps its reason

Moving a date, adding work or taking it off records who did it, when and why. When the publisher asks what changed, the answer is already written down, and the milestone's status report comes from the same record.

The slice moved by two weeks, and the drone was taken out of the slice, each with its reason.
The Vertical slice's history: the target moved two weeks with its reason, and the drone companion taken out of the slice, with its reason.

The slice moved by two weeks, and the drone was taken out of the slice, each with its reason.

Making the status report for the publisher, as a PDF.
The status report dialog for the Vertical slice, ready to download as a PDF.

Making the status report for the publisher, as a PDF.

Your part of it

Everyone sees what's theirs: the work to do next, and for leads, the sign-offs waiting on them.

An Art lead's view: two sign-offs waiting.
An Art lead's My work: a task to do next, and two sign-offs waiting, including the grapple rope at Polished.

An Art lead's view: two sign-offs waiting.

Made for the whole team

Art, design, audio and code work in the same plan with the same words. Teams own their work items, and numbers are shown for the work and the team, never for a person.

Coming soon

Planned and specced, not ready yet. Each one moves up this page the day it's ready.

  • A weekly summary of how each milestone's scope changed
  • Bringing your plan in from a spreadsheet
  • Connections to the tools your team already uses

See it on your own milestone

SilkRaven opens to studios on 30 November, with a 30-day trial if your company is new to it.

Get early accessSee pricingSecurity and data