¶ GitLab Issues
¶ Gaming
¶ Introduction to GitLab Issues — Building Games Through Collaboration, Clarity, and Organized Creative Chaos
Every game, no matter how magical or immersive it feels when played, is born from a long journey made up of thousands of tiny decisions. Ideas shift. Mechanics evolve. Bugs creep in. Story beats change. Art styles mature. New levels unfold. Old features get replaced. And through this entire creative adventure, teams need a way to track the chaos. They need a system that doesn’t just record tasks but helps shape the development process itself. For many gaming teams, GitLab Issues has grown into that system—a quiet backbone keeping projects organized, conversations flowing, and ideas grounded.
Game development is rarely a linear experience. It’s an ecosystem where creativity, engineering, design, art, sound, writing, testing, and production all collide. People work across different disciplines, often scattered across time zones. Studios grow, shrink, and expand again. Indie teams jump between roles. Ideas spark unpredictably. Deadlines tighten. Revisions pile up. In the middle of this exciting and messy world, GitLab Issues helps bring clarity.
This course begins by examining GitLab Issues as more than just a place to file bugs or assign tasks. In game development, issues become the living documentation of a game’s evolution. They capture the pulse of the project, mapping out intention, decisions, obstacles, and breakthroughs. When used thoughtfully, GitLab Issues becomes the narrative thread that ties the entire development process together.
When people think of gaming, they often imagine the glamorous parts—stunning visuals, intricate levels, engaging storylines, thrilling combat systems, emotional soundtracks. But behind every magical moment is an enormous amount of coordination. If even one piece misaligns—a missing animation, a broken script, a misplaced collider, an outdated asset reference—the illusion cracks. GitLab Issues helps prevent those cracks. It keeps track of what needs fixing, what needs adding, what needs polishing, and what needs revisiting.
One of the most important roles GitLab Issues plays in game development is helping teams communicate clearly. The tools inside GitLab allow teams to break down work into digestible pieces. A single issue can represent a gameplay mechanic, a bug affecting player movement, an art asset request, a shader problem, an optimization placeholder, or a task for improving AI behavior. Each issue then becomes a space where team members discuss solutions, attach references, upload mockups, and share early builds or snippets of code.
Game developers know that clarity saves time—sometimes weeks. It prevents misunderstandings, duplicated effort, and unnecessary frustration. GitLab Issues encourages that clarity by giving every team member a space to see where things stand and what needs attention. A concept artist can track how their design will be implemented. A programmer can ask for reference animations. A designer can attach GIFs showing gameplay feedback. A QA tester can comment with steps to reproduce a bug. Everyone contributes to the same shared story.
But GitLab Issues isn’t just a communication tool. It’s also a planning tool that helps teams shape a game’s journey from early concept to final build. Game development has natural phases—ideation, prototyping, production, polishing, bug fixing, and release. GitLab Issues grows with each phase. Early in development, it provides a space to brainstorm features and capture ideas. Midway, it supports large-scale feature planning and cross-department coordination. Near the end, it becomes the central hub for triaging bugs, balancing priorities, and preparing for release.
One of the most powerful qualities of GitLab Issues is that they don’t just store tasks; they store context. Anyone joining a project mid-development can scroll through issues and instantly understand how the game got to its current state. They can see old design discussions, early prototypes, postponed ideas, and resolved bugs. This historical clarity helps new team members integrate quickly and builds a shared understanding across the entire team.
For gaming specifically, GitLab Issues helps teams break down giant creative ambitions into grounded, actionable steps. Game ideas often start out big, abstract, and exciting. But ideas alone don’t ship games. Execution does. GitLab Issues gives teams a place to transform ambition into achievable work. A vague idea like “improve combat feel” becomes a variety of smaller tasks—animation tweaks, timing adjustments, sound design updates, hitbox fixes, shader changes, balancing tests, and particle effect tuning. Each piece gets its own issue. Each issue moves through the pipeline. Slowly, and sometimes invisibly, the game takes shape.
Even solo developers use GitLab Issues to maintain clarity. Working alone doesn’t mean working without complexity, and keeping track of features, bugs, ideas, and priorities remains just as essential. GitLab Issues becomes a place to organize thoughts, log tasks, remind yourself of upcoming improvements, and keep track of long-term goals. It becomes an external memory—something every game creator eventually needs.
As teams grow, GitLab Issues also become essential for managing responsibilities. Games aren’t built by single departments working in isolation. Artists need guidance from designers. Designers rely on programmers. Programmers depend on QA testers. Sound designers need context from level teams. And producers need to keep all of this moving smoothly. Assigning issues ensures that everyone knows what they’re responsible for and when their work fits into the broader schedule.
GitLab Issues shine especially when integrated into pipelines. Many studios tie issues to commits, branches, merge requests, and continuous integration workflows. This makes development feel cohesive. You can glance at an issue and see the code tied to it. You can follow the merge request related to a new mechanic. You can review test results from automated builds. The entire life cycle of a task becomes visible from start to finish. This transparency prevents miscommunication and keeps development steady.
For game development, where iterative changes happen quickly, this visibility is invaluable. You can see which assets broke a build. Which animation caused a mismatch. Which script update accidentally introduced a movement bug. GitLab Issues anchors these discoveries, giving teams a place to record, fix, and verify each part of the process.
GitLab Issues also foster accountability in a healthy, creative way. Not as an enforcement mechanism, but as a shared understanding of progress. When tasks move forward, the team moves forward. When blockers appear, they’re visible early. When ideas need refinement, there’s space to discuss them. A well-maintained issue tracker gives developers a sense of stability even when the game itself is evolving rapidly.
Another often-overlooked strength of GitLab Issues in gaming is how it supports creativity. Creativity grows best from constraints. When you break down large ideas into manageable chunks, creativity becomes more actionable. Artists can focus on one asset at a time. Animators can refine a specific motion. Designers can polish a mechanic without feeling overwhelmed. Programmers can work on isolated features. Step by step, the game emerges without drowning creators in the bigger picture too early.
GitLab Issues helps teams pace themselves. Game development is a long marathon, often with unpredictable twists. Clear issues give each team member a sense of forward movement—even on days when progress feels small. Over time, those small steps accumulate. A polished game is built from thousands of tiny improvements, bug fixes, discussions, and iterations. Issues document that journey.
Throughout this course, you’ll explore how GitLab Issues can support everything from concept art pipelines to character rigging workflows, level design collaboration, AI testing, narrative tracking, release planning, and post-launch live service updates. The deeper you go, the more you’ll realize that GitLab Issues isn’t just a tool for managing tasks; it’s a tool for managing relationships between creative ideas.
You’ll understand how to adapt issues for small indie teams, mid-sized studios, and large-scale AAA productions. You’ll explore real-world patterns that reflect successful game pipelines—how to organize issues by sprints, how to categorize art tasks, how to track mechanic refinement, how to record playtest feedback, how to manage bug backlogs, and how to balance feature development with stability needs.
By the time you complete the full course, GitLab Issues will feel less like an obligation and more like a creative partner—one that helps keep your mind clear, your team aligned, and your game evolving steadily.
Game development thrives when teams stay connected, when ideas stay organized, and when goals remain visible. GitLab Issues brings that visibility into every part of the process, from the earliest brainstorming sessions to the final bug fixes before launch.
Welcome to the beginning of a thoughtful journey into how GitLab Issues shapes the way games are built, improved, and brought to life.
Let’s explore how organization becomes part of creativity—and how clarity helps game ideas become realities.
¶ GitLab Issues
Creating a curriculum for learning GitLab Issues with a focus on game development involves mastering version control, issue tracking, project management, and collaboration workflows. Below is a list of 100 chapter titles, organized from beginner to advanced levels, to guide you through the process of becoming proficient in using GitLab Issues for game development projects.
¶ Beginner Level (Chapters 1-30)
1. Introduction to GitLab and Version Control
2. Setting Up a GitLab Account and Repository
3. Understanding the GitLab Interface
4. Creating Your First GitLab Issue
5. Basic Navigation and Shortcuts in GitLab
6. Introduction to GitLab Boards for Project Management
7. Creating and Assigning Issues to Team Members
8. Using Labels to Categorize Issues
9. Setting Due Dates and Milestones for Issues
10. Introduction to GitLab Epics for Large Features
11. Creating a Simple Game Development Workflow
12. Using GitLab Issues for Bug Tracking
13. Creating a Bug Report Template
14. Tracking Game Design Changes with GitLab Issues
15. Using GitLab Issues for Task Management
16. Creating a Task Template for Game Development
17. Introduction to GitLab Merge Requests
18. Linking Issues to Merge Requests
19. Reviewing and Approving Merge Requests
20. Using GitLab Issues for Feature Requests
21. Creating a Feature Request Template
22. Tracking Game Art Assets with GitLab Issues
23. Using GitLab Issues for Sound Design Tasks
24. Tracking Gameplay Mechanics with GitLab Issues
25. Using GitLab Issues for Level Design Tasks
26. Creating a Level Design Task Template
27. Tracking Game Testing and QA with GitLab Issues
28. Creating a QA Test Case Template
29. Using GitLab Issues for Localization Tasks
30. Uploading Your First Game Asset to GitLab
¶ Intermediate Level (Chapters 31-70)
31. Advanced Issue Tracking Techniques in GitLab
32. Creating Complex Game Development Workflows
33. Using GitLab Issues for Multiplayer Game Development
34. Tracking Network Code Changes with GitLab Issues
35. Using GitLab Issues for AI Development Tasks
36. Creating an AI Development Task Template
37. Tracking Physics Engine Changes with GitLab Issues
38. Using GitLab Issues for Procedural Generation Tasks
39. Creating a Procedural Generation Task Template
40. Tracking Game Engine Updates with GitLab Issues
41. Using GitLab Issues for Game Optimization Tasks
42. Creating a Game Optimization Task Template
43. Tracking Game Monetization Changes with GitLab Issues
44. Using GitLab Issues for In-App Purchase Development
45. Creating an In-App Purchase Development Template
46. Tracking Game Analytics Changes with GitLab Issues
47. Using GitLab Issues for Player Feedback Integration
48. Creating a Player Feedback Integration Template
49. Tracking Game Marketing Tasks with GitLab Issues
50. Using GitLab Issues for Social Media Campaigns
51. Creating a Social Media Campaign Template
52. Tracking Game Release Tasks with GitLab Issues
53. Using GitLab Issues for Beta Testing Coordination
54. Creating a Beta Testing Coordination Template
55. Tracking Post-Release Support with GitLab Issues
56. Using GitLab Issues for Patch Management
57. Creating a Patch Management Template
58. Tracking Game Community Management with GitLab Issues
59. Using GitLab Issues for Community Events
60. Creating a Community Event Template
61. Tracking Game Modding Support with GitLab Issues
62. Using GitLab Issues for Modding Tools Development
63. Creating a Modding Tools Development Template
64. Tracking Game Documentation with GitLab Issues
65. Using GitLab Issues for API Documentation
66. Creating an API Documentation Template
67. Tracking Game Licensing with GitLab Issues
68. Using GitLab Issues for Legal Compliance
69. Creating a Legal Compliance Template
70. Uploading Your First Game Build to GitLab
¶ Advanced Level (Chapters 71-100)
71. Mastering Advanced Issue Tracking Techniques in GitLab
72. Creating a Comprehensive Game Development Workflow
73. Using GitLab Issues for Cross-Platform Development
74. Tracking Platform-Specific Changes with GitLab Issues
75. Using GitLab Issues for Cross-Platform Testing
76. Creating a Cross-Platform Testing Template
77. Tracking Game Porting Tasks with GitLab Issues
78. Using GitLab Issues for Console Porting
79. Creating a Console Porting Template
80. Tracking Mobile Game Development with GitLab Issues
81. Using GitLab Issues for Mobile Optimization Tasks
82. Creating a Mobile Optimization Task Template
83. Tracking VR/AR Game Development with GitLab Issues
84. Using GitLab Issues for VR/AR Optimization Tasks
85. Creating a VR/AR Optimization Task Template
86. Tracking Cloud-Based Game Development with GitLab Issues
87. Using GitLab Issues for Cloud Integration Tasks
88. Creating a Cloud Integration Task Template
89. Tracking Blockchain Game Development with GitLab Issues
90. Using GitLab Issues for Smart Contract Development
91. Creating a Smart Contract Development Template
92. Tracking AI-Driven Game Development with GitLab Issues
93. Using GitLab Issues for Machine Learning Integration
94. Creating a Machine Learning Integration Template
95. Tracking Real-Time Multiplayer Game Development with GitLab Issues
96. Using GitLab Issues for Server-Side Development
97. Creating a Server-Side Development Template
98. Tracking Game Security with GitLab Issues
99. Using GitLab Issues for Security Audits
100. Building a Professional Game Development Portfolio on GitLab