Mobile game size estimation: COSMIC FSM rules, UML mapping model and Unity3D game engine

Abstract

Mobile game application is a crucial feature in mobile devices. Due to the complexity and parameters like game environment, platform and context performance, it leads to the challenges to estimate accurately the size and effort of mobile game application. Furthermore, the current software effort and parametric estimation models invented before emergence of mobile application. Therefore, there is a possibility gap that existing estimation models cannot estimate accurately the development effort based on the mobile application requirements and characteristics. Hence, this paper attempts to adapt COSMIC Functional Size Measurement (COSMIC FSM) as an alternative to estimate the size of mobile game application and uses Unity3D game engine to represent the mobile game architecture as it is able to control the features and components for mobile game application development. The Unity3D component diagram is created to visualize the requirements of common mobile game and to capture the embedded functional processes. The functional processes are then analyzed and classified into different types of data movement for the further estimation according to the COSMIC FSM rules and UML mapping model. The proposed measurement suggests possibility of software measurement in estimating mobile game application based on functional size measurement method.