The work is substractive I guess only when projects are very clear in what needs to be done, which maybe is the case in gaming? Otherwise I'd say projects are more inventive, because in my experience requirements are never clear.<p>I'd also say if you work on an existing system, that's already used in production, then work can definitely be additive, because quality starts to matter a lot more, as well as cost cutting, so robust code, performant code, code that doesn't require the team size to double every year to manage its increasing complexity, etc. do add value.<p>I do think the author has a point though with the weird shapes. The thing is, you have to put yourself in the shoes of your manager, what are they on the hook for? Once you start to understand what they're on the hook for, you get to have a better perspective on what your time should be spent on in order to get them off the hook for whatever they were on the hook for. That will get you to understand priorities, and what work matters and doesn't.