Authoring systems can reduce development time and effort and make CD-i technology accessible to those who do not have software engineering skills. The design of a title produced with an authoring system is typically constrained to a fairly low level of interactivity and complexity. The creativity of the interactive designer can make these constraints less apparent to the user.

If, however, you wish to produce a title that is more interactive or complex, such as an action game, custom software engineering becomes a necessity. Typically, titles designed for the consumer marketplace require this type of complexity and are much more expensive to produce because of the custom software engineering required to complete them. Custom engineering is done by writing C or 68000 assembly language programs that directly interface with CD-RTOS, the operating system for CD-i, or that make use of the Balboa Run-Time System libraries (available from OptImage).

On the other hand, many applications for presentations, point of sale, marketing, and training may lend themselves very well to use of an authoring system. If a sound and slideshow with some branching is adequate for a design, then an authoring system will probably serve well. Authoring systems are becoming increasingly sophisticated and their developer's continue to enhance them to add functionality. For example, MediaMogul now allows the use of Digital Video segments as assets for a CD-i title and also allows the use of plug-in modules to expand its functionality. Nonetheless, no authoring system currently on the market allows the title designer to approach the complexity of design that can be attained with the services of a skilled CD-i software engineer.