THE IMPORTANCE OF TESTING
- ep3g19
- May 23, 2021
- 3 min read
Testing is a crucial part of game development and must be carried out for a number of reasons! Here I will be documenting my research into the importance of testing, and understanding the different types of testing which I will apply to my own development work.
"ROLE OF GAME TESTING IN GAME DEVELOPMENT" - Juego Studio
"Game testing ensures the quality of the game function"
Testing prevents glitches, defects, errors and bugs
These risks are mitigated by an 'iterative' process of game testing beforehand.
The Game Testing Process
Identification - The game is run and analysed in order to identify bugs
Reporting - The bug is then reported back to game developers. (The location of the bug and its identification)
Analysis - The developer is now responsible for which code contains this identified bug.
Verification - The developer confirms the removal of the bug/glitch and testing is undertaken again to confirm or deny the presence of the bug.
Functional Testing - identifying and eliminating bugs, errors or defects. This is where the main elements of the game are looked at including graphics, menu transitions and performance. The importance of this testing ensures the vertical slice fulfills its purpose to a high quality.
Gameplay Testing - this type of testing focuses on the flow of the game. The game should be designed to "capture a player's attention and keep them engrossed". "Each progression in the game must be in support of each other, to ensure an engaging gameplay". Design should always be in line with the story/purpose of the game.
"QA IN THE GAME INDUSTRY" - Joshua Gad
What is Quality Assurance Testing?
Quality Assurance testing is the process of finding "inconsistencies, glitches or bugs" in software or the overall experience. QA involves identifying, recording and reviewing these bugs and taking the necessary steps in order to diminish these bugs.
QA testing ensures the product is of the highest quality for consumers. The process ensures the end product fulfills our expectations as well as being a high standard.
PLAYTESTING
We should also focus on playtesting towards the later stages of the project, by giving our game to individuals outside of our development team, preferably those that have no link to our game at all. This way we can gather feedback to evaluate the functionality of our vertical slice and ask questions based on gameplay, including other questions that dig deeper into the overall experience.
TESTING AND VERSION CONTROL - James Lecture
NOTES:
As we make iterations of assets, prototypes and builds, they must all be thoroughly tested.
"The goal of testing is to find errors. The goal of every other development activity is to prevent errors and keep the software from breaking".
Test results are an indicator of quality.
Three types of testers - Scott Rogers;
Those associated with the project e.g. teammates
Friends and people friendly to the project
People who have nothing to do with the project
Get honest feedback
Types of Bugs (Heather Chandler)
Crash Bugs - Bugs that cause the entire game to crash. These bugs are top priority.
Critical Bugs - Major functionality issues. E.g. a play feature not functioning as expected.
Minor Bugs - Small yet still noticeable bugs.
Feature Request - Extra functionality request.
WHAT HAVE I LEARNED? HOW WILL I USE THIS?
I have gained a better understanding on the importance of testing and will be sure to use this during development of Anima Mundi. Testing will be especially useful when integrating our assets into Unity, however also quality assurance testing will be important during the creation of assets. It's important to keep tabs on the creation of assets to ensure they meet our expectations and follow the same art style as this is a major part of our team goals and purpose of Anima Mundi. Smoke Alarm testing can also be used to record the expectations of a certain thing/asset and evaluate this once implemented in Unity. Playtesting is also extremely necessary to evaluate the functionality of our game, gather feedback and suggestions from external individuals i.e those not associated to our team.
Within my main menu you can find my Testing section where I have linked testing during development.
I have created two tables in Google Docs and provided the team with access to them. I will be documenting asset expectations, feedback and completion as well as testing these assets in scene mockups to assess their design. Playtesting will also take place towards the end stages of the project and feedback will be taken and evaluated.
SCENE TESTING
ASSET LIST/EXPECTATIONS/FEEDBACK
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