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Game testing is a software testing process for testing video games for quality control. The main goal of game testing companies is to identify and discover defects and bugs in a video game and improve the stability and performance. Game testing is a component of game development that helps to ensure the video game to be deployed is bug-free.

Game testing is important for game development and quality assurance because it helps to control the quality of the game, enabling optimal performance across distribution channels. It also plays an indispensable role in assuring that the game is suitable to give the best user experience. Game testing can help to avoid negative reviews, low ratings, customer dissatisfaction, revenue loss, legal issues, etc. that may result from faulty or buggy games.

Some statistics or examples of successful games that were tested well are:

Fortnite: A popular online multiplayer game that has over 350 million players worldwide and has earned more than $9 billion in revenue in its first two years. Fortnite has been praised for its frequent updates, cross-platform compatibility, creative modes, and community engagement. Fortnite has a dedicated team of testers who work closely with developers to ensure quality and functionality of new features and content.
Among Us: A social deduction game that became a viral sensation in 2020 with over 500 million monthly active users at its peak. Among Us has been lauded for its simple yet addictive gameplay, diverse maps and modes, colorful graphics, and fun interactions. Among Us was developed by a small indie studio called Innersloth with only four developers and one tester. The tester was responsible for finding bugs, balancing gameplay elements, creating test cases, and communicating with players.
Minecraft: A sandbox game that allows players to create and explore infinite worlds made of blocks. Minecraft has sold over 200 million copies worldwide and has over 126 million monthly active users as of 2020. Minecraft has been acclaimed for its creative potential, educational value, modding community, and cross-play support. Minecraft was initially developed by one person named Markus Persson who later founded Mojang Studios. Mojang Studios has a team of testers who work on different versions of Minecraft for various platforms and devices.

Some of the common pitfalls and challenges that game testers face?

Functional Testing

Functional testing is an activity that aims to determine whether a game is working according to specifications and identify any bugs or issues that could negatively impact the player experience. Some of the subtypes of functional testing are:

Gameplay testing: Testing for game mechanics, rules, balance, difficulty, etc.
UI testing: Testing for user interface elements, such as menus, buttons, icons, etc.
Compatibility testing: Testing for different devices, operating systems, screen sizes, etc.
Localization testing: Testing for language translation, cultural adaptation, etc.
Regression testing: Testing for any new bugs introduced after fixing previous ones

To identify problems with game content, graphics, audio-visuals, etc., game testers need to design and execute test cases that cover various scenarios and aspects of the game. They also need to use tools such as bug tracking software or screen capture software to record and report any issues they find. To fix these problems, game developers need to analyze the root causes of the bugs and implement solutions that do not affect other parts of the game.

Ad hoc Testing

Ad hoc testing is a type of game testing that is performed without any documentation, planning or process. The main aim of ad hoc testing is to break the game by performing thousands of edge case scenarios that may not be covered by conventional functional testing. Ad hoc testing helps to identify hidden bugs, performance issues, usability problems, etc.

Some of the most common pitfalls of ad hoc testing are:

Lack of traceability: Since ad hoc testing aims at detecting defects or errors through a random approach, with zero documentation, errors won’t be mapped to test cases1. This makes it difficult to reproduce, prioritize and fix them.
Lack of coverage: Ad hoc testing relies on the testers’ intrinsic knowledge and creativity, which may vary from person to person. This means that some aspects of the game may not be tested thoroughly or consistently.
Lack of feedback: Ad hoc testing does not provide any feedback on the subjective qualities of the game, such as balance, difficulty, fun factor, etc. These qualities require play testing, which involves playing the game with a specific goal or perspective in mind.

Mobile game testing

Mobile game testing is a process of quality assurance that ensures that mobile games are secure, reliable, user-friendly and playable on different devices, operating systems, screen sizes. Mobile game testing has some specific challenges and requirements that differ from general app testing.

Some of the common pitfalls in mobile game testing are:

Device fragmentation: Mobile games need to be compatible with a wide range of devices that have different hardware specifications, software versions, screen resolutions, etc. This can cause issues such as performance degradation, memory consumption, crashes.
Network conditions: Mobile games need to be tested for their performance under different network conditions, such as bandwidth, latency, packet loss, etc. This can affect aspects such as multiplayer features, online content delivery, social media integration.
User experience: Mobile games need to be tested for their usability and playability on small screens and touch interfaces. This can involve aspects such as UI design, game mechanics, difficulty level, fun factor.

To deal with these pitfalls;

Device fragmentation: Mobile game testers need to use tools such as device farms or emulators that allow them to test on multiple devices simultaneously. They also need to prioritize the most popular or critical devices based on market research or analytics data.
Network conditions: Mobile game testers need to use tools such as network simulators or proxies that allow them to emulate different network scenarios and monitor network traffic. They also need to test for offline functionality and error handling.
User experience: Mobile game testers need to use tools such as usability testing platforms or analytics tools that allow them to collect feedback from real users and measure user engagement. They also need to perform play testing with different personas or goals in mind.

Multiplayer game testing

Multiplayer game testing is a process of ensuring that a multiplayer mode works perfectly well through network testing. It presents unique challenges, such as running multiple instances of the game, iterating quickly on custom code and asset changes, and debugging work in a multiplayer scenario using editor tools.

Some common pitfalls in multiplayer game testing are:

You never know what the other user will do, so you need to check hundreds of various combinations.
The system and software under test may behave differently during testing than during operation.
The test software, data, and environments may not be under sufficient configuration control.
The test documentation may be inadequate or not maintained.

To deal with these pitfalls, you need to have a clear test plan, use automation tools, perform load testing, monitor performance metrics, and document your findings.

The Bottom Line

Game testing is a crucial step in ensuring that your game meets the expectations of your target audience and delivers a satisfying gaming experience. However, game testing can also be fraught with pitfalls and challenges that can compromise the quality of your game or delay its release.

By following the best practices for game testing, you can ensure that your game is free of bugs, glitches, errors, crashes, performance issues, compatibility issues, security vulnerabilities, localization errors, or any other factors that can ruin your game’s quality or reputation.

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Tags: Game development, Game testing, Gamers, Gaming, Indie games, PC games, Video games