Game Testing: What You Need to Know

When a new game is developed, the developer would want it to thrive in the market by all means. As soon as a new game makes its debut in the market, it would be too early to fathom that it’s going to be a blockbuster in a week. With umpteen gaming applications available online, the developers have to put in immense hard work and time to make their invention stand out from the rest.

To obtain an edge over the contenders, qa game testing becomes an absolute necessity. Game testing helps in assuring the seamless flow of the application and determining whether it is going to be a hit in the coming days or not.

What does game testing automation mean?

Automation is an important aspect of game QA, and the other approach is manual testing. With the aid of automation testing, certain tests can be performed several times without needing the participation of the developer or the tester. As a result, it is highly time-efficient and increases the chances of catching rare bugs.

While this approach is more convenient than manual testing, it’s immensely complex and difficult to carve out automation tools according to the unique gaming application. In a survey conducted by gaming developers, a major percentage of developers favor manual testing due to a lack of resources as well as the time needed for creating qa game testing game software.

What are the various phases of game testing?

When an online game is tested, developers closely monitor numerous aspects such as bugs, bottlenecks, code errors, and other inconsistencies. Apart from all these it also helps in finding the possible risks that the game is likely to bring into the market. For this, it’s important to conduct the test through these essential stages:

• Planning and designing the test

This is the initial step of the entire process and allows the developer to find answers to s few critical questions. For instance, what are the changes that have come into the application since the time it was built? What are the new configurations supported by the game? Which features have been eliminated? What are the additional test cases being added?

• Preparing and performing the test

The developers prepare all the essential documents along with creating the right environment required for testing the gaming application. After this, the game verification suites are run to look for bugs or errors. In case anything unlikely is found, the testing is conducted thoroughly to receive all the minute details that will go into the report.

This step is performed by identifying the common tasks that a user may take up and then determining the desirable duration to complete each of them. Sometimes, it also includes extreme testing where the game is run for a day at a stretch and more players are added at each stage to check for multiplayer performance of the game.

• Reporting and repairing the bug

Once the initial testing is complete, a report is prepared that includes all the bugs and errors found. This is later discussed with the entire team of developers and game testing service to establish the right solution to do away with these issues.

Why is online game testing important?

The most obvious reason why video game testing is important is that the industry is already flooded with hordes of applications under various niches. It’s primary to game development since it allows the developers to assess whether or not the application will work.

This implies that a responsive game testing service can detect the loopholes in the application and show various measures of how they can be addressed. With all these, the developers can rest assured that the end product that’s offered to the users performs really well at different stages and the quality is kept up all through. Here are the three primary reasons why online game testing is crucial:

1. Assessment of quality

Every video game developer aspires to become the best in the market and aims that their game thrives well for a long period. With quality assessment, it can be made sure whether the game is adept enough to give the desired user experience. And the easiest way you can ensure this is to have an experienced and qualified game tester on board. A quality assessment will find out the loopholes in the design and suggest measures to remove them effectively.

2. Ranking of the game

When a new online game is launched into the industry, the qa game testing game plays a critical role in impacting how the users accept it. Also when qualified testers are employed for the job, they will take into account various critical parameters to decide the final verdict about the game.

3. Areas of improvement

Most online games, no matter whether they are developed by novice amateurs or skilled professionals, are likely to have room for improvement. Most games set out their journey with the aspiration of becoming highly popular with millions of downloads and producing sequels. But this cannot be achieved without a reliable game testing service monitoring all the areas to sift through the factors that require refinement.

Why opt for a third-party game testing service?

As online game testing is an indispensable part of the application development process, most developers are now looking for third-party testing. This is a suitable option owing to the benefits it proffers along with affordability. The game developers do not have to engage in the testing process and rather utilize the time on activities that call for their undivided attention. Moreover, with third-party services, the developers can rest assured that they will be presented with an unbiased review of their product.

Final thoughts

Online games are innately complex for a number of reasons. They blend numerous entertaining genres into a highly attractive and interactive user experience. The primary USP of online games lies in their responsiveness and the incredibly immersive experience they offer.

But sometimes these games become plagued with unforeseen and unexpected issues and such issues can be easily removed with the help of proper testing. Most video games are subject to evolution during their time in the market and testing at regular intervals can ensure the game becomes a series and paves way for equally successful sequels. 

Bio:

Yuriy Denisyuk is Game Production Lead at Pingle Studio. He’s responsible for successfully managing the Game Production pipeline. Yuriy is this lucky person who plays the best games for work in order to keep up with trends and create new ones. He likes writing, reading Manga, fantasy and professional literature in his free time.