Game and Software testing plays a crucial role in the game development process. The modern games available in the market are tested before they are released to the public. Though game testing is essential in game development, it can be tricky without the proper techniques and strategies.
From deformed characters and invisible walls to missing textures and long loading times, gameplay testing involves testing everything to ensure that the final game released is pitch-perfect.
So what basic techniques should you apply when software testing a game?
If that’s the question on your mind, you are at the right place. This article will cover some primary game testing techniques that can benefit your game. Let’s get started!
Alpha/Beta Software Testing
When talking about testing in general, you might have heard of Alpha and Beta testing. These are the most commonly used testing techniques that aren’t even exclusive to the gaming industry because of their everyday exposure.
The QA team (which is available in-house) mainly handles alpha testing. This means the QA team internally tests a game and gives feedback to the developers. The QA team tests a game’s fundamental and complex elements before submitting their final report to the developers.
In comparison, beta testing is done after the execution of a complete alpha testing cycle. The company releases the game to a few external users in beta testing. These external users are there to play the game casually and give their feedback to the developing team.
Smoke Testing
When talking about gameplay testing, it’s essential to discuss smoke testing. Smoke testing has many names. Some call it confidence, build verification, or sanity testing. Anyways, these are just different names for a simple test. In smoke testing, developers test various aspects of a game to reveal its failures.
The flaws detected by smoke testing are severe and are more than enough to reject the release of a game. With smoke testing, developers can identify whether a game should undergo further refined testing or some modifications should be made directly to the current version of the game.
Automated Software Testing
One of the efficient forms of testing is automated testing. The technique is efficient because it doesn’t require manual testing. In automated testing, game testing is done with the assistance of scripts, software, and tools. With the help of such tools and software, you will also find improvements in test accuracy.
With automated testing, developers can find bugs comparatively faster. It also drastically increases the test coverage since it uses multiple tools simultaneously. Though this testing technique saves a lot of time, it’s crucial to use this method when you have the budget, as it’s a bit more costly than the rest of the testing techniques.
Conclusion
Game testing is a stage of game development that can’t be neglected. However, it all comes down to your game and the type of testing that needs to be done. Anyways, ensure you have gone through all the necessary tests on your game (especially the beta test) before releasing your game in the market to have a flawless launch.
