Last updated on January 9th, 2022 at 04:16 pm

Testing is an integral part of the game development process. The game development process consists of levels, each of which involves testing to detect various bugs and defects. There are various unconventional methods involved in finding bugs.

Following are some of the methods game testers use to find bugs to ensure a hassle-free user experience:

Exploratory Testing

It might be funny to imagine playing games as a part of a profession. Well, that’s what game testers do, mainly to find defects and bugs (and partly for fun). Testers use various bug management tools and approaches to playing the game to discover bugs.

Break the Rules

Don’t follow the same instruction again and again while testing multiple times. Go beyond the scope of test cases to find defects or potential vulnerabilities and opt for different methods to achieve the same result.

Use Unconventional Method

Play the game incorrectly or in a wrong order, for example, don’t do any actions, skip some steps, and observe the changes.

Use All Functions Everywhere

Try using all functions at every stage even if it is not of any use at that point.

Try Things That Are Not Allowed

Explore the forbidden territory. Rapidly press buttons at different places. retrace steps and check the result before finishing the level.

Examine Effects

Try playing games with minimum user actions or minimum inputs. Similarly, try playing games with maximum inputs. Try to walk through objects, obstructions, or walls and examine the effects.

Test Cases 

Development or product teams suggest specific areas to the testers that need testing. Testers follow the test cases provided by the development team and complete each action according to the directions.

Functionality Testing

Test menu and every menu function, and assure that it is working as expected.

Durability Testing

Test for an odd situation such as loading a game without a memory card, running the game for two days and check how it responds.

Same Job, Different Testers

Appointing different testers can help you with different perspectives on the game. Also, if the tester performs test cases over and over again, he may lose focus and enthusiasm. This can lead to missed bugs.

Performance Testing

A successful game needs to be visually stunning with incredible features to be successful and satisfying for the player. If it’s slow or freezes up, no one will like to play it. Therefore, the success of a game lies in its testing and development. A game can be tested for performance by running it without a pause or keep increasing the number of players. Tests like these can provide valuable data about the performance at high load, provided that you use good bug management tools. If the result shows performance issues, then it means that it has bugs that need to be fixed.

Conclusion

Game testing and development is a complex and long process. Close observation, test cases, and unconventional methods help to find bugs in games. Gamers’ expectations continue to increase and so, even the smallest of errors can spell doom to the success of a game.