Role of Game Testing in Game Development

Developing games is a matter of thousands and millions of dollars. Investing hefty amounts for game development deserves a quality standard that gives players a smooth experience.

 

As per recent stats, the game development industry is expected to reach $268.8 billion by 2025, compared to $178 billion in 2021.

 

With the increasing investment and revenue opportunities in game development, one must ensure they release a smooth game. 

 

For this purpose, game testing is one of the most essential steps in game development. 

 

In this blog, we focus intensely on game testing, the need for game testing, its process, types, and how to do it.

 

What Is Game Testing?

 

Game testing, also known as quality assurance (QA), is the process of evaluating video games to ensure that they are glitch- and bug-free. 

 

In this process, game testers check for different gameplay elements that can affect the player experience and its overall performance. 

 

It does not end here. Game testers must ensure the game is compatible with hardware, software, different operating systems, browsers, tablets, and various mobile devices. 

 

Why Do We Need Game Testing?

 

Game development is a highly player-centric process. To make money off it, one must ensure that the game meets user expectations in smooth performance. 

 

No one or two reasons highlight the importance of game testing. Game developers and publishers must ensure the game is optimized for players. 

 

It is also required for validating game errors or bugs that remove latency from the game. If you want your game to be popular among players with long sessions, it is essential to ensure that it is fully tested for bugs and errors. 

 

In order to do game testing, you must know the fundamental processes of game testing. Let’s look at its process. 

 

Process Of Game Testing

 

The process of the game testing life cycle consists of seven steps that our QA testers also perform. 

 

 

Let's take a look at each step in detail. 

 

Requirement Analysis 

 

It is the first step of our game testing process. In this process, our quality assurance team looks into the project requirements to understand the game's visions, goals, and issues. 

 

This process helps to create a solid foundation for any project. The requirement analysis further helps identify the most suitable type of game testing for the project. 

 

Once the requirements are precise, game quality assurance testers start to work on the data required for testing. 

 

Data Determination for Testing 

 

The second most important step of the process is gathering the data required to test the game. For this purpose, the game testers gather the required data. 

 

It includes game design documents, game specifications, game mechanics, game features, and game mechanics. It helps testers create test scenarios that are further utilized for game testing. 

 

Once these requirements are gathered, they are used to test the outcomes and ensure they match game requirements. 

 

Strategy Development 

 

Our QA testers develop the test strategy that fits your game project in this step. The strategy defines the test scope for the game, the type of game testing required, testing frameworks, creating the test plan, and the time it would take.

 

Through a result-driven strategy, the aim is to optimize the game and make its performance smooth. 

 

Test Execution

 

At this stage, the developed strategy starts to get implemented. The frameworks, test plan, and the required type of testing are all under execution. 

 

Our expert game testers start testing the game against the testing factors. The game testing process is done against the predefined test scenarios. 

 

For the execution of game testing, the game testing companies use manual and automated testing to check for game performance, compatibility, and other testing factors.

 

Comparison and Analysis of Tests 

 

The game testers compare and analyze the output of the game testing. 

 

It is expected vs reality in real-time. It helps game QA testers analyze the gaps in the testing scenarios and areas that require improvement. By continuously analyzing the testing, game QA experts achieve the optimal performance and the desired results. 

 

QA Testing Report 

 

This step is essential for thorough reporting and transparency. At this stage, QA testers create a report of all the test case scenarios and their results.

 

The reports also tell about the results in detail and the severity of the bugs. 

 

Test Regression

 

It is usually the last stage in which the game testers perform holistic testing once again after testing and analyzing the game. It is to verify that there are no new bugs and the game is stable in terms of performance. 

 

Types Of Game Testing

 

Game quality assurance is an important step in the game development lifecycle. 

 

For different games, you might need to test different features of the game, such as game mechanics, game compatibility with hardware, software, etc. 

 

Therefore, there have been different mobile game testing techniques. Let's look at them below. 

 

Beta Testing

 

It is one of the most common mobile game testing techniques in which the game is only available to some users. These users are called beta testers. 

 

The role of the beta testers is to play the game and provide feedback so that improvements can be made to the identified bugs. 

 

The purpose of the testing is that necessary improvements and fixes can be made before the game is launched. 

 

Stress Testing

 

As the name suggests, this type of testing pushes the game to its maximum limits.

 

You must be thinking about what is meant by pushing the game to its maximum limits. It entails subjecting the game to high loads, intense usage scenarios, or extreme conditions.

 

It helps in identifying the bottlenecks, system crashes, or memory leaks that could occur in game. 

 

Compatibility Testing

 

This type of testing is to evaluate the performance of the game across various devices and screen sizes. 

 

Not only that, but it also checks for mobile operating systems such as Android game testing and looks for the testing games that are compatible with Android devices. 

 

The purpose of compatibility testing is to ensure that the game gives an optimal and stable gameplay experience no matter what device it is. 

 

Usability Testing

 

It focuses on testing the game's navigation, user interface, mechanics, controls, and overall user experience. 

 

This type of game testing aims to ensure that the game gives accessibility, intuitiveness, and engagement smoothly.

 

Tools for Mobile Game Testing 

 

You will find plenty of tools or mobile game-testing apps that can help you in every game testing process. Here are the top 5 tools for game testing: 

 

 

Let’s take a short look at their description:

 

Appium

 

Open-source mobile automation framework for Android and iOS apps.

 

Espresso

 

Google's UI testing framework for Android apps, ensuring reliability.

 

XCTest

 

Apple's testing framework for iOS apps, including mobile games testing, supports various tests.

 

Unity Test Framework

 

Built-in Unity tool for automated game testing within the editor.

 

TestFairy

 

Mobile testing platform for distribution, crash reporting, and monitoring.

 

Emerging Trends in Game Testing 

 

The game development industry is on to the new shift with regards to gaming technologies and innovations. Through this way, the game testing has started to expand with the new emerging trends.  

 

Here are the four main emerging trends in game testing:

 

 

Role of QA Testers in Game Development 

 

By hiring expert game QA testers, you can save yourself a lot of time. The main responsibility of the QA tester is to ensure that the game is bug-free and provides an optimized player experience. Here are the main roles and responsibilities of a game testing engineer:

 

• Create builds for testing and troubleshooting as needed.

• Create and implement test plans for development features.

• Working with the development team to fix bugs.

• Report on bugs, including contacting several departments about issues and their status.

• Develop and implement test plans.

• Collaborate with the producer to assess bugs and implement fixes 

• Plan QA phases for release across platforms.

• Offer analysis and input on usability and design.

 

Skills Required to Become a Game QA Tester 

 

The skills of a game QA tester are diverse so that they can ensure glitch-free games. Our game QA experts share insight into the skills that are essential for quality assurance engineers. 

 

Here are the most important skills that are required for a gaming QA:

 

• Proficiency in using testing tools and software.

• Understanding of software development lifecycle.

• Ability to write and execute test cases.

• Knowledge of programming languages (such as Python, C++, etc.).

• Familiarity with bug tracking systems (like JIRA and Bugzilla).

• Capacity to perform regression and compatibility testing.

• Strong grasp of game design principles and mechanics.

• Experience with automated testing frameworks.

• Skill in analyzing and interpreting technical documentation.

• Proficient in identifying and reporting software defects.

 

Game Testing Services at InvoGames 

 

Is your game facing lags and negative feedback from players? 

 

You need to get instant game QA testing services that can optimize your game and make it bug-free. 

 

How will it help you?

 

It will help you and your game in player acquisition, more downloads, and player retention. 

Get in touch with us today to make your game run smoothly - without any lags or glitches!