The document is a comprehensive beginner's guide to game testing, highlighting essential skills and tools for effective testing in the gaming industry. It details the common processes and phases involved in game testing, including alpha and beta testing, feature testing, and the importance of localization. Additionally, it emphasizes the necessity of rigorous testing strategies to ensure a high-quality gaming experience before, during, and after a game's release.

1. THE BEST SKILLS AND
TOOLS TO KNOW
BEGINNER’S GUIDE
TO GAME TESTING

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Game testing nowadays requires
the right understanding of the
gaming industry, title publishing,
mass server loading, level
architecture and advanced
user experience knowledge.

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The gaming industry is a fast expanding
sector. The sophistication and complexity
of modern titles bring with them a wide
range of features, UI, functionality due to
interaction, server concerns with online
multiplayer options and security
concerns and payments.
Game Testing Process

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Here are the most common
game testing processes:

5. 1.ALPHA/ BETA
TESTING
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6. Alpha testing is a form of
acceptance testing done mainly
by in-house QA teams.
Beta testing is the testing stage where the
company releases the game to a few beta
user groups to ‘real world’ test as many
conceivable usage scenarios as possible.
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7. 2. FEATURE
TESTING
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8. Using a combination of
automated and manual testing,
all current features’ functionality
is tested to determine process,
load durability, and user logic.
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9. 3. SMOKE
TESTING
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10. Also known as confidence,
sanity or build verification testing,
smoke testing is a preliminary test
performed to reveal simple failures
touching the main functions and
updates on the game.
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11. 4.AUTOMATION
TESTING
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12. Automation should
be included where it
is appropriate to do
so for time and
budget benefits.
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13. 5. LOCALIZATION
TESTING
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14. Localization testing is done
to make technical corrections
and review translation work
of game scripts.
Localization testers native to the area
where a game is marketed may be
hired to ensure the accuracy and
quality of the game localization.
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15. Game Testing Phases
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16. GATHERING
REQUIREMENTS
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17. Testers should have a thorough
understanding of the following
aspects of the game:
Storyboard, Architecture, Features,
Characters, Concept, Rules,
Pointing System, and Stages/Levels.
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18. PREPARATIONS
OF GAME TEST
STRATEGY
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19. The Test Strategy document is
prepared, which must include
sections like:
Timeline, Testers, Number of testing cycles
and testing types, In and Out-scope, Risk-based
test analysis, SLAs, Risk and mitigation, Defect
logging process, and Reporting process.
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20. DESIGNING
TEST CASES
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21. Testers should make both positive
and negative test cases. Here are
some effective test case
design techniques:
Critical Path, Exception Path Testing,
and Traditional Black Box.
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22. EXECUTION
OF GAME
TEST CASES
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23. To reveal more defects, to
further improve the quality of
the game, and content testing.
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24. RECORDING FOR
TEST RESULTS
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25. The development team should
record test results as a movie
or a series of screenshots
so they can review the
behavior effectively.
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26. CREATION OF
DEFECT LOG
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27. All the defects should be
logged, prioritized, categorized
and tracked effectively. Creating
the defect log will help
developers on their next title.
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28. TO DO’S WHEN
TESTING
GAMES
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29. Games need to be tested before,
during and after the release on the
market. Once released, gamers
expect a great experience.
It is game testers’ job to ensure that
gamers’ expectation will be met,
even surpassed.
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30. Here are some tips
on testing game titles:
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31. REVIEW THE
GAME RULES
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32. Evaluate and verify the
consistency of the predefined
game rules. Also, check if the
game win determination is
aligned with the game rules.
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33. VERIFY
FUNCTIONALITY
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34. The most practical way to
verify the correctness of game
elements is by playing the
actual game from start to finish.
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35. CHECK FOR
COMPLIANCE
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36. It calls for checking if protocol
compatibility and hardware
pin assignments are compatible
with both software and hardware.
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37. MAKE SURE IT
IS LOCALIZED
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38. The work of localization testers,
most often, involves facing a
spreadsheet-like interface that
lists all game scripts and their
corresponding translation.
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39. SOAK TESTING
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40. Game soaking is done by exposing
a game for an excessively long
period of execution. The purpose
of this activity is to test if the game
will display unreleased segments
of memory and mathematical
rounding discrepancies.
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41. PERFORM
SECURITY TEST
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42. Security is vital for games,
especially for network capable,
multi-user ones. Games that
need security testing most are
those with role escalation, prizes,
virtual money and selling trinkets.
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43. For a Free Trial
CONTACT US
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