by Arthur Williams | Nov 13, 2024 | Game Testing, Blog, Latest Post |
Game testing, including black box testing and unit testing, is a key part of the game development process. It helps to make sure that a video game is fun, works well, and offers a great user experience in that particular game. This testing covers many things such as the main features, graphics, performance, and safety. By finding and fixing bugs, glitches, and design problems, Game Testing helps create a smooth and enjoyable gaming experience for the players.
Key Highlights
- Game testing is a crucial aspect of the game development process, ensuring game quality and a positive user experience.
- It involves multiple testing phases, starting from the initial concept and continuing even after the game is released.
- Various types of game testing, like functional testing and compatibility testing, address different quality aspects of the game.
- Understanding the various testing stages and employing the relevant techniques are essential for the successful launch of any video game.
- By identifying bugs and gathering valuable feedback, game testing significantly enhances the final product and increases user satisfaction.
Understanding Game Testing Basics
Game testing is a crucial quality assurance process designed to identify bugs, glitches, and design flaws before a game is released. It involves evaluating various aspects like gameplay, performance, graphics, and user experience to ensure the game functions as intended. Different types of testing play a role in this process: functional testing checks that game features and mechanics work correctly, while performance testing evaluates how well the game runs under various conditions.
Compatibility testing ensures the game operates smoothly across multiple platforms and devices, and usability testing focuses on user experience and ease of play. Localization testing verifies that content is accurately adapted for different regions, while security testing protects the game from hacking and data breaches. Key components of game testing include bug tracking, regression testing, and the creation of detailed test cases.
Why is Game Testing Important?
- Bug Detection: Finds technical glitches and issues that may cause problems in gameplay.
- Quality Assurance: Saves players from an unstable game with the potential to be either fascinating or frustrating.
- User Experience: Enhances gameplay balance, mechanics, and overall satisfaction.
- Compatibility: Ensures the proper running of a game across various devices and platforms.
- Brand Reputation: Builds confidence in the developer’s abilities and reputation by providing a quality, bug-free product.
- Community Trust: Players trust the developers, especially if their suggestions are considered when implementing Beta phases.
Overview of the Game Development Lifecycle
The game development process consists of several steps, and each step is used in stages to build a final video game. In order to understand why the testing of the game is so essential, you need to know all these stages very well.
It most commonly begins by brainstorming and prep work-on things like game design, target audience, to name a few-from there, a product is vetted. Then comes production. This is where all of the heavy work gets done-from programming to making art, level designing and more. Finally, testing, refining, marketing, and then releasing the product to the public are the post-production stages.
Testing at all these stages is very crucial in game testing. That way, it is ensured that the game should be good, work well, and be fun to play.
Pre-Production Testing Stage
- Concept Validation: Tests the original concept of a game, mechanics and idea, as a proof of its feasibility and interest.
- Prototype Testing: Prototyping and testing early developments to identify technical issues or possible design errors.
- Technical Feasibility: Checks if the concept of the game is technically feasible with the available technology and resources.
- Game Engine and Tools Testing: Test the game engines and development tools to ensure they meet up with the project requirements.
- Art Style and Design: Testing of test graphics, test animations, and art direction, which determines what style to adopt.
- Gameplay Mechanics: Validation of the core gameplay mechanics and loops by functionality and player engagement
- Project Planning: Results from testing is used to refine the roadmap for development and resource allocation
Production Testing Stage
- Alpha Testing: In-depth internal tests on early builds in order to find big bugs and glitches and gameplay errors.
- Gameplay Testing: Checking core gameplay mechanics for the right levels of difficulty, making sure the game is indeed enjoyable and engaging.
- Performance Testing: Testing how stable the game runs, its frame rate, and its performance on different kinds of hardware configurations.
- Compatibility Testing: Making sure the game runs fine on different platforms and devices as well as on different operating systems.
- Art and Animation Testing: Quality and consistency check on graphics, textures, animations, and visual effects.
- Testing Audio: Proper clarity, balance, and sync of sound effects, voice-overs, and background music.
- Network and Multiplayer Testing: The Online features should be completely free from issues and the server performance under various conditions must be stable.
- User Interface: Check menus, button, and HUD elements for intuitive, proper working, and responsive.
- Regression Testing: It ensures previously fixed bugs do not come up in association with newly implemented changes.
- Bug Tracking: Recording, prioritizing, and tracking of bugs using specific bug-tracking tools to make the fixing process efficient.
Post-Production Testing Stage
- Final QA: Severe testing of the complete game to identify any leftover bugs or glitches before release.
- Gold Master Testing: Testing that would ensure that the final product had no more problems and bugs, labeled as the “Gold Master”.
- Compliance Testing: It would ensure that the game complies strictly to the rules and requirements of every platform, for example, PlayStation, Xbox, and Steam requirements.
- Localization Testing: Tests for translated content, cultural references, and UI adjustments of the international markets for accuracy and relevance.
- Load and Stress Testing: Tests the capacity of the servers and stability of the system by simulating heavy user traffic for ensuring that the servers can tolerate the expected load of players.
- Patch Testing: Tests performance and stability of the day-one patches/updates meant to address the last-moment issues.
- Certification Testing: Official approval from platform providers by clearing its Certification Process.
- Launch Day Testing: Reviewing the game in the wild for any unknown bugs and performance issues when deployed in a natural playing condition.
- Analyze User Feedback at Launch: All feedback collected, reviewed, and adopted at launch to identify improvement areas or probable future updates.
- Ongoing Support: Preparation of post-launch patches, updates, as well as downloadable content (DLCs) based on the community feedback noticed.
Conclusion
All this being said, it’s very important to understand the various stages of game testing. This ensures that the game is of good quality and will therefore succeed. Every stage counts, starting from the pre-production up to the post-production, as each improves the game itself and fixes faults that may have occurred. A game in testing makes the gaming experience even better. It also grows customer satisfaction and loyalty. A clear process of testing, which the game developers use, while hearing out the comments from different stages of the production of the game, can be presented with an excellent final outcome. Knowing the basics of game testing is essential. It helps in having great games that invite more players and thus win at playing.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What are the types of game testing?
There are many types of game testing. The tests include compatibility, functional, performance, compliance, and stress testing. All these tests ensure that the game performs in an ideal manner. They ensure that a given game performs well on all machines. They also prove its compliance with rules set by any platform in which it will be used. In addition, they ensure that a multithreaded application can handle several users at once.
- What is the difference between alpha and beta testing?
It is at alpha testing that testing stages begin. Alpha testing is done by the QA team within the company. Beta testing follows this step. This involves a larger group of outside users who are giving feedback. Both these steps are of great importance in the game development process.
- Can game testing be automated?
Yes, indeed, parts of game testing can be automated. Regression testing, in particular, takes on repetitive tasks, and automated testing can indeed speed things up and cover so much more ground. But it still cannot replace human judgment when evaluating the quality of the overall game and the experience that will be perceived by its users.
- How to become a game tester?
To become a game tester, a person needs to enjoy playing games as they spend much of their time doing it. Also, it demands better attention and awareness regarding the concept of quality assurance. With experience in various types of games and development of appropriate skills, it can lead to a fulfilling job in the gaming industry.
by Chris Adams | Nov 5, 2024 | Game Testing, Blog, Recent, Latest Post |
In today’s gaming world, giving players a great experience is very important. Game testing is a key part of making sure video games are high quality and work well. It helps find and fix bugs, glitches, and performance issues. The goal is to ensure players have a fun and smooth time. This article looks at some special challenges in game testing and offers smart ways to deal with them.
Key Highlights
- Game testing is key for finding bugs, making gameplay better, and improving user experience.
- Testing on different platforms and managing unexpected bugs while meeting tight deadlines can be tough.
- Mobile game testing faces specific challenges due to different devices, changing networks, and the need for performance upgrades.
- AI and automation help make testing easier and more efficient.
- Good communication, flexible methods, and focusing on user experience are vital for successful game testing.
What are the common challenges faced by game testers?
Game testers often encounter challenges like game-breaking bugs, tight deadlines, repetitive testing tasks, and communication issues with developers. Finding and fixing elusive bugs, coordinating testing schedules, and balancing quality assurance with time constraints are common hurdles in game testing.
Identifying Common Challenges in Game Testing
Game testing has its own special challenges. These are different from those found in regular software testing. Games are fun and interactive, so they require smart testing approaches. It’s also important to understand game mechanics well. Game testers face many issues. They have to handle complex game worlds and check that everything works on different platforms.
Today’s games are more complicated. They have better graphics, let players join multiplayer matches, and include AI features. This makes testing them a lot harder. Let’s look at these challenges closely.
The Complexity of Testing Across Multiple Platforms
The gaming industry is growing on consoles, PCs, mobile devices, and in the cloud. This growth brings a big challenge to ensure good game performance across all platforms. Each platform has its own hardware and software. They also have different ways for users to play games. Because of this, game developers must test everything carefully to ensure it all works well together.
Testing must look at various screen sizes, resolutions, and performance levels. Testers also need to think about different operating systems, browsers, and network connections. Because of this, game testers use several methods. They mainly focus on performance testing and compatibility testing to handle these challenges.
Handling the Unpredictability of Game Bugs and Glitches
Game bugs and glitches can show up suddenly. This is because the game’s code, graphics, and player actions work in a complex way. Some problems are small, like minor graphic flaws. Others can be serious, like crashes that completely freeze the game. These issues can make players feel frustrated and lead to a poor gaming experience.
The hard part is finding, fixing, and keeping an eye on these problems. Game testers usually explore, listen to player feedback, and use special tools to find and report bugs. It is important to work with the development team to fix bugs quickly and ensure a good quality.
Mobile Game Testing Challenges
The mobile gaming market has expanded rapidly in the last few years. This rise has created good opportunities and some challenges for game testers. Millions of players enjoy games on different mobile devices. To keep their gaming experience smooth and enjoyable, mobile game testing and mobile application testing are very important. Still, this field has its own issues.
Mobile game testing has several challenges. First, there are many different devices to consider and limits with their networks. Next, performance and security issues are also very important. Testing mobile games requires special skills and careful planning. This helps to make sure the games are of high quality. Let’s look at some key challenges in mobile game testing.
Inadequate Expertise
Mobile game testing requires different skills than regular software testing. Testers need to understand mobile platforms and different devices. They also have to learn how to simulate networks. Knowing the tools made for mobile game testing is important too. There aren’t many skilled testers for mobile games, which can lead to problems for companies.
It’s key to hire people who know about game testing. You can also teach your current team about mobile game testing methods and tools. They should learn about audio testing too. Testers need several mobile devices for their jobs. They must understand how to check mobile issues like battery use, performance problems, and how the touch screen responds. This knowledge is very important for good mobile game testing.
Difficulty in Simulating All Real-World Cases
Game testing has a major challenge. It is tough to recreate all the real situations players might face. Different devices give different user experiences which makes testing harder. Mobile games need to work well on several specifications. We need manual testing to check how the game mechanics, multiplayer functions, and servers act in different conditions. This process needs extra focus. The success of a game relies on fixing these issues to provide a great gaming experience. Using test automation scripts is very important. These scripts help cover many situations and keep the quality high for the target audience.
Complexity of Game Mechanics and Systems:
Connections Between Features: Games are made of systems that work together. Physics, AI, rendering, and sound all connect. A change in one part can change another. This may cause bugs that are tough to find and fix.
Multiplayer and Online Parts: When testing features that include many players, it is important to ensure everyone has the same experience. This should happen no matter the device or internet speed. It can lead to problems like lag, server issues, and matchmaking problems.
Randomness and Created Content: Many games have random elements, like treasure drops or level design. This makes it hard to test every situation completely.
Platform Diversity:
Cross-Platform Challenges: Games often release on several platforms like PC, consoles, and mobile. Testing must look at each platform’s special features. This means checking hardware limits, input styles, and operating systems.
Hardware and Software Differences on PC: PCs have many kinds of hardware, including various GPUs, CPUs, and driver versions. Ensuring everything works together can be difficult.
Input Methods: Games that accept different input methods, like controllers, keyboard/mouse, and touch, need testing. This is to ensure all controls work well together and feel consistent.
User Experience and Accessibility Testing
- Gameplay Balancing: Making a game fun and fair for all can be tricky. It takes understanding the various ways people play and their skills.
- Accessibility: Games should be easy for everyone, including those with disabilities. This means checking options like colorblind modes, controls, and screen reader support.
- User Satisfaction: Figuring out how fun a game is can be difficult. What one person enjoys, another may not. It can be hard to find clear ways to measure different fun experiences.
Testing Open Worlds and Large-Scale Games
- Large World Sizes: Open-world games have big maps, different places, and player actions that can be surprising. This makes it hard to check everything quickly.
- Exploit and Boundary Testing: In open-world games, players enjoy testing limits or using features in new ways. Testers need to find these issues or places where players could create problems.
- Changing Events and Day/Night Cycles: Games with changing events, time cycles, or weather need good testing. This helps ensure all features work well in any situation.
Non-Deterministic Bugs and Issues with Reproducibility
- Bugs That Appear Sometimes: Some bugs only happen in specific situations that are not common, like certain player moves or special input combos. This makes them tough to fix.
- Timing Issues: In multiplayer games, bugs can occur because of timing gaps between player actions and the server’s response. These problems can be hard to find and solve because they depend on random timing.
- Random Content: In games with random levels, bugs may only appear in certain setups. This makes it difficult to reproduce these issues every time.
High Performance Demands
- Frame Rate and Optimization Issues: Games need a steady frame rate. This requires testing on different hardware. A fall in performance can ruin gameplay, especially in fast-paced games.
- Memory and Resource Management: Games use many resources. Memory leaks or poor management can lead to crashes, stutters, or slow performance over time, especially on weaker devices.
- Visual Quality and Graphical Bugs: Games should look good without affecting performance. This requires careful testing to find any graphical problems, glitches, or texture loading issues.
Frequent Updates and DLCs
- Post-Launch Updates and Patches: Ongoing updates provide new features or fixes. But they can also introduce new bugs. This makes it important to test current content to keep everything stable.
- Compatibility with Previous Versions: Each update must work well with older versions and have no issues in any downloadable content (DLC). This means more work for testers.
- Player Feedback and Community Expectations: After the launch, developers receive direct feedback from players. They often want quick fixes. It can be hard to balance these requests with careful testing and quick replies.
Realistic Testing Environments
- Simulating Player Behavior: Testers should think like players. They must consider how users might play the game in surprising ways. This includes rare moments, cheats, or different styles that can create issues.
- Network and Server Stress Testing: Testing multiplayer games should copy heavy server use and network issues. This helps see how well the game can handle real-life pressure. It checks server strength, stability, and keeps data organized.
- Difficulty in Real-Time Testing: Some bugs only appear when real players are playing. This can make it tough to find problems before launch without having large play tests.
Resource and Time Constraints
- Time Pressures from Tight Deadlines: Game development usually has tight release dates. This creates great pressure on teams to find and fix as many bugs as possible in a short time.
- Balancing Testing Depth and Speed: Testers have to find a middle ground. They must test some areas well while also looking at the whole game fast. This is tough when the game is complex and needs deep testing.
- Limited Testing Resources: Testing tools like devices, money, and staff are often small. This makes it hard to check every part of the game.
Subjective Nature of Fun and Player Enjoyment
- Testing for Fun and Engagement: It is very important to test games to see if they are enjoyable. This is different from other software, which has a specific purpose. Games must be tested to see if they feel fun, engaging, and rewarding. Each player can feel differently about this.
- Community and Social Dynamics: For multiplayer or social games, testing should look at how players connect with each other. It needs to ensure that features like chat, events in the game, and social choices provide a good and fair experience for everyone.
Strategies for Efficient Game Testing
To handle the challenges in game testing, it is important to use strategies that make the process better. This will help increase test coverage and ensure that high-quality games are released. By using the right tools, methods, and techniques, game development companies can solve these problems. This way, they can launch games that players enjoy.
These methods, such as using automation and agile approaches, help testing teams find and fix bugs quickly. They also improve game performance. This leads to great gaming experiences for players everywhere.
Streamlining Testing Processes with Automation Tools
Automation is essential for speeding up testing and making it more effective. When QA teams automate tasks like regression testing, compatibility checks, and performance tests, they can lessen the manual work. This change leads to quicker testing in general.
Using test automation scripts helps run tests the same way every time. They give quick feedback and lower the chances of mistakes by humans. This lets testers work more on harder tasks. These tasks can be looking for new ideas, checking user experience, writing test scripts, and managing special cases. In the end, this improves the whole testing process.
Adopting Agile Methodologies for Flexible Testing Cycles
Agile methods are important for game creation today. They focus on working as a team and making small progress step by step. Testing is part of the development process. This helps us find and fix bugs early on instead of later.
With this method, teams can change quickly to meet new needs or deal with surprises in development. Agile supports working together among developers, testers, and designers. This helps people share ideas and fix problems faster.
Enhancing Test Coverage and Quality
Testing how things work is very important. However, it is only a small part of the entire process. To improve test coverage, we need to do more than just find bugs. We should examine the whole gaming experience. This includes fun factor testing. It means checking how well the game performs. We also need to consider security and focus on user experience.
Using this wider testing method, teams can create games that are not only free from bugs. They can also offer great performance, strong security, and enjoyable experiences for players.
Leveraging Cloud-Based Solutions for Global Testing
Cloud-based testing platforms have changed how game developers and QA teams test games. They allow access to many real devices in data centers all around the world. This helps teams test games on different hardware, software, and network setups. It simulates real use, making sure players have a better gaming experience.
This method is affordable and helps you save money. You do not need a large lab filled with devices at your location. Cloud-based solutions provide real-time data on performance along with helpful analytics. This allows teams to enhance their games for players around the world. It ensures that players enjoy a smooth and fun experience.
Implementing Continuous Integration for Immediate Feedback
Continuous Integration (CI) is a way to create software. This method includes making code updates often and putting them in a shared space. Once the code changes happen, automated builds and tests immediately run. In game development, CI helps find issues early. This way, it can prevent those problems from turning into bigger ones later.
Automated testing in the CI process helps get fast reviews for any changes to the code. When new code is added, the CI system builds the game and tests it automatically. It tells the development team right away if there is a problem. This helps them fix bugs quickly, keeping the code stable during the development process.
Conclusion
In conclusion, to handle issues in game testing, you need a solid plan. This plan should cover the tough parts of testing on various platforms. It also needs to take care of unexpected bugs and challenges in mobile game testing, such as skills and costs. You can use automation tools and apply agile methods to assist you. Cloud-based solutions help test games worldwide, boosting coverage and quality. With continuous integration, you get quick feedback, making game testing simpler. By following these steps, you can enhance your testing and raise the quality of the game.
Moreover, companies like Codoid, which provide comprehensive game testing services, can help streamline the process by ensuring high-quality, bug-free game releases. Their expertise in automation, mobile game testing, and cloud-based solutions can significantly contribute to delivering a seamless gaming experience across platforms.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What Makes Game Testing Different from Other Software Testing?
Game testing is different from regular software testing. Software testing looks at how well a program runs. Game testing, on the other hand, focuses on how fun the game is. We pay close attention to game mechanics and user experience. Our job is to make sure the game is enjoyable and exciting for the target audience.
by admin | Oct 20, 2021 | Game Testing, Blog, Latest Post |
Preparing a checklist is always a great way to make sure you get maximum coverage in any process, even for testing. As one of the leading game QA companies, we always make sure to prepare well-thought-out checklists that will help us avoid any oversight errors along the way. So we have prepared this comprehensive checklist for mobile game testing that will make sure you don’t let any bug go untraced. We have split this Mobile Game Testing Checklist into various categories like UI, Gameplay, Functionality, and so on. So let’s get started.
Downloading and Installation
Downloading the application to install it on their phone is the very first action the user will do. So let’s start our list with that as well.
- Downloading the application from the store should be supported on both Wi-Fi and mobile networks (3G, 4G, or 5G).
- If at all the downloading process is interrupted, the user should be able to re-download it again without any issues.
- Once the download has been completed, the .apk file must get installed on the device seamlessly without any errors.
- The size of the apk file usually multiplies 3 or 4 times, so make sure it does not occupy too much space or exceed the internal memory of the device.
- Uninstallation is also as important as installation, it must remove the entire game and its data from the device successfully.
- Progress must be kept after reinstalling or updating by making it possible to save the game progress online or offline.
- Reinstalling the game (For example; after the deletion or when overwriting the previous installation) must not trigger any game data files issues.
- Check if the installation path is decided by the OS and if the app is installed in the right location.
User Interface
A clean UI is always mandatory for any application as it is in most cases responsible for giving the user the first impression of the application itself. So everything ranging from the language to the animations and design should be spot on.
- The AUT (Application Under Test) must install in the correct language, (i.e.) the current device language.
- Even if the game language and device language are different, there should not be any issues.
- Apart from that, the user must also be able to change the language from within the Options section.
- The grammar & orthographic rules specific to a language have to be respected.
- You have to make sure that the font is legible even for new users as it has to be easy to read and understand.
- Ensure that the text doesn’t spill out of the screen.
- Since it is a product for the global market, you have to ensure that the appropriate date & time formats are displayed based on the country it is used in.
- It’s not just the date & time, even the number format should be displayed correctly as per that country.
- If the game’s language is set to Arabic, the buttons must be displayed in the opposite part of the screen.
- UI must not depend on factors like the device’s theme or font.
- Not all users will be having the same screen resolutions. So the game should be tested on all the supported resolutions to ensure that the graphics do not get altered.
- Also, many users might connect to larger screens using the HDMI option, so you would have to test that as well.
- There should also not be any scaling issues when the game is launched in landscape or portrait mode.
- The game loading indicator and animations should be smooth.
- You need to test for clipping to ensure that two or more polygons do not overlap and cancel each other out and test that all required overlaps (semi-transparent objects placed over solid color objects/ backgrounds) are appropriate in size, placement, and purpose.
- Once the game launches successfully, we will not directly enter the gameplay. Rather, we would first come to the menu. So make sure it is easy to navigate and fully functional.
Gameplay & Functionalities
Next up in our Mobile Game Testing Checklist, we will be exploring the focus points when testing the core of the game, its gameplay.
- You have to test the different game modes and the various locations or levels in the game.
- You should check the game flow and see if it is progressive and if it correctly unlocks the elements as the levels increase.
- Check the gameplay rules as they should not be too difficult or too simple.
- Collectibles – There should be enough collectibles in the game and there should also be a good variety of collectibles.
- The Scoring mechanism – It should be accurate and simple.
- If there are any cheat codes, then you should get them from the development team and check if they are functional.
- Sound Effects – Check if all the sound effects play correctly at the right moment without any distortion.
- Check the single function mute button for all sounds in-game.
- There should also be two mute buttons that allow separate muting of game music or sound.
- You should also check whether the game is playable without music and sound effects (except for rhythm games).
- Pay close attention to all the collisions in the game and check if there are any incorrect or inappropriate collisions, so the gameplay looks realistic. For this, you will need to move the character through all objects to observe the consequences (collisions, event triggers, or object triggers).
- The high scores of the instant game with no progression should not be saved in the cache so that the high scores are reset to 0 upon the user refreshing the page or reloading the game.
- Test if the auto-save functions work and if the manual save happens correctly as well.
- It is also important to check what happens when multiple control inputs are given at the same time to see how well the game handles it. A perfect example here would be for a racing game where both acceleration and directional control are needed.
Multitasking
As we all know that mobile phones are capable of doing more actions than playing games and that many of us use them mainly for those purposes as well. So the user must be able to seamlessly switch between the game and some other app or functionality of the phone.
- Verify if the volume gets muted when the user switches to any other app.
- The Gameplay should pause when the user switches to another app as well.
- You must also check if the Gameplay resumed from where the user left off before switching away from the game.
- Make sure the Gameplay gets paused when the user receives a phone call.
- Check if the Gameplay resumes once the user ends the call or if the user rejects the call.
- Verify if the user is able to switch to the messaging app using the notification when the user receives a message.
Multiplayer game
Multiplayer games have always been a favorite for many gamers and with mobile gaming, people just took it to the next level. Here you would have to verify the different types of multiplayer games or rounds. For example, you could play as a team against the computer or play against each other as well.
- So start by checking out if the login and logout functionalities are working well. Login also includes the new user sign-up process.
- Verifying the account using a verification email is also important to ensure that there is no foul play.
- You should also check the player profile’s image, the naming capabilities, and so on.
- It doesn’t matter if you are up against the machine or man, you should be able to challenge, decline, and receive challenges.
- Check if the user statistics like winning, losing, or even draws are being recorded correctly. We should also check the score constantly.
- You should also check the performance of the multiplayer mode as lagging performance can be a big deal-breaker for many.
- Make sure to see if the time-out functionalities work and also if the forfeit or quit options work.
- With the rise of social media, social integrations should also be tested by checking the users can share results, achievements, and so on.
- The sharing feature should be checked across the major platforms.
- If at all there is a chat feature within the game, then make sure to check the vital functionalities like character type, limit, and notifications as well.
Application and Data Storage
The AUT should be tested for all such features listed in our Mobile Game Testing Checklist. But more importantly, we should also make sure that the game is usable across a wide range of mobiles. Here are a few key pointers to focus on.
- Power consumption is a big area of concern and we have to check how efficient the game is when it comes to power management.
- During the course of continuous gameplay, there could be high usage of memory and the game must notify the user when the memory goes dangerously low.
- Test the performance of the game across different mobile configurations like the RAM, processor, and so on.
- Safety is also a concern, so all games must encrypt their saved files.
- The AUT must not be present in Running Services once the device has been restarted.
- Make sure the AUT launches without much delay in the correct orientation for gameplay.
- Make sure it is not possible to transfer the offline saved files from one device to another.
Conclusion:
The checklist is the first step towards providing unparalleled game testing services, and we hope this Mobile Game Testing Checklist of ours has been informative. Getting a good checklist ready implies that you start your journey on the right track with the correct intent. But that alone is never enough. So make sure to employ the best professionals and use the top-of-the-line methods to test a game thoroughly without facing any hiccups.
by admin | Jul 8, 2021 | Game Testing, Blog |
Quality assurance testing is a vital aspect of every digital product, and the realm of mobile gaming is no exception. The mobile game industry is booming, with hundreds of new games appearing in the market each day. To help your app stand out among an overwhelming sea of competitors, you need to ensure that it provides the best experience and entertainment to your users. To do so, you’ll need to focus on testing.
Mobile game testing is a crucial step in releasing a well-produced gaming app. It makes use of a systematic process to identify an app’s problem points and help fix them. It allows creators and developers to smooth out the graphics, sounds, functionality, and features of an app. Testing focuses on several essential aspects that help users get the most out of their playing experience. Learning about these elements gives you a clearer picture of what to focus on and ensures that the testing process goes as smoothly as possible. Here are four of the most vital elements that mobile game testing focuses on:
Element #1: Graphics Consistency
The overall feel and appeal of a game comes from its graphics. Whether you’re aiming for an app that’s pixelated and arcade-like or a more realistic one, the visual elements must remain smooth throughout the whole playthrough.
When a user plays the game for an extended period, there are times when the app shows bugs and inconsistencies in the graphics. These bugs include irregular textures, image artifacts, and other visual glitches. As a result, users can experience unwanted effects that can sometimes make it impossible for them to continue playing.
Element #2: User Interface and Experience
When designing a game, you need to ensure that it remains as functional as possible. Users must navigate through the app with ease, and all the elements must operate well on different devices. If a player gets overwhelmed by all the features or cannot interact with certain buttons, they might as well just delete the app.
User experience is also an important focus. This involves the overall playability and performance of the app. Battery usage also falls under the overall experience a player is able to enjoy, so it’s essential to test how quickly a game drains the battery on various devices.
Element #3: Audio Effects
Music and sound effects play a huge role in the overall experience of a game. They project certain moods and build a specific atmosphere that helps enhance the other aspects of the whole playthrough. For this reason, audio effects should be monitored as closely as the graphic elements of a game. Audio glitches, inconsistent sound effects, and other bugs can be just as damaging as visual glitches. This is especially important in audio-based applications.
Element #4: Social and Multiplayer Features
Multiplayer features are prominent in many mobile games nowadays, and these aspects are among the most challenging ones to test. The experiences in multiple devices must remain consistent and synchronized. Many things can go wrong when integrating multiplayer features in a game, which can severely affect the overall gameplay.
Make the Most of Your Mobile Game
Producing a successful mobile game requires a systematic approach to examine each key element. Conducting rigorous testing is thus a crucial process that each game must undergo. Testing helps identify problems with the app’s graphics, interface, audio, and other essential features, ensuring that users get the best possible playing experience.
If you’re looking for mobile testing services in the US, Codoid is here to help. We’re an industry leader in quality assurance, and we provide a variety of services to ensure that your game or mobile app has the necessary elements to stay competitive. Put your game to the test and contact us today!
by admin | May 3, 2021 | Game Testing, Blog |
AirTest is a user-friendly UI Automation framework that is used to test Mobile Games and Apps. So if you are a newcomer to automated testing or mobile game testing, AirTest will be a quick and easy UI automation testing framework that you could use. As one of the leading mobile app testing services provider, we have found AirTest to be a valuable tool in many cases as it works on a write once, run anywhere strategy. Meaning, AirTest provides cross-platform APIs that enable you to execute your code on multiple platforms like Windows, Android, and iOS. AirTest works based on image recognition technology to locate UI elements so that you can automate games and apps without injecting any code. AirTestIDE helps to create and execute the code in a user-friendly way, and it supports a complete automation workflow so that we can easily create -> run -> report.
Now that you have been introduced to the unique features of AirTest, let’s explore more about AirTest and find out how you can start using it.
Scripting Language:
NetEase is the creator of AirTest, and the core aspects of the AirTest project are two frameworks, namely AirTest and Poco. These are third-party libraries of Python, so the scripts written using these tools are essentially normal Python scripts. So you may need to learn some Python grammar in advance.
What about Selenium?
AirTest Supports automated script recording, one-click playback, and good reporting, which makes testing so much easier. In addition to having such stand-out features, AirTest also has a plugin for Selenium that gives you the ability to record and edit the tests for a browser application.
Once you set up the path to the Chrome driver, you can record or directly write the code for the selenium test automation script .
Pre-requisites:
- Have some basic understanding of automation testing.
- Python2.7 & above Python3.3+
- Prepare an integrated development environment, which can be our AirtestIDE, or any code editor like, Pycharm, etc. In this blog, we have used AirtestIDE and Pycharm for explanation purposes.
- Game or app that you want to test.
Installation Process of AirTest:
If you need to use the GUI tool, you can download AirTestIDE from the official Airtest page.
Installing as python package:
If you use a code editor like Pycharm, you can download python packages from the python interpreter.
Use pip to manage the installation of all python dependencies and the package itself.
pip install -U airtest (windows) For Mac and Linux Platforms you would need to grant the adb execute permission.
#For Mac
cd {your_python_path}/site-packages/airtest/core/android/static/adb/mac
# For Linux
# cd {your_python_path}/site-packages/airtest/core/android/static/adb/linuxchmod +x adb
Connecting a mobile device:
Mobile devices can be connected using a USB cable or by providing the device’s IP address and port number. AirtestIDE supports both methods.
Connecting via USB:
- Connect the phone to your system.
- Click the refresh ADB button to display the connected devices.
- When the device becomes ready to connect, the ADB status is turned to “Device”. Now you can click on the ‘Connect’ button for the device screen to appear.
Connecting via Remote:
- Get the details of the device (IP address and Port Number).
- Enter the details in the remote device field and click on the ‘Connect’ button in the remote connection area, the device screen will appear.
How to launch the application using AIRTEST in Pycharm:
- As you have already installed the Airtest package, you have to import airtest.core.api
- Using the connect_device API, you can connect to any android/iOS device or windows application.
- Then perform the simulated input to automate the game or the app.
- DO NOT forget to make assertions of the expected result.
Example Code:
from airtest.core.api import *
from poco.drivers.unity3d import UnityPoco
poco = UnityPoco()
# connect an android phone with adb
init_device("Android")
# or use connect_device api
# connect_device("Android:///")
start_app("com.demoapp.panel2")
Code Explanation
A simple explanation of the above code is as follows,
- init_device: Initializes device if not yet initialized and sets as the current device. (It returns the device instance).
Example: init_device(“Android”)
- start_app: Start the target application on device
Parameters:
Package – the name of the package to be started, e.g. “com.demoapp.panel2”
Performing Action Statements in AIRTEST:
Just by using a set of commands, we can easily perform various actions on the device. Let’s take a look at these statements one by one.
1. touch(v, times=1)
This statement can be used to perform the touch action on the device screen.
Parameters:
v – the target that has to be touched, either a Template instance or the absolute coordinates (x, y)
times – the number of touch actions that should be performed.
2. Swipe(v1, v2)
The swipe action is used to slide from one location to another location, and the above statement can be used to perform the swipe action when needed.
Parameters:
v1 – the start point of the swipe, either a Template instance or absolute coordinates (x, y)
v2 – the endpoint of swipe, either a Template instance or absolute coordinates (x, y).
3. Wait(v)
Wait to match the Template on the device screen.
Parameters:
v – the target object to wait for, Template instance
4. Exists(v)
This statement can be used to check whether the given target exists on the device screen. If the statement returns to be ‘False’, then it implies that the target was not found. If the target was found, then it returns the coordinates of it.
Parameters:
v – the target to be checked.
5. text(text, enter=True)
The above statement is used to input text on the target device. It is crucial to verify if the text input widget is active in the first place.
Parameters:
text – input text
enter – Enter key event after text input, default is True. If it is false, then it is doesn’t move to the next input field.
6. AirTest provides a dedicated assertion statement for us to verify the test script:
1. assert_exists(v, msg=”)
Assert target exists on the device screen.
Parameters:
v – target to be checked.
msg – short description of assertion, it will be recorded in the report.
2. assert_not_exists(v, msg=”)
Assert target does not exist on the device screen.
Parameters:
v – target to be checked
msg – short description of assertion, it will be recorded in the report.
Capture Screenshot with AIRTEST:
1. snapshot(filename=None, msg=”, quality=None, max_size=None)
This is a very useful feature that takes a screenshot of the target device and saves it to the file.
Parameters:
filename – the name of the file where to save the screenshot.
msg – a short description for the screenshot that will be recorded in the report.
quality – the image quality, should be an integer in the range of 1 to 99, the default value is 10.
max_size – the maximum size of the picture, e.g 120
A complete Test Case:
Now that you know about the common statements used in AirTest, you will be able to implement them in a simple test case with a small piece of code. Here’s the test case,
- Open the Application to be tested.
- Log in to the application.
- Verify the Home screen of the application.
Sample Code:
from airtest.core.api import *
from poco.drivers.unity3d import UnityPoco
poco = UnityPoco()
# connect an android phone with adb
init_device("Android")
# or use connect_device api
# connect_device("Android:///")
start_app("com.DemoApp.panel2") # launch the application
wait("LoginScreen.png") # waiting for the login screen
exists(Template("LoginScreen.png")) # Verifying the login screen exists
touch(Template("DBToken.png"))
text("Demo.test.com", enter=True)
touch(Template("UserName.png"))
text("Codoid2", enter=False)
touch(Template("Password.png"))
text("C0doid", enter=False)
touch(Template("Btn_Connect.png"))
assert_exists(Template("HomeScreen.png"), "Verified Home Page")
Code Explanation:
Let’s break down the above code so that you will have a clear understanding.
- start_app(“com.DemoApp.panel2”) – It will start the provided application.
- wait(“LoginScreen.png”) – This line will wait until the provided image becomes visible.
- exists(Template(“LoginScreen.png”)) # Verifying the login screen exists – This line will verify if the provided image is present on the screen.
- touch(Template(“DBToken.png”)) – It will click the DBToken Input field so that we can enter our input values.
- text(“Demo.test.com”, enter=True) – It will enter the input values into the field.
- touch(Template(“UserName.png”)) – It will clicking the UserName Input field.
- text(“Codoid2”, enter=False) – This line will enter the input values into the field. If the key event is “enter = False”, it implies that it should not focus on the next input field. If it is “True”, then it implies that the focus should move to the next input field. This makes it unnecessary to check if the input field is active enabling us to directly enter the values.
- touch(Template(“Password.png”)) – In the above code the key event I entered is “False”. So it doesn’t focus on the next input field as explained above and so I have clicked on the input field.
- text(“C0doid”, enter=False) – This line will enter the input values into the field
- touch(Template(“Btn_Connect.png”)) – Here I am clicking the ‘Login’ button to log in to the application.
- assert_exists(Template(“HomeScreen.png”), “Verified Home Page”) – This line is used to verify if the Home screen is present or not.
Conclusion
We hope this blog article has fulfilled its purpose of introducing you to AirTest in an enjoyable manner. It doesn’t matter if you are just starting out with automation testing or if you are an expert at it, AirTest will always be a valuable asset to have in your career. As one of the best game testing companies, we will be sharing more of such resourceful blogs in the future. So make sure to subscribe to our blog. Got thoughts to share about AirTest or this blog? Head over to the comments section and share your thoughts.
by admin | Oct 12, 2020 | Game Testing, Fixed, Blog |
With the gaming world expanding day-by-day, the game testing industry is also expanding with this time. People are actually getting paid for playing mobile games in order to test them, and this method is getting pace with each day. Moreover, it is not only about playing games while sitting on your couch, but it is about performing different tests on the game to know more about its design and gameplay.
However, there are some key areas that you can follow to test a game. The list is given below with a brief description.
Interface Testing
The first thing that the developers should test is the interface, as it is that feature that appears first when a game opens/starts. In this testing phase, you can view how does the game looks? How is the user-interface? Is it user-friendly or not?
You can start from the onboarding point because this section lays the first impression of the game. If this section is too long, it will bore your customer, and he will end up switching to some other game with a better start.
The layout of the elements present on the main page of the game should be clear, well arranged, and these elements should adjust themselves according to the screen of the cell phone.
Graphics Performance
Even if your UI is great and the layout is amazing, if your graphics are not up to the standard, you are not getting the right attraction. The game testers need to ensure that your game’s performance remains the same on all the devices and graphics stay intact and clear. A slight issue can put the gamer off, and he/she is not coming back to play your game.
Security Testing
After testing how the game will be played and how its graphics will be on every supported device, then comes the part where the game’s security must be tested. Game Testers must ensure that the ads and other third-party gateways must not be used by the hackers to intrude into the user’s cellphone and take away all the data.
This security testing has become a make or break area for the developers because everyone loves their privacy. If a hacker can hack into your phone with the help of a game, we are sure you will never play that game again.
External Devices
Nobody wants to keep playing a game on a small screen, and those who play games non-stop want the cell phones to be connected with bigger screens. Game Testers should ensure the devices’ smooth attachment to the bigger screen and then the streamlined working of the game.
Functional Testing
This kind of testing can help you to know when your game is performing high and when it is going low. With this test’s help, you can work on the performance, graphics, and compatibility of your game with different devices.
Conclusion
Overall, we have listed the most important tests, but there are some more which the game testers can adopt while testing the game. You can perform tests like Performance, Localization, and many other tests.
