5 Key Principles for QA Testing in Games

Quality assurance (QA) testing is crucial in the development of games to ensure that they meet the desired quality standards and provide a positive user experience. Testing games is a complex process that involves different levels of testing, from unit testing to integration testing and user acceptance testing. Here, we'll explore the five key principles of QA testing in games that I believe every game developer should be aware of.

Define the Scope of Testing

The first principle of QA testing in games is to define the scope of testing. This involves determining the features and functionalities of the game that require testing. The scope of testing can be defined based on the game's genre, gameplay mechanics, user interface, and other factors that affect the user experience. It is essential to have a clear understanding of the scope of testing to avoid unnecessary testing that can increase the time and cost of the testing process.

During this stage of testing, it's essential to ask yourself relevant questions, such as: What tools and techniques should be used for testing? How will we conduct change logs when components are added, removed, or modified, and how will we communicate these changes to the team? What platforms and devices should the game be compatible with? Which key features should we test initially to ensure they meet the game's requirements? What types of testing (e.g., functional, performance, security) should be performed?

Asking and answering these questions helps us create a clear Test Plan and strategy for testing, which ultimately results in better quality assurance for the game.

Create Test Cases and Scenarios

Planning and preparing the testing environment is crucial to ensure a successful testing process. To help define the scope of our testing, we create concise test cases that help us break down testing into manageable chunks.

This brings me on to the second principle of QA testing in games, which is to create test cases and scenarios. Test cases are sets of instructions that specify how the game should be tested. Test scenarios are real-life situations that replicate how the end-users will interact with the game. The purpose of creating test cases and scenarios is to ensure that the game behaves as expected in different scenarios and situations.

Here is an example of what a test case might look like using Excel:

Test Early and Continuously

The third principle of QA testing in games is to test early and continuously. Testing early in the game development lifecycle helps identify defects or errors at an early stage when they are easier and cheaper to fix. Continuous testing involves testing the game throughout the development process to ensure that it meets the desired quality standards. It is a proactive approach to identify defects or errors as soon as possible, reducing the risk of defects being discovered at later stages.

A systematic approach to testing allows us to quickly respond to any changes that occur in the game, whether it involves updating, adding, or removing components. This type of testing is commonly known as regression testing. It is crucial to have a systematic approach to continuous testing as it ensures that we cover all aspects of the game during testing, including functionality, performance, compatibility, usability, and security. A systematic approach also enables us to identify bugs early in the development cycle, which ultimately saves time and resources in the long run.

We prioritize testing by organizing bugs by importance and then urgency. For example, we give priority to critical issues like memory leaks that can cause the game to crash or affect playability, over less severe issues like texture glitches. Once the bugs are prioritized based on severity, we will then look at the timeframe required to fix them. Bugs that can be fixed quickly are often given priority over those that will take longer to resolve. This is because fixing the bugs that can be resolved quickly will allow the team to focus on the more complex issues. Properly organizing our workflow is crucial to avoid being overwhelmed by continuous development changes or additional components being added.

Use a Combination of Manual & Automated Testing

The fourth principle of QA testing in games is to use a combination of manual and automated testing. Manual testing involves using human testers to play the game and identify defects or errors. Automated testing involves using software tools and scripts to automate the testing process. Both manual and automated testing are essential in game testing, as they provide different perspectives on the user experience and help identify different types of defects or errors.

Automated testing can be used on things like the GUI, when the QA Tester wishes to verify the functionality and behaviour of graphical user interface elements, such as menus, buttons, and icons.

More advanced automated testing could be used in the case of regression testing. When changes are made to the game, regression testing can be automated to ensure that existing features of the game still function properly. This saves time and effort compared to manually testing each feature every time a change is made.

Conduct Relevant Testing

The fifth principle of QA testing in games is to perform relevant tests based on our understanding of the game. The following tests are commonly conducted:

Smoke testing

This involves quickly testing the game to ensure it starts up and runs without major issues. A QA tester might launch the game build and navigate through the main menu to ensure that all buttons are working correctly, start a new game to check that the game is loading correctly and progress can be made, and then exit the game to ensure that the exit functionality is working as expected. This quick and basic test is aimed at catching any major issues before more comprehensive testing is performed.

Functional testing

This focuses on testing individual features and mechanics of the game to ensure they work as intended. If a game requires players to equip weapons from their inventory during gameplay, functional testing involves verifying each weapon can be equipped correctly with animations, sound effects, and gameplay mechanics working as intended. Testers must also verify weapon attributes, such as damage and range, match the game's design documentation.

Integration testing

This involves testing how different parts of the game work together to identify conflicts or issues. If a game requires players to complete a quest by interacting with NPCs in a specific order, integration testing involves verifying quest objectives, dialogue, and completion mechanics, and ensuring NPCs interact with the player in the intended order. The tester would also verify that the quest completion triggers any associated rewards or changes in the game world correctly, and that the quest is correctly recorded in the player's quest log.

Performance testing

This focuses on testing the game's performance under various conditions, such as high player loads or low-end hardware. If a game requires a steady frame rate of at least 60 FPS during gameplay, performance testing involves running the game on different hardware configurations and varying graphics settings to evaluate their impact on the frame rate. Testers also create scenarios that stress the game's performance, like crowded scenes with many characters or complex particle effects.

Compatibility testing

This involves testing the game on different platforms, operating systems, and hardware configurations to ensure it works correctly and consistently. For a PC game that needs to run on different Windows versions and hardware configurations, compatibility testing involves installing and running the game on each configuration to verify its functionality. Testers verify the game works with different graphics cards, processors, memory configurations, and input devices, as well as with required software components like DirectX and .NET Framework.

Security testing

This focuses on identifying and addressing potential security vulnerabilities in the game. For a game with an online multiplayer component, security testing involves a tester attempting to exploit vulnerabilities in the network protocol, such as attempting to inject malicious code or disrupt the game's connection to the server, and verifying that security features, such as encryption and secure login, are properly implemented. The tester would also check for protection against SQL injection attacks and the secure storage of sensitive user data.

Regression testing

This involves retesting previously tested functionality to ensure changes or additions to the game haven't introduced any new issues. To ensure that a bug fix for a game where the player character gets stuck in the environment does not introduce new issues, regression testing would involve a tester verifying the fix and thoroughly testing all areas where collision detection is used. This includes verifying that the player character can no longer move through walls or objects and that game objects interact with the environment correctly. Additionally, the tester would check that other previously working functionality, such as UI elements and game mechanics, remain unaffected.

User acceptance testing (UAT)

This involves testing the game with real users in a production-like environment to ensure it meets all requirements and is ready for release. UAT typically occurs after all internal testing, including alpha and beta testing, has been completed. Once UAT is completed, the game can be approved for release to the public. For a game targeted at casual gamers, UAT would involve representative testers playing the game and providing feedback on usability, difficulty, pacing, and fun factor. Testers may also report any issues or bugs encountered during testing to the development team.

It's important to note that these tests are not necessarily conducted in a strict order, and some tests may be conducted simultaneously or iteratively as part of an agile testing process.

Summary

So there you have it, the five key principles of QA testing in game development: defining scope, creating test cases, testing early and continuously, using a combination of manual and automated testing, and performing relevant tests. While not exhaustive, I believe these principles are crucial for exceptional game testing. It's also important to document and record bugs accurately, amongst many other things.

To me, QA testing is a fun part of game development, and now that you have been equipped with this knowledge, I encourage you to try out some of my games and see if you can find any bugs; although, I like to think of them as features!