The Importance of Game Testing
While it is true that there are millions of games online, it can also not be denied that coming up with a new and engaging concept for a game is challenging. The truth is that there is already a wide range of diverse games online and hence, one could also say that there is pretty much everything out there. As a result, coming up with something that has not been seen is quite a task.
On the other hand, the new technological developments are pushing the boundaries of what could be done and consequently, the expectations that players have are at high levels. Thus, in order to meet up to those expectations and come up with an engaging and attractive game, game testing is crucial in the development process. In that line, in today’s article we will talk about the importance of game testing tools and why they should be part of the process when developing a new game.
Quality and Stability
One of the primary features that your game should definitely have been the quality and stability. If you want the players to not only like your game when playing but also come back to it and invite friends, then make it qualitative and stable. If done otherwise, bad reviews and decreased sales will follow.
This is how you can use game testing tools to test your games for quality and stability:
- Game testing tools are able to detect any bugs that your game might have. Once you have identified them at an early stage, you are able to fix them and thus your end product is guaranteed.
- User experience is another critical point when it comes to game testing. If you want your users to be satisfied with your end product, you have to make sure that you are testing various aspects of your game.
Performance Enhancement
The performance of your game also affects the way users interact with your game. That being said, if a game performs well, it will have a fast responsive time and have visuals that run smoothly without freezing. When using game testing tools, game developers can try out and run their games on different hardware configurations and this way they optimize their end products.
This is how you can use game testing tools to assess your games for performance:
- Game testing tools can check your game’s frame rate stability. By doing so, you are able to identify any errors that might come up when running your game which might make your frame drop or stutter, especially in multiplayer games.
- Load management is another thing to look for in all types of games, but particularly in multiplayer ones and online ones that are available to all. Your game should be able to load for hundreds of people when online, that’s why it is important to check through testing tools.
Cross-Platform Compatibility
Game platforms became popular with the rise of this big number of games online. With over 3.2 billion video gamers online in the world recorded in 2023, this industry only expects to grow. Hence, it is also expected to have even more platforms than there are currently and consequently, your game should be compatible with different platforms across the internet.
In order to make sure that your game works for different platforms, here’s what to do to test it:
- Assess your games for device variability. One way you can do this is by testing your game on various devices such as tablets, phones, or computers. This way you can ensure that your game is available and accessible to users through different gadgets.
- Check your game for other platform-specific features. If you already have a gaming platform in mind where you want or expect to integrate your game, then check for its specific features. Once you do so, your game should work perfectly on that
Enhancing Player Experience
Last but not least important, through game testing tools you can enhance the overall player experience. When developing a game, you should put yourself into your user’s shoes and look at the game from that perspective. Once you do so, it is sure that you will observe things in the game that you might have missed previously.
Here’s what to check when testing your game in a testing tool:
- Make sure you test the game’s usability. In this case, you need to check the interface of the game and how it interacts with the players. If you see that something might be too complicated, then now it’s a great time to change it before launching the game.
- Ensure that your game is well-balanced and fair. Your game should be able to accommodate different players but also be comprehensively balanced so that no part of the game is over dominant or understated.
Ultimately, you as a game developer have to make sure that your game will run smoothly on the computer, tablet, smartphone or laptop of the player on the other side of the interface.
