Week 2 Update (Beta Testing)

Hey there! This post is part of a game testing project I am working on. There’s a lot more to it than what is covered in this post so check out the full project here.

For this week, I continued the course. While I was unable to complete my goal of finding a game testing platform outside the realm of G.Round, I got to try out a fun new way to up my game.

The games I tested

NOTE: The following are brief overviews of what I shared with the games’ developers.

1. Chronicles of Two Heroes: Amaterasu’s Wrath

• A Metroidvania style platformer. It combined beautiful pixel art and had a heavier emphasis on tough-as-nails platforming than it did on combat. Its unique draw was being able to switch between two different characters on the fly, each with his and her own special abilities. While there were a few minor bugs, it was a fun and challenging experience overall.

2. Abyss Protection

• A tower defense game. This one has a lot of promise but still needs a lot of work. There are plenty of satisfying mechanics and I really liked the visuals. Unfortunately I encountered a nasty bug that zoomed the camera very far out from the battlefield and wouldn’t let me get any closer. Given that tower defense games require careful observation and strategy, this made the game almost unplayable.

3. Lords of Ravage

• A strategy game all about being the bad guy! Lords of Ravage combined genres like Civilization and various duel card games. It was very well made! I could not find even a single bug. Everything from the graphical style to the mechanics functioned smoothly. Combat was satisfying and I loved how the game let you make narrative decisions as you went along. The only issue is in regards to the tutorial. It throws a lot of information at you very quickly without giving you the proper time to absorb it all.

How it went

While I could not find a new game testing platform, I filled the gap by performing an experiment.

G.Round only allows game testers to send reviews to the developers. One could technically tell them about any bugs encountered, but it’s far better to give them proper documentation.

I can create bug report using JIRA, but I cannot assume that every developer uses it or is willing to learn it. In light of this, I used Notion to create my own bug spreadsheets. That way, I could provide detailed reports and instructions while making it easily accessible to the developers.

• Chronicles of Two Heroes: Amaterasu’s Wrath

• Abyss Protection

I’ve found this week that game testing can teach you lessons regarding game development as a whole. Using Lords of Ravage as an example, I learned that there is no one size fits all approach to teaching players how to play.

Tutorials need to show players the basics without holding them back for too long. That being said, the more complicated the game, the more slowly the mechanics need to be introduced.

LOR did well in regards to allowing players to use the mechanics as they were presented, but moved far too quickly for full comprehension.

It comes down to striking a balance between holding players’ hands and letting them go it alone.

What I learned

1. Bug reports should be detailed in nature but easy to understand and access for the developers
2. Game testing requires feedback about the overall experience as well as bug reporting

The game plan for next week

1. Continue my search for a new game testing platform
2. Research ways to take bug reporting to the next level

Another successful and smooth week! Join me as I continue the course. Want to do some bug reporting yourself? Here’s a link to my spreadsheet template.

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