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7Seas offers the best point solutions for game testing. It offers a wide range
of independent testing services for gaming applications:
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Game testing refers to a form of quality control for
interactive entertainment software, that is, computer games.The formal process,
done by professional game testers and sometimes focus groups, begins well into
game development, though informal testing (such as done by artists and
programmers) takes place throughout the development process. We do conduct game
testing at ISO standards as soon as a game is developed.
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Types of Game Testing
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Black box testing
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Black box testing involves testing of the game in isolation
from its development. Rather than checking the game's code, sample data is
passed into the program (or parts thereof) to check that the expected outputs
are produced. Several specific testing techniques fall under this category,
including equivalence partitioning, boundary value analysis and smoke testing.
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Play testing
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Play testing is the process by which a game played thoroughly
before release, in order to test it for bugs. This process generally benefits
from as much game play as possible during the testing period, and so is often
performed by large teams of beta testers or in public beta programs.
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White box testing
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White box testing , like black box testing, is used to test
that individual parts of a program produce the expected outputs for given input
data. However, it differs from the other technique in that the tester is aware
of the code used in the software, and so can make judgments on the specific
causes of bugs without the aid of another developer. Programmers do this type
of testing extensively during game development.
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Methodology of Game testing:
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There is no "gold standard" method for game testing, and most
methodologies are developed in-house, by individual video game developers and
publishers. And, methodologies are refined from time to time and may differ for
different types of games (for example, the methodology to test a MMORPG will be
different from the testing for a casual game). But outlined below is a typical
ethodology of game testing.
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Identification
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Finding a bug and actually recognizing it is a defect (as opposed to a
feature).
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Defect typing
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Assigning a specific type to the bug. For example, missing art, game crash,
misspelled text, etc.
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Analysis
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This step of the process involves the party responsible for the bug, such as an
artist, programmer or game designer. Often tools are used in helping tracking
down the flaw.
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Debugging tools
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The type of debugging tool used depends on the type of defect. Many defects
don't require any specialized tools at all, and just require the user to play
the game and look for the reported flaw. Some flaws, however, such as those
located in the actual code, require the use of specialized tools, such as an
IDE, which help findign erroneous sections of code. Art errors, for example,
may require use of a 3D modeler, Photoshop or an in-house tool.
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Recording tools
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A testing department may use any variety of tools to record discovered defects.
Most will employ a database which can be queried, which helps in locating
identical bugs and tracking the correction of bugs. There are many software
packages that are developed just for this type of work. However, a specialized
package is not always necessary, depending on the scale of the game.
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Reporting
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Reporting a bug to the responsible party may be done in person or automatically
with tools (mentioned above, software for recording bugs). Sometimes,
individual game testers do not report bugs themselves, but hand them off to a
lead tester who then determines and informs the responsible parties.
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Tracking
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After a bug is reported, it is tracked, either through an automated system
(software) or by a person assigned to the task (such as the reporting tester or
the test lead).
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Defect tracking systems
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In engineering, defect tracking is the process of finding
defects in a product, (by inspection, testing, or recording feedback from
customers), and making new versions of the product that fix the defects.
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Verification
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After a defect has been reported as corrected, it must be checked. Often, the
original reporter of the defect verifies the fix, but, if it is sufficiently
documented, another party can verify it.
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Regression testing
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As game development progresses, it is necessary to go back and re-check
features, art and text (content) that previously was error-free to ensure they
still are. Though tedious, this type of testing is extremely important since
late and supposedly benign changes to code and other content can have produce
disastrous side effects that may make some features inoperable or can destroy
the game as a whole.
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Test group organization
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The organization of any test group differs from organization to organization,
but a typical one may include the individuals below.
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Game producer: responsible for the game as a whole
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Test Manager: responsible for all testing for game, and game testers
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Test Lead: responsible for all testing, sometimes identical to Test Manager
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Test Engineers: often called game testers, the people who carry out the
testing
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Test Analyst: analyzes and develops test plans
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