Within these 50 years, the gaming market has grown from Super Mario to Pokemon Go and Half-Life: Alyx. This rise in demand for game development has also upscaled the necessity of game testing to fix bugs, optimise performance and retain players with a user-friendly experience. Further, the horizon of different types of mobile game development testing is expanding as an effect of security concerns, platform compliance and quality assurance.
These game development testing services are providing a solution to current challenges faced by game testers, developers and QA professionals. Problems like bugs and glitches, compatibility across devices, multiplayer and online functionality, and many others require different types of game development testing tools.
For instance, if your game is taking time to load or has colour and background issues, then functional testing is required to resolve these issues. In addition, specific tools are required for it such as Unity, Unreal, Appium, Selenium, Godot, etc. To know more about types of testing in game development, continue reading this blog.
Types of Mobile Game Development Testing
Functional Testing
Among all other types of testing in game development, functional testing is the basic and is performed by developers at the primary stage. Gaming issues such as crashes, stability issues, performance issues, device compatibility, mechanical, audio-visual, integrity issues, etc. can be traced out with the help of functional testing.
When it comes to performance issues like crashes, freezing of games, graphical glitches, audiovisual problems, and many others, they can be identified and resolved prior to game release. This game development testing guarantees that all of the features and functionalities of the game operate as planned. It verifies that all of the main features, including in-game interactions and gameplay mechanisms, work without any issues.
Case Study:
Confirming that, in a platformer game such as "Super Mario Run," the player character can run, jump, and execute other activities without experiencing any bugs.
Examining the seamless functioning of in-game transactions, including purchasing skins or weaponry, in games similar to "Fortnite."
Compatibility Testing
The majority of concerns with the games cross-platform compatibility are found in the comment areas of play stores and online reviews. The game is tested for compatibility to make sure it works properly across a range of mobile devices, screen sizes, and operating systems. This mobile game development testing is difficult due to the availability of different OS, browsers, and devices.
Case Study:
To guarantee consistent gameplay, test a mobile puzzle game like "Candy Crush" across a range of iOS and Android devices.
Making sure a graphically demanding game like "Call of Duty Mobile" runs smoothly on both expensive and entry-level devices.
Performance Testing
Performance testing evaluates the overall performance, responsiveness, and speed of the game. Its goal is to locate and remove crashes, lags, and performance bottlenecks. response time for both servers and clients, This type of mobile game development testing includes transaction completion times, peak load times, longevity, network coverage, memory leakage, low memory, low battery, application download times, speed, throughput, dependability, scalability, etc.
Case Study:
Verifying that a racing game such as "Need for Speed: Most Wanted" continues to run well on a variety of hardware.
Examining the speed at which a strategy game such as "Clash of Clans" loads and functions overall during periods of high demand.
Load Testing
It is projected that the gaming industry will grow globally and reach a value of $320 billion by 2026. Therefore, it is a necessity to make sure that developers use the best game development testing tools to guarantee a smooth and user-friendly experience.
The purpose of this non-functional software testing is to make sure the systems work properly while a particular number of concurrent virtual users execute transactions over a predetermined amount of time. These types of testing in game development verify that your application is prepared for production and determine the maximum running capacity of an application.
Case Study:
Multiplayer role-playing games like "World of Warcraft" which experience a load of players should be stress-tested to handle the thousands of users at once.
Similarly, in battle royale games like "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG)", game development testing is done when a lot of people join in a single match to ensure that the server doesn't face any problems.
Security Testing
Security testing focuses on finding flaws that could leave gamers vulnerable to hacking, fraud, or other illegal activity. It protects the integrity of the game and player data. These type of mobile game development testings are done to verify that the programme is protected from outside dangers. For example, on a gaming website, changing the URL from /login to /play shouldn't permit straight access to the games.
Case Study:
Examining online collectable card games such as "Hearthstone" for potential exploits and weaknesses to stop cheating.
Providing security for user information and transactions in a mobile casino game similar to "Slotomania."
Usability Testing
The user interface and player experience are assessed through usability testing. This game development testing evaluates the overall user-friendliness, intuitiveness, and simplicity of use of the game. Testing a design's usability via game development tools is one way to determine how user-friendly the game is. It entails watching actual users try to do activities on a website, mobile application, or other digital product. From the beginning of a product's development until its release, it is frequently carried out again.
Case Study:
Verifying the clarity of the tutorial, on-screen controls, and menu navigation in a mobile role-playing game similar to "Final Fantasy Brave Exvius."
Assessing the touch screen interactions and user interface of a story-based game such as "Life is Strange."
Localization Testing
Among all type of mobile game development testings, global gamers can access and enjoy the game thanks to localization testing, which assures that it has been culturally and linguistically tailored for different locations. It ensures that, if your game is released globally, the language is appropriate. Spelling, grammar, punctuation, numeric formats (DOB, symbols, calendars, etc.), language flow, translation problems, voiceovers, and many other characteristics are tested for in this type of game testing.
Case Study:
Verifying the correctness of translations and suitability for a certain culture in a word puzzle app like "Words with Friends."
Examining regionally relevant content, language support, and currency conversion in location-based augmented reality games such as "Pokémon GO."
Regression Testing
Regression testing is a continuous procedure that makes sure the game is stable over time by finding new bugs or problems that are introduced when new features or updates are implemented. Regression testing is among the most important types of game testing which makes sure that the new additions aren't affecting the game's ability to run smoothly at all. It aids in test revalidation and re-execution, to put it briefly under mobile game development testing.
Case Study:
Ensuring that updates and bug patches in mobile city-building games such as "SimCity BuildIt" don't bring back bugs that have already been fixed.
Checking to see if upgrades and new game content in well-known mobile MMORPGs like "Black Desert Mobile" affect already-existing features.
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Conclusion
These are the main types of mobile game development testing, and each one has a distinct function in the mobile game market. These testing techniques are employed by game creators and testers to guarantee that mobile games satisfy strict quality requirements and give users a smooth and entertaining gaming experience. There are numerous different testing methods available, including soak, cleanroom, blind, in-house, playtesting, ad hoc, and many more, that assist gaming firms in implementing effective and adequate quality assurance.