If someone has to describe the worst in the fate of a computer/console game title, it would be about those glitches and bugs, which do not allow the game to load correctly and those unexpected crashes. It does not only leaves a sour taste in the mouth of a gamer, but such sort of bitter experience in the middle of a game makes for more count of disgruntled players.
A distraught player might vent out his/her anger by posting nasty comments about the game on various social media networks and also encourage others not to play that game. And in the process ensure that the game publisher realises the need of being doubly cautious, before hurriedly dishing out a title in the future!
Happy Gamers, Happy Industry:
By all means, the bedrock of any successful Xbox, PlayStation, an online or mobile-device-based game is comprehensive game testing engagement. The manifestation of which should be based upon thoroughly conceived and designed methods – evolved over a period of time, as per the evolution, demands and growing reach of the technology.
But then, with the advent of new technology and augmentation in the demands, it has become an overwhelming challenge for the companies to keep gamers happy – no matter which platform the game is targeted for. Quality Assurance has to be the top priority for publishers, and there should not be anything left to assumptions or possibilities of compromise – at any stage.
A little glitch in quality has to be fixed quickly in time, and if that does not happen, then, companies need to take the full responsibility by apologising to the gamers.
Recently, Ubisoft accepted that their latest release of Assassin’s Creed could not live up to the expectations of gamers, as bugs and technical glitches hampered its overall quality. The company failed to fix the bugs in time and then its CEO Yannis Mallat had to issue a public apology to gamers regarding the bad gaming experience.
But apologies hardly make for good business.
So what should publishers do?
They may start by following the below-mentioned methods:
Integration Of Quality Techniques:
To avoid any possibility of loophole to creep in at any stage, testing process must follow an integrated quality-driven approach; where it gets along with the game development process from the start to the end. Such an approach enables creators to meet the expectations of players by checking the performance at every stage, without needing to compromise on the overall security and functionality of the game.
While functional testing deals with a crash, graphics and audio issues, compliance testing filters of any flawed hardware combinations and ensures that all the technical and functional specification compliance standards are followed without fail. More importantly, major portions of both the tests can be conducted in the process of a game being developed.
Subscribe To The Services Of A Professional:
From ensuring top-notch usability to new player experience testing, there are professional game testing companies, which offer a complete package of services to ensure a mutually rewarding experience to game creators and gamers. A game publisher, after (or even without) conducting an in-house test – and before releasing a title public – may consult a professional to check for possible errors.
Article by,
Laxmikant B. Thipse
Founder & CEO
GameCloud Technologies Pvt Ltd
