Game testing has become increasingly popular due to the expansion of the gaming industry. In fact, this ensures a seamless experience for gamers without intervention during the playing process. In order to successfully test the game, it’s important to understand the testing scenarios. We now have a solid concept of the types of ways we can test the features of our game. It's finally time to start writing test cases!
1. What exactly is a test case?
A test case is a series of operations carried out on a system to assess whether it meets software requirements and performs properly. The goal of a test case is to determine whether or not various aspects within a system are functioning as intended and to ensure that the system meets all required specifications, guidelines, and client needs. The process of writing a test case can also aid in the discovery of flaws or problems in the system.
Members of the quality assurance (QA) or testing teams generally write test cases, which can be used as step-by-step instructions for each system test. Once the development team has completed a system feature or group of features, testing can commence. A test suite is a series or collection of test cases.
A test case document contains testing steps, test data, preconditions, and postconditions that are used to validate requirements.
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2. What does a test case require?
First and foremost: What exactly does a test case need to contain? While different projects necessitate varying degrees of documentation, there is a common set of fundamentals that you should always consider including.
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ID of the Test Case
It's a good idea to give each of your test cases a Test Case ID. The ID will most likely be added automatically if you're using a test repository program. The usage of an ID is justified because you are likely to have several tests that are similar to one another. It's easier to say "That one test that checks the cooldown animation on the mage NPCs in the woodland forest failed," rather than "That one test that checks the cooldown animation on the mage NPCs in the woodland forest." Not the healers, only the dark magicians..."
Title of the Test Case
The test titles should be descriptive but not exhaustive. You want to give people a solid notion of what the test will look like, but you also want to make it clear what the pass criteria are. A test with the title "Login to the server," for example, is simply too broad and does not indicate what the expectations are. "Server login failure with invalid credentials" or "Login failure with the offline server" is far more appropriate headlines. Although these two tests look at comparable aspects, you can discern how they differ at a glance. The exact expected results should not be written in the title because they should be expanded within the test case itself.
Environment
The environment specifies the hardware, software, and configurations required to conduct a test. In the case of game testing, this can be as simple as deciding whether to test on a PlayStation or an Xbox. This may not be required to include in every single test because your test suites may be set up to cover platforms individually. However, it is critical to verify that the tester is properly configured so that any test results represent the desired testing.
Pre-conditions
Similar to environmental information, the tester may require additional setup procedures while conducting this test. This is frequently done by specifying when and where the test will take places, such as a level or checkpoint. It is sometimes necessary to perform another test case first. Whether it's to advance in the game or to ensure another system functions. It's meaningless, for example, to perform a test case to check multiplayer matchmaking works properly if you can't connect to an online lobby. It is useful to have the precondition that a lobby join test case passes before executing tests that you should logically know would fail.
Steps for testing
These are the specific descriptive actions that a tester will take in order to run the test. These should be detailed enough that anyone can run through them precisely. Remember that QA personnel aren't the only ones that examine tests. You must ensure that any developer, artist, or even someone on their first day on the team understands the instructions! Some QA teams are tiny and close-knit, including people who have been with the team for a long period. As a result, test steps are frequently written in a hazy manner. This can result in instances where various persons conduct tests slightly differently. This can lead to a variety of outcomes and misconceptions among team members. It is also more difficult for fresh testers to grasp the system and understand proper usage if the instructions are unclear.
Results to be expected
Expected results are precisely what they sound like: what should happen once the test stages have been completed? They are the second most significant feature after the actual test steps. The predicted results can be used to characterize the behavior for each individual step or for the entire test. This helps to ensure that the tester understands what is expected. On the surface, a game may appear to be appealing, but it fails to meet the desired design standards.
3. Why test case is important in the gaming testing?
The activities that must be executed in the system, the given input values that must be delivered into the system, and the anticipated outcome during test case execution are all specified in test cases. Using test cases enables developers and testers to identify problems that may have occurred during development or defects that were overlooked during ad hoc tests.
An effective test case should meet these criteria:
- Good test coverage is guaranteed.
- Maintenance and software support costs have been reduced.
- Test cases that are reusable.
- Confirmation that the software meets the needs of the end user.
- Performance improvement and user experience have been improved.
- Customers are happier when they purchase higher-quality things.
- Customer pleasure will increase business profits.
Overall, creating and implementing test cases will result in business optimization. Clients are more satisfied, customer retention rises, customer service and product repair costs fall, and more dependable items are produced, enhancing the company's reputation and brand image.
4. How can I create a test case?
Make certain that all of your steps are clear and straightforward. Including images, gifs, or videos is sometimes the simplest way to be the most accurate.
To make the stages easier to read, use standards or uniform styling. This can include things like bolding files and level names. This makes it easier to scan the test and identify the key information.
Make no assumptions about the tester's knowledge or leave any information out. Always presume that you will not be the one conducting the test. It's a good idea to put yourself in the shoes of someone who has never even started the game. In this manner, you may ensure that no details are overlooked.
Simultaneously, you should strive to remove redundancy. In a test suite, make sure you're not testing the same things over and over. If it makes more sense, use the pre-conditions to request that a tester perform another test first. You should also think about leveraging tooling for testing. It is redundant testing to have to play through a level to a specific section each time. Having a debug tool or a save file would allow you to always start exactly where you need to be.
It is extremely beneficial to have good test data, such as adequate save files. You must guarantee that they can be restored to the state they were in prior to running the test (i.e. do not lose the checkpoint to a more recent autosave). This also applies to many characters unlocks, such as skins and powers.
Remember that when it comes to testing, a healthy mix of valid and invalid testing is required. You want to ensure that all of the expected behaviors are present, but you also want to examine what happens when non-intentional behavior occurs. For instance, does the game fail when you are unable to connect to a server? What happens if you try to select a character that hasn't yet been unlocked? You should also ensure that the game provides suitable feedback to the player.
If the test is too long, try dividing it into smaller tests. Consider including test data or debug tools that allow you to skip steps. It's best for functional testing to aim to reduce the number of ways that a single test can fail. The more steps there are, the more ways one test might fail, and the test becomes overly wide. When a repair is made, you must redo the full test, which might be time-consuming to go through to validate the step now runs correctly.
Revise/update frequently! The game will develop when it progresses. You'll come across scenarios you weren't aware of before. You might want to update some of the test data utilized for specific tests. It's a good idea to continue checking that your test cases are adequate for the level of quality you want to achieve!
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Final thoughts:
As gaming becomes more popular, the emphasis on testing will grow as well. As a result, every gaming company nowadays focuses on implementing effective testing methods and tactics in order to provide the best gaming experiences to its clients. To ensure that your game is built exactly how your clients want it, you must strictly review the game development life cycle from the start and write a complete test case. Furthermore, game testing is a time-consuming procedure that must be repeated with each new game release in order to find and eliminate fresh faults and problems.
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