Bug reporting and documentation are essential parts of the game testing to guarantee identification, documentation, and subsequent elimination of the problems that influence gaming and its attributes. Thus, the bug reporting itself stands as a vital link in the fast-growing and highly competitive gaming industry where customers tend to expect the proverbial, shiny and perfect works – products that are free of any bugs. This process involves the close working of both the testers and the developers and when the bugs are reported, it provides the basic framework for speedy problem solving.
Reporting Bugs The issue of bug reporting cannot be overemphasized.
This means that the process of bug reporting entails the identification of defects, quirks or any undesired behavior in a game environment, and documenting such so that the developers can sort them out. Bug report therefore entails detailing of whether it is a broken game mechanic, a graphical error or even a game crash and is important in ascertaining that the game works as is expected on various platforms and with users.
For example, in a mobile game testing companies the typical objective is to validate that developed games will run optimally on diverse platforms, screen resolutions as well as operating systems. Different mobile platforms are available, hence testers are expected to report the bugs in a manner that facilitates the replication of the problem in the various environments. Good bug reports assist developers in prioritizing and making corrections and upgrades, preventing negative reviews and users’ annoyance.
Elements That Should Be Incorporated in a Good Bug Report
A good bug report from intending developers should give clear detailed information within the shortest time possible to help the developers in understanding, reproduce and solve the bug problem. The following elements are typically included in a well-constructed bug report:The following elements are typically included in a well-constructed bug report:
Bug Title/ID:A brief name or ID to give to the bug which can be used by the testers and the developers in pointing to the bug.
Description: A description of the problem together with the specifics of what happened, why it should be addressed. This should contain the effect of the bug, whether on the gameplay or on other other features.
Steps to Reproduce: This one is actually one of the most relevant sections of a bug report to pay attention to. It also makes a procedural pathway to reproduce the problem under consideration. Good instructions to reproduce the bug and an accurate description on how to fix it are effective in bug reports given by developers.
Expected vs. Actual Results:The exercise means that testers must write down what they expected to happen in the game and what actually happened. This enables the developers to determine if the problem is as a result of the wrong feature or a technical problem.
Device/Platform Information: While reporting a bug when testing mobile games, you must state the type of the device, operating system, and software version on which the said bug was observed. This assists the developers to know whether it is a platform issue.
Screenshots or Videos: Visual documentation is what we need in a variety of circumstances. This helps developers understand what exactly went wrong and due to the bug; screenshots, or even video recordings of the bug are useful in saving time while debugging.
Severity/Priority:Adding a priority level to the bug / for example critical, major, minor/ also aids developers to an understanding of its urgency. Resource consuming issues that hamper the players’ interaction or result in game crashes should be fixed before graphical glitches.
Bug Tracking Tools
Bug tracking is one of the most important and powerful tools in the process of report and documentation of bugs in game testing. Such tools aid the testers to record and track the status of bugs at every phase in the development process. There are several Bug tracking softwares available which are popular like JIRA, Bugzilla, Mantis and Trello. They allow teams to:
- Record new bugs and sort them by the level of importance or how critical it is.
- Bugs should be assigned to certain personnel to work on and solve.
- Keep a record of each bug found all the way to the occurrence of the fix.
- Produce the kind of reports through which the developers are able to notice trends or similar problems.
- Utilization of the bug tracking tools guarantees that does not any problem escapes the team’s notice and it is good for the organization of the process.
The interaction that occurs constantly between the testing and programming teams.
A good understanding of issues between the tester and the developer is very crucial while providing the report and resolving the problem. Writing a good bug report helps the two teams to communicate effectively to make the development easier. Daily bug report discussions and meetings enable the developers to have a proper perspective of the kinds of bugs that have been reported and their importance while the testers also get to clear any misunderstandings that they may have with regards to the bugs that they have reported.
Furthermore, it is also common for testers to report to developers whether fixes made will correct the problem without creating a new error some which is referred to as regression testing.
Entity Ontology and Behavior Representation: The Documentation of Gaming Testing
Documentation is important in the general testing of games and particularly in testing so as to document the testing process as well as the bugs. It is the requirement for the testing process as it allows testers to create documentation on all phases and prevent any part of the game to remain untested. It can contain such information as detailed testing plans and scenarios, descriptions of reports and fixes of bugs found.
When it comes to mobile games, it is significant to track certain incidents related to the devices since their variety is pretty high in terms of both the settings and the software applications installed on them. The mobile game testing companies, therefore, rely more on paper documentation for the assurance of games’ good performance on various mobile devices and operating systems.
Conclusion
It is imperative that while testing video games, bug reporting and documentation are carried out for the benefit of the developers to be availed with detailed information on various defects that are present in the game. With tracking tools, proper documentation of the bugs, and quality testers, games are not only enjoyable to play, but they are also free from nasty bugs. As seen there is the spirit of competition and with the new mobile gaming business and reporting bug effectively can really be the between success and failure of a specific game.
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