The market of mobile gaming has been facing steep growth in the last 10 years thanks to the growing demand. One of the main reasons for the rise of mobile gaming is that it is equally wanted among various age groups. Meaning, young, middle-aged as well as old people equally enjoy playing mobile games.
Apparently, it is not an easy task to design mobile game testing as it is a complex process. It requires a wide range of tests which makes it stand apart from other apps. This article is going to help gain knowledge on testing mobile games in an in-depth manner.
Automated and Manual Testing
The developers of game designers focus on amazing and unique gestures to gain the maximum advantages of manual testing. Automation can help in saving a lot of time and budget. But, the automated process significantly depends on a wide range of simulated devices. Furthermore, the development of a touch-screen phone has evolved as a whole new experience for users.
Differences between Testing Mobile Apps and Mobile Games
A software tester with several years of experience can think that they can easily do the task of game testing. Although, it is not true! Yes, mobile game and app testing have a significant difference. Let’s know some of the prominent differences between the mobile game and mobile game testing.
1. Simulation Testing
A technique of image matching for testing mobile games shows how one can use it to identify an object or a location in that mobile game. It may seem complicated, but it happens by mapping the graphical elements and user actions. Therefore, these analyses are really great for simulation as they provide accurate data.
2. Testing the Post Production
Testing the games is a tricky and tough process. The reason behind this is that it will be exposed to several billion and millions of users across the world. Hence, any minor mistake can hamper the reputation in no time. Apparently, for other apps, the release cycle is short with the availability of automated techniques and tools.
3. Importance of Teamwork
The process of testing mobile games requires one tester for several fragments. It can also happen that it will need many testers at the same place. Hence, both require efficient teamwork because it requires involvement in several modules. Along with that, people have different perspectives, approaches, and thought processes.
4. Involvement of Multi-Players
When it comes to gaming, operating style is the main thing. In the beginning, mobile games used to be only single players. But now, multiplayer games have changed the whole scenario. The inclusion of multi-players is rising due to high participation and better engagement.
As a result, it makes things challenging for the testers. Here, the main thing is maintaining accuracy across different devices. Otherwise, it will only lead to getting a lot of negative feedback. Hence, this is another factor that makes mobile game testing different from other testing processes.
Hence, you can understand from the above points that game testing techniques for mobile apps and games apps require significant skills and knowledge. If someone wants to become a professional in this field, then continuous learning and effort are the keys.
What You Should Check for Mobile Game Testing?
Another thing that makes mobile game testing different from mobile app testing is that it has so many more components. Did you know that mobile games spawned a significant revenue of around $90 billion? These are the following things that a tester must know.
1. User Interface
For many testers, the User Interface or UI of mobile games is the main priority. But, it is not completely true. Gamers tend to ignore the UI if the game has something special to offer. This identifies that mobile games consist of several elements that need to work together to perform a particular action.
Besides, these actions are challenging and complex. Along with that, it requires precise positioning to offer a real feel. So, UI testing helps take care of these things and deliver a smooth experience.
2. Graphics
Secondly, graphics is one of the primary components that differentiate the quality of mobile graphics. Thus, the better the graphics, the better the experience as no game can reach new heights. Apart from graphics, other factors such as the capacity to drain the battery, heat, etc. are responsible for developing a great game.
Significantly, GPU is highly essential for different applications. As they run on clock rates which can degrade their performance. To avoid this, ensure that the game doesn’t steal much information from the phone.
3. External Device
The evolution of mobile games since their launch has been incredible. Now, one can easily use a separate controller and play a game on a mobile phone. Previously, games majorly had two controls, but now it requires four fingers to play.
The integration of external devices enhances the overall experience and achieves perfection. Lastly, when doing the testing of mobile games, it is important that it should support external devices as well.
4. User Experience
People generally confuse user interface with user experience for a mobile game. Mobile games are not just an app, as users spend a lot of time using them. So, any minor inconvenience or bad experience can have a negative impact. Eventually, it can cause the app to crash.
Apart from the game, experience regarding navigation and other experiences can boost the demand for a mobile game. Hence, testing the important elements of mobile games will result in achieving great stability.
5. Security
Finally, the next most important segment to keep care of is the security of the gaming app. To maintain the security level, most of the testers prefer to opt for third-party codes. These third-party codes developed by another expert are reusable. Furthermore, using these codes by third parties doesn’t require developing a module and also supports the usage of open-source codes.
Being a mobile game testing expert, it is crucial to be aware of security loopholes and vulnerabilities when using any third-party codes. Hence, penetration testing is one of the best measures which keep data safe and secure.
Which are the common bugs found in games?
These are some of the bugs which always arise while developing and testing any mobile game.
Different Types of Mobile Game Testing
Just like for any other app, opting for any one approach is not enough. There are different types of mobile game testing that a tester applies.
1. Compatibility Testing
Compatibility testing is the technique to check if the game is compatible with several OS and devices. Along with that, the game’s compatibility with different configurations of hardware and software.
2. Localization Testing
Secondly, localization testing is essential when the company is focused to target the global market. Several elements such as texts, game titles, etc. require to be tested with various devices in different languages.
3. Functional Testing
The testers for functionality testing analyze those generic problems in the game. These issues can be related to the user graphics, interface, stability, game mechanic, etc. Ultimately, having an excellent user interface enhances the friendliness of the game.
4. Performance Testing
Performance testing is done to check the overall effect of the game. These are the certain parameters that are used for performance testing of mobile games.
5. Graphics and Battery Consumption
Originally published at https://www.agilitest.com.
