Computer Games Are Serious Business and so is their Quality: Particularities of Software Testing in Game Development from the Perspective of Practitioners

Over the last several decades, computer games started to have a significant impact on society. However, although a computer game is a type of software, the process to conceptualize, produce and deliver a game could involve unusual features. In software testing, for instance, studies demonstrated the hesitance of professionals to use automated testing techniques with games, due to the constant changes in requirements and design, and pointed out the need for creating testing tools that take into account the flexibility required for the game development process. Goal. This study aims to improve the current body of knowledge regarding software testing in game development and point out the existing particularities observed in software testing considering the development of a computer game. Method. A mixed-method approach based on a case study and an opinion survey was applied to collect quantitative and qualitative data from software professionals regarding the particularities of software testing in game development. Results. We analyzed over 70 messages posted on three well-established network of question-and-answer communities related to software engineering, software testing and game development and received answers of 38 professionals discussing differences between testing a computer game and a general software, and identified important aspects to be observed by practitioners in the process of planning, performing and reporting tests in this context. Conclusion. Considering computer games, software testing must focus not only on the common aspects of a general software, but also, track and investigate issues that could be related to game balance, game physics and entertainment related-aspects to guarantee the quality of computer games and a successful testing process

Video Game Development in a Rush: A Survey of the Global Game Jam Participants

Video game development is a complex endeavor, often involving complex software, large organizations, and aggressive release deadlines. Several studies have reported that periods of "crunch time" are prevalent in the video game industry, but there are few studies on the effects of time pressure. We conducted a survey with participants of the Global Game Jam (GGJ), a 48-hour hackathon. Based on 198 responses, the results suggest that: (1) iterative brainstorming is the most popular method for conceptualizing initial requirements; (2) continuous integration, minimum viable product, scope management, version control, and stand-up meetings are frequently applied development practices; (3) regular communication, internal playtesting, and dynamic and proactive planning are the most common quality assurance activities; and (4) familiarity with agile development has a weak correlation with perception of success in GGJ. We conclude that GGJ teams rely on ad hoc approaches to development and face-to-face communication, and recommend some complementary practices with limited overhead. Furthermore, as our findings are similar to recommendations for software startups, we posit that game jams and the startup scene share contextual similarities. Finally, we discuss the drawbacks of systemic "crunch time" and argue that game jam organizers are in a good position to problematize the phenomenon.Comment: Accepted for publication in IEEE Transactions on Game

Video game performance analysis on selected operating systems

The video game industry is currently one of the most dominant in IT. Unfortunately, developers rarely focus on maintaining older games, which often leads to the inability to launch them on newer systems. The aim of the paper is the video game performance analysis on selected operating systems. The analysis was performed on the first three installments of The Sims series, published in the first decade of the 21st century, on a computer with Windows XP as the operating system and another with Windows 10 as the operating system. For the performance analysis three hardware monitoring programs were used: Open Hardware Monitor, MSI Afterburner and Windows Performance Monitor. In addition, all tested games were compared visually in order to determine whether their appearance and available graphic options are the same on both systems. Results analysis have shown, that despite lower system load in all games on the computer with Windows 10 there are some graphical anomalies not present on the older operating system

Concevoir un témoignage vidéoludique en temps de pandémie : le développement de Quatre apparts et un confinement

Publié sur le site internet d’un journal généraliste suisse, le jeu vidéo Quatre apparts et un confinement (2020) met en scène les quotidiens de quatre personnages inspirés de faits vécus lors du semi-confinement instauré en Suisse, au printemps 2020, en raison de la pandémie de COVID-19. En utilisant les concepts de « jeu d’actualité documentaire », de « réalité opérationnelle » et de « réalisme social », cet article explique la démarche créative derrière le développement de ce jeu vidéo qui, à l’aide de choix de dialogue, de mises en scène et de mini-jeux, rend compte des expériences vécues par des personnes aux différents profils sociodémographiques en temps de pandémie, en s’intéressant aux impacts psychologiques de cette situation sur ces dernières

A Digital Game Maturity Model

Game development is an interdisciplinary concept that embraces artistic, software engineering, management, and business disciplines. Game development is considered as one of the most complex tasks in software engineering. Hence, for successful development of good-quality games, the game developers must consider and explore all related dimensions as well as discussing them with the stakeholders involved. This research facilitates a better understanding of important dimensions of digital game development methodology. The increased popularity of digital games, the challenges faced by game development organizations in developing quality games, and severe competition in the digital game industry demand a game development process maturity assessment. Consequently, this study presents a Digital Game Maturity Model to evaluate the current development methodology in an organization. The objective is first to identify key factors in the game development process, then to classify these factors into target groups, and eventually to use this grouping as a theoretical basis for proposing a maturity model for digital game development. In doing so, the research focuses on three major stakeholders in game development: developers, consumers, and business management. The framework of the proposed model consists of assessment questionnaires made up of key identified factors from three empirical studies, a performance scale, and a rating method. The main goal of the questionnaires is to collect information about current processes and practices. This research contributes towards formulating a comprehensive and unified strategy for game development process maturity assessment. The proposed model was evaluated with two case studies from the digital game industry

Branding e product placement no Metaverse: oportunidades e desafios para marcas empreendedores - um caso de estudo sobre a Burberry

A integração de marcas e publicidade em videojogos tem-se tornado cada vez mais prevalente, potencializando as experiências imersivas oferecidas pelos ambientes virtuais. Com o surgimento do Metaverse, um espaço de realidade virtual onde indivíduos interagem com ambientes gerados por computador e outros utilizadores, surgem novas oportunidades e desafios para marcas e empreendedores. Esta dissertação explora o ponto em comum onde ocorre a intersecção de marcas, publicidade, videojogos, Metaverse e novas tecnologias, através de pesquisa exploratória e elaboração de um caso de estudo sobre a marca vanguardista Burberry, com o objetivo de compreender as implicações, estratégias e efeitos da integração de marcas neste cenário digital em evolução. Ao sintetizar a literatura existente, através de uma pesquisa bibliográfica de caráter exploratório, esta dissertação fornece uma visão abrangente das estratégias empregadas pelas marcas nos videojogos e os efeitos nas atitudes, perceções e intenções de compra dos consumidores. Ao integrar descobertas de pesquisas acadêmicas, práticas da indústria e tendências emergentes, esta dissertação contribui para a compreensão da complexa relação entre marcas, publicidade, o Metaverse e novas tecnologias. O objetivo passa essencialmente por informar os profissionais de marketing sobre as implicações e oportunidades da integração da marca em espaços de realidade virtual, fornecendo informações valiosas para a tomada de decisões estratégicas e exploração adicional neste campo dinâmico e em rápida evolução.The integration of brands and advertising within video games has become increasingly prevalent, enhancing the immersive experiences offered by virtual environments. With the emergence of the Metaverse, a virtual reality space where individuals interact with computer-generated environments and other users, new opportunities and challenges arise for brands and entrepreneurs. This dissertation delves into the nexus where brands, advertising, video games, the Metaverse, and emerging technologies intersect, through exploratory research and the development of a case study on the avant-garde brand, Burberry, aiming to understand the implications, strategies, and effects of brand integration in this evolving digital landscape. By synthesizing existing literature through exploratory bibliographical research, this dissertation offers a comprehensive insight into the strategies employed by brands within video games and their effects on consumer attitudes, perceptions, and purchase intentions. By integrating findings from academic research, industry practices, and emerging trends, this dissertation contributes to understanding the intricate relationship between brands, advertising, the Metaverse, and new technologies. The primary objective is to inform marketing professionals about the implications and opportunities of brand integration in virtual reality spaces, providing valuable insights for strategic decision-making and further exploration in this dynamic and rapidly evolving field

Learning to Identify Bugs in Video Games

The use of intelligent software agents promises to revolutionise video game testing. While agents automate the time-consuming task of repeatedly playing a game in search of issues, humans can spend their time on the more creative aspects of game development. Despite the substantial advancements in game-playing that have made this possible, agents are reliant on humans, or hand-crafted guards, to determine whether there are issues with the game's design or functioning. This thesis aimed to develop testing agents that can identify issues with a game's function or bugs with minimal human involvement by learning from their prior experiences. The problem is framed as one of anomaly detection, where bugs correspond to abnormality or novelty in an agent's experience. A series of approaches based on Self-Supervised Learning and Causal Inference have been developed to enable an agent to measure abnormality or otherwise model the game to subsequently identify bugs. The focus was on laying the foundations for testing agents that operate over the same input/output modalities as human testers. The approaches were evaluated by testing a diverse collection of purpose-built video games, where they successfully identified bugs from a broad class. This thesis is among the first work to investigate the use of machine learning in the context of video game bug identification. It presents an exposition of the problem of learning intended behaviour, and then endeavours to develop solutions that demonstrate the benefits of using agents with learning capabilities for testing. Namely, ease of reuse across projects (reusability) and in identifying bugs that would otherwise require human involvement to be found (capability). The use of agents equipped with sophisticated game-playing algorithms and the identification tools outlined in this thesis offers a new framework for video game testing