CISC 105: Intro to Game ModdingLecture 11: Implementation

Charles Palmer – Fall 2013

Implementation

Implementation

Let’s talk about progress• Where are you in the development process• Where do you go for help• What’s next on your list to accomplish• What can I do to help?

Building a section of your mod

Build a location from

your world map

Place enemy units, loot

drops, and at least one trap

Add NPC dialogue Test Mod

For the remainder of the class we’ll be building a section of your Skyrim mod. Your grade will be based on your ability to produce these items at each milestone.

Test early and test often…• More than just a mantra• Used to

o identify programmatic defectso gauge qualityo check for inconsistencieso Uncover design or programming issueso Save development timeo Not just for programmers

• Formally handled by the Quality assurance department/team

• Functionality testing is most commonly associated with the phrase "game testing", as it entails playing the game in some form. Functionality testing does not require extensive technical knowledge. Functionality testers look for general problems within the game itself or its user interface, such as stability issues, game mechanic issues, and game asset integrity.

• Compliance testing• Compatibility testing• Localization testing • Soak testing• Beta testing is done during beta stage of development. Often this refers to the first

publicly available version of a game. Public betas are effective because thousands of fans may find bugs that the developer's testers did not.

• Regression testing is performed once a bug has been fixed by the programmers. QA checks to see whether the bug is still there (regression) and then runs similar tests to see whether the fix broke something else. That second stage is often called "halo testing; it involves testing all around a bug, looking for other bugs.

• Load testing • Multiplayer testing

Types of industry testing

Continue building your mod with the Creation Kit.

By this time you should have a good bit of your mod mocked up. Now it’s time to see if your mod accomplishes what you’ve expected. To prove this assumption, create a test log that can be used to collect feedback from your users and categorize user feedback. Remember the purpose of a play test is not to show how cool your productis, this is a chance to find out how you can make it better.

Assignment

This first play test should answer some simple questions. Check for things such as

o Can the player navigate the space• Do they get lost• Do they get stuck

o Are there problems with the environmento Are the creatures too hardo How long does it take to complete the task

The important thing is to let your tester exploreso you can document their progress and recordany problems.

Assignment

When you are ready to evaluate your mod, use the Testing Log template to conduct five play test sessions. During the play test, your role is just to listen. Try not to direct the player’s action (unless they feel frustrated) or engage in too much conversation. Once the session is over, either by completing the objective, giving up, or reaching a pre-determined stopping time complete a log entry for each player. After testing with five players, upload the Testing Log to Moodle (DWilliams_CISC105_11.xls)

Assignment