Skills
What I testand how
Five areas, one tester. Five years of QA on console and PC, from the first test plan to the shipped build.
Level 2 · The five
Five areas
Each one learned on a shipped game, and used on every build since.
Functional testing
I play every path a player can take and log what breaks, where, and how to reproduce it. A new feature gets a test plan before the build lands, and every later build gets a regression pass against it.
In practice
- Test plans the team can read
- Regression passes on every build
- Build acceptance before a milestone
Platforms and stores
The same build on Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, Xbox and PS5, and on PC against the rules of Steam, Epic Games Store and GOG. I check what each platform and store requires before submission, so the submission is not the first time anyone looks.
In practice
- Platform requirement checks
- Store rule checks
- One report per platform build
Performance and stress
I profile frame rate, memory and load times on low spec and recommended spec rigs with Unreal Engine tools and long sessions, then report exactly what gave and where.
In practice
- Unreal Engine profiling
- Low and recommended spec rigs
- Long session and soak tests
Playtesting and UX
I play as players do and report where they got lost, bored or stuck: onboarding, difficulty, readability, the first ten minutes.
In practice
- Onboarding notes
- Difficulty and pacing notes
- Readability on every screen
Bug reporting
Every issue arrives with steps, severity, media and a build number, in the tracker the team already uses. At each milestone, a quality report: what was tested, what was found, what is left.
In practice
- Jira, Confluence or TestRail
- Steps, severity, media, build number
- Milestone quality reports
Level 3 · The run
A build, start to finish
Seven states, condensed from the ticker on the home page.
Build received
The build lands. I set up the hardware and read the plan back to the team.
Test plan
What gets tested, on what, in what order. Agreed with the team before the pass starts.
Functional pass
Every path, every feature, every build.
Platform pass
Each platform build against its platform and store rules.
Performance pass
Frame rate, memory, load times, long sessions.
Report sent
Bugs in the tracker as they are found. A quality report at the milestone.
Shipped
The team submits with the report in hand.
Level 4 · Platforms and stores
Where the build has to work
Four consoles, three PC stores. Each with its own rules, each checked before submission.
Nintendo Switch
Docked and handheld, Joy-Con and Pro Controller, sleep and resume.
Nintendo Switch 2
The same, plus the new hardware paths.
Xbox
Series X and S, Quick Resume, achievements, the Xbox app on PC.
PS5
Trophies, activities, the DualSense, suspend and resume.
Steam
Steam Deck, cloud saves, achievements, Steam Input.
Epic Games Store
Store requirements, achievements, launcher paths.
GOG
DRM-free build, Galaxy features, offline play.
Level 5 · Final level