Study Guide

Objective

After completing the course the student is able:
- to work efficiently in game testing projects which are executed in a close cooperation with local industry
- to apply game testing techniques systematically
- to design, implement, and document game testing from quality assurance perspective
- to design, implement, and document game testing from usability perspective
- to apply devices used in user tests, and to work efficiently in experiments

Content

- Ddesigning game tests and identifying test requirements
- Game testing techniques
- Analysing game testing results
- Methods in user tests and usability evaluation
- Game testing project as a group work for local industry
- Participating usability test project

Materials

The Quality Assurance topic of the course follows several chapters of the book:
Levy, L., & Novak, J. (2009). Game development essentials: Game QA & testing. Cengage Learning.

Due to the ongoing developments in the field of Game Testing, recommended additional literature will be provided as part of the lecture material at the appropriate timing. This ensures that students are kept abreast with the latest testing techniques and trends.

Teaching methods

Learning on this course combines instructivist (20-25%), constructivist (50%) and connectivist (25-30%) learning methods, implying that students will receive instruction during contact sessions while also being responsible for their own development in the field of game testing. Students will have group assignments, where peer-assisted learning will be encouraged through various e-communication channels.

This course is a collaboration with the University of Turku and we will use the Moodle learning platform. The shortcut to the moodle page is:
http://bit.ly/gtst2023 - it will be activated in time for the course start

Students are able to access Moodle using their Haka accounts (TUAS account credentials).

Exam schedules

This course has no formal exam.

International connections

This course leans on CDIO principles and takes a project-based learning approach.

Student workload

The course is managed online via the Moodle learning platform. During the contact sessions, students will receive instructions on how to complete the respective study section for that topic.

ALL contact sessions are onsite at TUAS premises - exact locations and weekly schedule will become available in August 2023.

All study material will be available online.

This course is 5 ECTS - students are expected to work 135 hours:
- Contact sessions (10 to 20 hours)
- Independent reading and research (25 to 35 hours)
- Practical experiential learning (80 to 100 hours) - this includes time for doing assignments

Content scheduling

The course is divided into three main topics and scheduled in phases (the sequence of the phases may vary from year to year):
PHASE 1
Effectiveness testing

PHASE 2
User-centered testing with two sub-parts, namely:
- Usability testing
- User experience testing

PHASE 3
Quality assurance testing (bug hunting) with three sub-parts, namely:
- Tester skillsets
- Getting to know what bugs there are
- Elite bug hunting

Further information

This course is a collaboration with the University of Turku and we will use the Moodle learning platform. The shortcut to the moodle page is:
http://bit.ly/gtst2023 - it will be activated in time for the course start

Students are able to access Moodle using their Haka accounts (TUAS account credentials).

Students can also reserve support with the lecturer or time for practical work at the Game Lab.

Evaluation scale

H-5

Assessment methods and criteria

There are 4 main assignments that should be completed at the conclusion of each respective topic:
Quality assurance (group assignment)
Usability testing (individual assignment)
User experience testing (individual assignment)
Effectiveness study (group assignment)

The course includes 5 online quizzes that must be completed:
Tester skillsets
Getting to know what bugs there are
Elite bug hunting
Usability
User experience testing

The course includes 12 formative tasks scattered throughout the various topics.

All assignments and quizzes are transposed to a grade out of 5
Course grade is calculated as follows:
(Average of main assignments x 0,75) + (Average of online quizzes x 0,25)

The formative tasks are used to monitor student progress and no grade will be released until all formative tasks are complete and submitted.

All tasks will be submitted through the LMS.

Assessment criteria, fail (0)

All tasks are mandatory for a successful completion of the course. Any outstanding tasks will result in course grades being withheld from the respective students.