Mastering VR Game Testing: Tips and Benefits of Outsourcing

Introduction

Virtual reality (VR) games are becoming increasingly popular, but developing a high-quality VR game comes with various technical and creative challenges. Adequate testing is crucial to ensure that the product meets market demands and user expectations.

In this article, we will discuss the five main stages of VR game testing and provide five key tips for testing VR games. Additionally, we will explore the benefits of outsourcing VR game testing to experienced professionals, including access to experienced testers-plus-developers, flexibility in testing approaches, time saved in the development process, improved efficiency and quality assurance, and access to best practices and optimized resources.

The five main stages of VR game testing

Planning stage:

Before testing a VR game, carefully plan and analyze the data. At this stage, you need to determine the requirements and time frame for testing. You also need to ensure that all resources are available and determine the best testing method based on project characteristics and customer requirements. Keeping a tight schedule will help you meet your testing deadlines.

Alpha test phase:

Alpha testing is the first formal phase of VR game testing, designed to catch important bugs and issues. At this stage, professional testers go through thorough testing to determine whether the VR game meets the technical specifications and works well. Conduct internal testing whenever necessary to ensure that the product is performing properly in all aspects and to save subsequent testing time.

Beta test phase:

Beta testing is a testing phase that simulates real users using VR games. Testers provide the VR game to the end user and record the feedback received. This feedback provides valuable insight into how you can refine your VR game to improve your product and fix any issues that may exist.

Integration test phase:

In the integration testing phase, individual applications or software are combined into a system and tested. This is the critical stage to ensure the proper operation of the various program modules. In VR game testing, the main purpose of integration testing is to examine how various elements, devices, and menus interact. This maximizes the user experience and ensures that no potential problems are discovered.

Pre-release testing phase:

Stress testing is important in the final stages of a game before release to ensure that all issues have been resolved and that safety and reliability are high. Games also need to be fully reviewed, comply with all legal and best practice standards, and use statistical methods to evaluate game features.

Top 5 Tips for Testing VR games

To create the next VR craze, you need to start with VR playtesting. Based on our experience, here are five key tips to help you accomplish this task!

1. Improve user experience

When testing VR games, keep in mind that your product needs to not only meet technical requirements, but also provide a truly immersive experience. By focusing on small details, natural ambient sound, realistic visuals, and intuitive interfaces, you can help players immerse themselves in the game world faster.

2. Safety is a must

When testing VR games with real users, safety is always the primary concern. This means that you need to be aware of issues that can cause motion dizziness or disorientation, and select players who are often distracted by such issues. Adding physical security to the game environment, such as handrails or MATS, can also help keep players safe.

3. Report feedback in time

When testing a VR game, paying close attention to player feedback is extremely important. Virtual reality is particularly prone to distraction, and even a slight distraction can skew the player's impression of the game. Therefore, keep a record of each player's thoughts, comments, and suggestions in order to assess the quality of the game and the feedback from the user.

4. Focus on specific details of VR gameplay

All VR game testing is time consuming because VR devices have to be more complex than mobile and computer games. Not only does this mean that testers need more time to correct errors, they should also be provided with frequent breaks to ensure that their eyes, dizziness, and immersion are managed effectively.

5. Manual and Beta testing is necessary

Automated testing can determine if the technical requirements meet the criteria. But it's not a complete replacement for manual testing or leveraging player specific feedback. We suggest that using human Beta testing also makes an important contribution to gameplay and player experience. In this way, you can gain useful information that can help improve your game, build a core community of fans, and ultimately make your work a part of popular culture.

In conclusion, success in VR games requires adequate testing to ensure that the product has fully met market demands and user expectations.

Maximizing Efficiency in VR Game Development through Outsourced Game Testing

Developing a high-quality VR game comes with various technical and creative challenges. To save time on development and meet launch deadlines, outsourcing the quality assurance to experienced professionals can be an excellent solution. Here are five benefits of outsourcing VR game testing and how it can help maximize efficiency:

Access to Experienced VR Game Testers-Plus Developers.

By outsourcing, you gain access to experienced game testers-plus-developers who have a deep understanding of VR game design requirements, user behavior patterns and specific hardware functions. These experts have tested and developed multiple VR games that they can bring to your project, ensuring that your game complies with established industry standards.

The Flexibility of Experts' Approaches to Testing.

VR game testers-plus developers also have great flexibility in their approach to testing as they understand both the creative and technical aspects of the game. They know exactly how to manage testing procedures, cover all potential issues and provide detailed feedback. With this information, your team can quickly identify areas for improvement, thus minimizing the risk of delays.

Time Saved in Your Game Development Process.

Outsourcing game testing frees up time and resources within your development process. Developers can focus on game design and programming while the outsourced team takes the burden of testing off your shoulders. This way, you can streamline your workflow, meet deadlines efficiently, and ultimately launch your game sooner than planned.

Improved Efficiency and Quality Assurance.

Outsourcing to specialized testers helps improve the overall efficiency and quality assurance of your game. Testing experts already understand your target audience and know what will make them feel engaged in the immersive experience that VR offers. They can quickly spot any bugs and performance issues, preventing delays and ensuring user satisfaction.

Access to Best Practices and Optimized Resources.

An outsourcing team usually has prior experience testing similar games, allowing easy adaptation of best practices from previous projects. VR game testers-plus-developers can share insights and offer advice on how to optimize resources, reduce errors, and streamline processes. With their experience, they can also provide valuable feedback on further improvements that developers can make.

To sum up, outsourcing VR game testing is an effective way of increasing efficiency and quality assurance in game development. The specialized expertise of outsourced teams saves time and offers access to industry-standard techniques, all while freeing your core team to focus on creative design and coding. Contact us now to discuss the details of your project, and let’s bring a fantastic VR game to the market together!