Defect Triggers - Game Testing All in One - page 313

However, testing that almost exclusively uses Normal triggers is only training the code
to follow a script. It will not detect many user faults that will occur in real-life situations.
The Restart Trigger
The Restart trigger classifies a failure that occurs as a result of quitting, ending the
game, turning off the game device, ejecting the game disk, or terminating the game's
operation in any other way. Some games are nice about this and prompt you to save
vital information before allowing you to exit a game scenario, mission, or battle in
progress. When ending the game, some information needs to be remembered and
some forgotten. If either is done incorrectly, the player can gain an advantage or lose
precious progress.
Sometimes you can notice the effects of a Restart defect during the End Game period,
or you may have to wait until the next time you use the game. For example, there is a
bug in All Star Baseball ™ 2004 where you can Quit and Save a game while you are
pitching, restart the game system, and then reload your saved game to fully recover
your pitcher's energy. This kind of defect goes unnoticed if your test doesn't go back
into the game after saving, so remember to do that whenever you apply a Restart trigger.
Classifying Defects
You don't have to wait for your next project to start using Defect Triggers in your tests.
Use keywords to help classify new or existing tests and defects. With that information
you can identify where the defects are coming from and what testing is missing. Not
surprisingly, a lot of bugs that get released belong to Defect Triggers that received lit-
tle attention, if any, during game testing. When defects of a certain trigger start to
show up, that's your cue to beef up the tests to use that trigger even more. Table 15.1
provides lists of keywords you can use to classify your defects and tests according to
each of the six defect triggers.
Here are some examples taken from the Star Trek Elite Force II version 1.10 patch
readme file. Remember, missing capabilities are defects as well as functionality that is
in the game but doesn't work properly.
“Mouse 4 and 5 are now key-bindable in the Configure menu�?
This is an easy one to start off with. The bug description mentions that the problem
is with the Configure menu, so classify this as a Configuration defect.
“The sniper rifle now reloads automatically in all game modes. It no longer
waits for the player to let go of the fire button.�?