Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 2.5
Defect priority selection.
cumstances are discovered in the released game and subsequently publicized. An
example of this kind of misuse happened in the
Asheron's Call
PC-based online game
where players would kill their character and then intentionally crash the game server.
Once the server was back up, they were able to retrieve a duplicate of a rare item from
their corpse. See the following sidebar for the developers' response to this defect when
it occurred in January of 2001.
“Medium�? defects cause noticeable problems, but probably do not impact the player
in terms of rewards or progress. The difference between “High�? and “Medium�? may be
the difference between getting your bug looked at and fixed, put aside to be fixed in a
post-release patch, or left in the game as it is. When in doubt, unless otherwise direct-
ed by your project leads, assign the “High�? priority so it will be fairly evaluated before
being downgraded. Be careful not to abuse this tactic, or the defects you find will not
be taken as seriously as they should.
The “Low�? priority is normally for very minute defects that don't affect gameplay,
those that occur under impossible conditions, or those that are a matter of personal
taste. For example, in the GBA game
Yu-Gi-Oh! The Eternal Duelist Soul
, when Yami
Bakura is defeated for the 10th time, the dialog box refers to the “Great Sheme of
Things�? instead of the “Great Scheme of Things.�?
