Coverage includes—

• CHARLES P. SCHULTZ is an Operations Manager for Motorola's Global Software Group, working on software testing and mobile gaming. He has more than 20 technical publications to his credit and has spoken at industry conferences in the areas of personal robotics, software quality, and software testing. Charles has also developed and taught computing classes at various levels, ranging from children's programs at the Miami Museum of Science to graduate level university courses.

• ROBERT BRYANT is currently Studio Director at videogame publisher Crave Entertainment, where he has also served as QA Manager and Executive Producer of such games as World Championship Poker, Pinball Hall of Fame, Future Tactics: the Uprising, Mojo!, Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3, and Intellivision Lives!. He began his games career in the interactive division of Mattel, Inc., where he was lead tester on dozens of projects and co-designed Nick Click Digital Camera and CD-ROM. He is a frequent speaker on the subjects of game testing methods and management. He holds a BA from Washington and Lee University and an MFA from the University of Southern California.

• TIM LANGDELL, a veteran of the game industry, is full-time faculty in the USC Viterbi School of Engineering's Information Technology Program where he chairs the Game Curriculum Sub-Committee, and teaches game design and game testing. Tim is also Chairman of EDGE Games, which he founded in 1979—one of the top games brands well-known for innovative games, games magazines, and games hardware. Tim has produced more than 180 games (including Garfield, The Punisher, Fairlight, and the hit 1980s cult classic Brian Bloodaxe) and written several books on computer game programming, including The Spectrum Handbook. He is an innovator of games education: In 1992 he devised the first curriculum course in interactive entertainment at USC's Film School where he taught for several years. Tim co-founded the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, is a member of the IGDA, a member of the Writer's Guild of America, and a member of both BAFTA and BAFTA/LA (where he served on the Board of Directors).

• Covers the details of game testing from a current tester's perspective.

• Includes elements of a textbook such as exercises, Q&As, and quizzes.

• The first book completely dedicated to the game test industry.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 2 Ratings

Why Game Testing All In One is a Must! - 2005-04-03
Reviewer Rating:
Traditional program testing has come a long way in 50 years but the complexity, time constraints and variety of situations facing game testers is at the edge of the software testing world.

The authors combine authentic experience with Computer Games and Game Testing in a logical, pragmatic and interesting way. They long ago reasoned that it is very costly (if not sometimes impossible) to test all possible paths through a game's options and through the application of some insightful statistical approaches present ways to reduce the total number of tests required under certain assumptions. To me this one insight was worth the cost of the book.

Beyond this outstanding statistical testing insight for the workers in the field, the expository material that covers Games is exceptionally good for the individual trying to put the whole field in perspective. In Part I they address "Being a Game Tester" (with a side venture later in the book to identify different game testing personalities) followed by a good discussion of "Why Testing is Important". Part II talks about the "Making of a Game" while Part III introduces the concepts and vocabulary of Testing. In Part IV the authors bring in the concept of Combinatorial Testing ( another statistical approach) and present it in a step by step way so that the tester can perform the testing suite without knowing all of the theory behind that approach. "Test Flow Diagrams", "Cleanroom Testing" and "Test Trees" adds very modern disciplined techniques to the testing tool process that will prove of value. Part V discusses some advanced testing ideas all of which are very practical in the fast evolving world of Games.

The authors seem to have been brought together and inspired to write just at the time when the field realizes that loosely structured ad-hoc testing may be costing more than the field can afford.

Good introduction - 2008-04-29
Reviewer Rating:
Well organized, funny introduction, and good examples from real commercial computer games. Uses usage statistics to prioritize tests.

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