If you’re an indie developer, you already know that making a game is a wild ride. Sleepless nights, caffeine-fueled code sprints, and the thrill of finally hitting “run”—it’s all part of the gig. But let’s be honest: nothing will zap your excitement faster than players discovering bugs, glitches, or (the horror) a showstopping crash. Early in my own journey, we rushed a build out the door, thinking we’d caught “that one bug.” You can guess what happened next: the players found three more, and support emails poured in.
So—let’s talk about game testing, and why it’s not just for AAA studios.
What Exactly is Game Testing?
Now, you might be thinking, “Testing? Isn’t that just playing the game?” I get it—lots of devs imagine QA as button-mashing and speedrunning. In reality, proper game testing is methodical. It means systematically poking, prodding, and even trying to “break” your own game—sometimes in ways only the most creative player would do.
Here’s how the pros approach it:
- They follow test cases—a fancy way of saying “checklist for everything that can go wrong.”
- Every bug gets logged, with notes on how to reproduce it (again and again).
- Testers don’t just play once. They go back to see if bugs return after you patch them.
- Real QA covers as many devices, OS versions, and playstyles as you can muster.
- And, just to be clear: good testers stick to the facts. (You don’t want opinions; you want bugs.)
Why Game QA is a Lifesaver for Indies
1. First Impressions Are Gold
Players love to judge fast. Your Steam page could have the world’s coolest story… but one crash and you’ll be swimming in refund requests or, worse, nasty reviews. I’ve seen a handful of negative reviews kill all visibility for promising titles.
2. Fixing Bugs Later Costs More (Ask Me How I Know)
I’ve personally patched a bug after release that took hours and days to resolve—when a simple round of QA earlier would have caught it in minutes.
3. Happy Players, Better Retention
People stick with games that just work. It’s easier (and cheaper) to grow your community if your game doesn’t break on launch day.
4. From “Hidden Gem” to “What Just Happened?”
There’s fierce competition, so a game that works out-of-the-box will have a natural edge. (And word gets around.)
5. Platforms Don’t Mess Around
Steam, Switch, app stores—they all want your game to work flawlessly. Flub it and you could get kicked off or run into endless resubmissions.
Types of Game Testing (No, It’s Not All the Same)
Functional Testing:
Is everything working the way you planned? Menus, buttons, saves, achievements, weird combos nobody’s supposed to try? Yup, all of it.
Regression Testing:
Here’s a fun twist: you fix one bug and, by magic, an old bug returns. Regression testing means checking that the new code didn’t break old stuff. Trust me, this happens all the time.
Performance Testing:
Ever played a game where things randomly lag or freeze? QA finds those moments—frame rate stutters, memory leaks (looking at you, Unity!), slow loads, battery drain on mobile. No more “why is my phone melting?”
Compatibility Testing:
Different phones, tablets, PCs, gamepads… Don’t just test on your shiny new rig. Grab that five-year-old Android your aunt uses. You’ll be glad you did.
Exploratory Testing:
This is the “go wild” session—testers do everything wrong on purpose, sometimes finding the best bugs by accident.
LQA (Localization Testing):
If your game speaks many languages, someone needs to check that the translations fit and nothing breaks with weird symbols or really long German compound words.
My Step-by-Step QA Process
- Figure out what needs testing
- What platforms, devices, weird edge-cases?
- Write up checklists (test cases)
- Not glamorous, but lifesaving
- Start early—don’t leave testing for last minute
- Report every bug, big or small
- With screenshots! The more details, the faster your fix.
- Fix, test, and circle back
- Repeat until your game sighs with relief
Common Bugs We’ve Caught (True Stories)
- The boss that randomly flies off the screen? Found by testing.
- Save button that only works on Tuesdays? Found by testing.
- UI that vanishes if you alt-tab twice? Found by—you get the idea.
Some favorites:
- Crashes on certain devices (especially budget Androids)
- Stuck progress—player can’t advance after a cutscene
- Broken achievements
- Physics bugs (player floats or gets stuck in walls)
- Audio loops gone wild
The Tools We Swear By
- JIRA or Trello for bug tracking (or a good Google Sheet when you’re just starting out)
- OBS Studio for recording weird bugs in action
- TestFlight / Google Beta for device testing if you’re mobile-focused
- Old phones, new phones, your cousin’s laptop… The more, the better
FAQs: Real Questions We Get from Indies
Q: “When should I start testing?”
A: Start yesterday. Seriously. Even a basic QA pass once you have a playable build will save headaches. You want to catch the big stuff early.
Q: “Isn’t playtesting with my friends enough?”
A: Not really. Your friends want to be nice (or just have fun). Real QA means looking for broken stuff, even the boring bits.
Q: “How much does QA cost for a small game?”
A: Surprisingly affordable! Many QA firms (us included) have packages for indie devs. You can even book a one-off smoke test.
Q: “Do I need QA for every update?”
A: If you have more than two lines of code in your patch, yes—smaller updates can break more than you expect.
Q: “Can I just test on my PC?”
A: Start there, but always, always try on at least one old Android, one iPhone, and whatever else your players might use.
Q: “How do I report bugs in a way the dev will actually fix?”
A: Be clear—steps to reproduce, what you expected, what actually happened, with screenshots or videos. Trust me, this makes a developer’s day much smoother.
Best QA Advice We Can Offer
- Don’t test alone. Fresh eyes catch more bugs.
- Write things down. “Didn’t we have this bug before?” Only one way to know for sure.
- Expect surprises! Players are experts at finding weird stuff—beat them to it.
Conclusion
Game testing isn’t a luxury; it’s mandatory if you want your indie game to stand out. Whether you’re prepping a solo puzzle game or the next big roguelike, thorough QA will be your best insurance policy. We’ve learned these lessons in the trenches and through some very late-night bug hunts.
Curious how Techvalta approaches testing (and whether we can save your game’s reputation before launch)?