These days, it seems everyone has a mobile device planted firmly in their hand.
If they are not checking their email, scrolling social media, or watching videos, it is very likely they are playing a mobile game. With mobile games playing such a prominent role in the mobile device ecosystem, how can you ensure the one you have worked so hard on stands out amid the vast sea of mobile options?
Incorporating mobile game performance testing into the overall development of your mobile game is essential for finding and addressing issues that could otherwise pop up while in the hands of your users.
With the ever-evolving sophistication of mobile games, it is vital that your mobile game can keep up and reliably deliver an exceptional gaming experience.
In this blog, we will discuss what mobile game performance testing is, key components and benefits of mobile game performance testing, as well as strategies and best practices for executing your tests.
What is Mobile Game Performance Testing?
Mobile game performance testing is the practice of testing a mobile game to find and fix performance-related issues and bottlenecks. These tests evaluate the game’s stability, speed, scalability, and responsiveness during different traffic loads.
Performance testing is an important step in the mobile game development process because without a consistent, high-quality experience across all aspects of your game, it will be lost among the strict competition. Additionally, mobile game performance testing is an easy way to optimize your game’s graphics, gameplay, and various system connections across all device types.
Benefits of Mobile Game Performance Testing
You would not want to send your mobile game — the project you and your team have worked so hard on — out into the world without being properly tested first, right? Here are the benefits of conducting mobile game performance testing.
Improved game quality.
Enhanced game flexibility and adaptability.
Faster update releases with parallel testing.
Optimized gaming experience suited to your users.
Why Enterprises Choose BlazeMeter as an Agile Performance Testing Solution
If you are a mobile game developer, you want an agile performance testing solution to keep up with the rapid demands of your industry. See why BlazeMeter has continued to shine as a rare example of a one-stop shop for performance testing that enables DevOps teams to test quickly and easily.
Essential Mobile Game Performance Testing Components
When laying out your mobile game testing strategy, there are several different types of testing that are suitable for mobile games for you to consider. Below is an overview of the types of testing available for you so you can determine which ones best suit your needs.
Performance Testing
With today’s mobile game speed set at a high standard, performance testing helps developers determine game speed and where there are opportunities to optimize it.
Functional Testing
Functional testing determines your game’s ability to do the nuts-and-bolts type of stuff: connectivity, stability, social integration, and the like.
Visual Testing
Mobile games are primarily a visual medium, and visual testing is made to identify bugs that may be related to color scheme, resolution, screen size, or even accessibility.
Security Testing
With many mobile games featuring in-game purchases, having a secure data repository is vital. Security testing finds vulnerabilities in your system so you can better protect your users.
A/B Testing
This one is pretty straightforward. Test your game against different scenarios (an A-Scenario and a B-Scenario) to uncover ways your game can improve and optimize.
Compatibility Testing
With the wide variety of mobile devices and OSs available to users, it is important to do compatibility testing to ensure your game works for everyone regardless of those factors.
Localization Testing
If you want your mobile game in the hands of as many people as possible, you must take the many differing cultures around the world into account. This sets expectations and understands regulations.
UI Testing
Perhaps the most important type of testing specifically for mobile games, UI testing evaluates user experience and how best to make your game enjoyable to play.
Beta Testing
This applies to all games — mobile included. Beta testing allows the development team to test an early version of the game to identify major issues that can be fixed before the official game release.
Determining Your Mobile Game Performance Testing Strategy
When it comes to mobile game performance testing, you are better off going in with a sound strategy in mind. The strategy you choose largely depends on what aspect of your game you want to assess. Below are three major mobile game aspects to consider testing.
#1 Does Your Game Crash?
Nobody wants a game that crashes; it is the quickest way to tank your app’s rating, lose users, and drive them to competitors. Determine the consistency of your game’s performance as the number of users playing it increases (gradually and suddenly) to ensure a smooth gaming experience.
#2 Does Your Game Lag?
Seamless gameplay is vital to your game’s success. If your game lags or glitches at any point, it tells you that there is an issue with your game’s performance. Mobile game performance testing will help evaluate your game’s frames-per-second, frame lag rate, and game speed.
#3 What Does Your Game Consume?
By their very nature, games can consume a large amount of system resources. But there is a way to make them more efficient! You can prevent crashes or overheated devices by determining how much power, CPU, and GPU your mobile game consumes when it is being played.
Mobile Game Performance Testing Best Practices
Now that you understand why mobile game performance testing is important and some strategies to consider when executing it, here are some best practices to keep in mind as you proceed.
Realistic Test Scenarios
When conducting mobile game performance testing, it is critical that your tests reflect real-world scenarios to properly prepare the game for use. Create realistic test scenarios that feature a variety of environments, devices, and OS versions. This provides a comprehensive evaluation of your game’s performance no matter where it is being played.
Collaboration
Testing teams play a crucial role in the overall development of the mobile game, but they are not where the development begins and ends. Collaborating with the game’s developers will create a better understanding of the game’s expectations and desired user behavior. By working together, you can feel confident that your game provides a smooth experience for all.
Performance Testing Integration
Test early and often. Performance testing should not be relegated to the end of the development process. Rather, conducting mobile game performance testing repeatedly throughout the process helps reduce time and resources spent on fixing performance issues in later stages.
UX is King
The most important factor of developing a mobile game is prioritizing how it will function in the hands of your users with proper UX testing. While it is important to analyze and improve upon the game’s more technical aspects, it ultimately comes down to how enjoyable an experience it is for your users. Think like someone who would be playing your game and optimize it accordingly.
Bottom Line
In the seemingly endless marketplace of mobile games, it is all too easy to get overtaken due to subpar user experience. That is why mobile game performance testing is vital if you want to have a high-quality game with a stellar rating.
By knowing the ins and outs of mobile game performance testing, having a sound strategy with which to approach it, and keeping a few best practices top of mind throughout the testing process, you will be well on your way to providing your users with an unforgettable gaming experience.
BlazeMeter offers unparalleled performance testing that is ideally suited to the mobile game industry. To see how you can take your mobile game performance to the next level, get started testing with the industry leader for FREE today!