Quality Assurance
In my roles of QA my overall goal of a quality assurance team was to ensure that games met the highest standards of quality and user experience. I was responsible for identifying and reporting issues and bugs, ensuring that the software meets requirements, and working collaboratively with developers to improve the software’s quality and development processes. Part of that role also acted as a game playtester which focused on identifying issues with the game’s design, mechanics, and overall experience to provide valuable feedback to the development team. Additionally I provided feedback as a usability tester which focused on evaluating how easy and intuitive a product is to use from the perspective of a user, identifying potential issues or roadblocks, and providing feedback to improve the user experience. Ultimately, my goal was to improve the overall quality and user experience of the product being tested.
BrainGenix
Engine and Game QA planning
BrainGenix (BG) is a multi-departmental effort that aims to develop software for Whole Brain Emulation (WBE), which involves replicating all the important functions of a biological brain by simulating its internal dynamics with a high level of detail. The purpose of this game project is to support research in brain emulation and eventually allow interaction with brain emulations. With my experience in Quality Assurance, I contributed to various departments on this project.
My goal at Braingenix was to improve the QA process and provide blueprints for future volunteers. To achieve this, I performed a usability report of the game engine and provided suggestions for necessary improvements. This was done to assess the current status of the engine and prioritize development tasks in parallel with the game’s development. I also created a test plan to establish testing processes and responsibilities for each element. These efforts aimed to streamline the QA process and enable future volunteers to perform their roles more effectively. Additionally, my goal was to educate future team members on relevant terms and processes while informing the team of their needs and plans to follow.
ERS Game and Engine Test Plan: download
ERS Game Engine Initial Report: download
Elephant Mouse/ Villain
IOS Game QA
Elephant Mouse is an award-winning IOS game developer. While I served many roles there, I had a large part in their QA team. From managing the team, developing test plans, and acting as a tester myself we released high-quality titles for the end user.
At Elephant Mouse, our primary focus was to release titles that were both enjoyable and as free of bugs as possible. Despite being a small team, we were able to meet this goal through careful bug tracking using spreadsheets in Google Docs and direct communication with the development team to ensure that all issues were tracked and resolved.
Goals:
• Ensuring that the software meets the functional and technical requirements specified in the design and development phase.
• Making sure that the software is user-friendly and easy to use.
• Ensuring that the software performs well under different conditions, such as various mobile devices.
• Testing the software’s scalability and performance under different loads and usage scenarios.
• Ensuring that the software complies with all relevant Apple and industry standards.
• Working collaboratively with developers to improve the quality of the software and its development processes.
Archetype was a competitive FPS on IOS. The game was designed to allow multiplayer up to 5v5 over the 3G network. While I acted in many roles on this project, I also lead the testing on this project and assisted in testing for the follow-up, Archetype: Cadet.
Duties:
• Manage QA staff and testing.
• Provide Playtesting feedback.
• Use dev tools to test and confirm resolutions.
• Test that localization was correctly implemented.
• Make sure the app is ready for shipping goals.
Elephant Mouse partnered with CBS Interactive, Paramount Pictures, and Bad Robot to develop Star Trek: Rivals, a dynamic card game for iOS featuring characters, starships, and other elements from the 2013 film Star Trek: Into Darkness.
Duties:
• Manage QA staff and testing.
• Provide Playtesting feedback.
• Test that localization was correctly implemented.
• Make sure the app is ready for shipping goals.
This was a slot machine IOS title built for “The Godfather” Movie franchise.
Duties:
• Acted as a tester.
• Provide Playtesting feedback.
• Test that localization was correctly implemented.
• Make sure the app is ready for shipping goals.
Virtual pet collecting and breeding game with over 5,000 combinations of characteristics and social elements.
Duties:
• Acted as a tester.
• Provide Playtesting feedback.
• Test that localization was correctly implemented.
• Make sure the app is ready for shipping goals.
lighthearted single-player FPS. Play as a mad scientist whose rebellious minions are trying to overthrow you
Duties:
• Acted as a tester.
• Provide Playtesting feedback.
• Test that localization was correctly implemented.
• Make sure the app is ready for shipping goals.
Match-three puzzle game for IOS. This title relied on characters and their traits as the focus of the puzzle.
Duties:
• Acted as a tester.
• Provide Playtesting feedback.
• Test that localization was correctly implemented.
• Make sure the app is ready for shipping goals.
DoeDoe
IOS Game QA
Bio on companies and role on work.
DOEDOE was a very small team that later went on to form Villain. Due to our size, we all did multiple roles. In addition to level design, I acted as a tester to make sure the title was as polished as possible.
A satirical puzzle game where Uncle Sam spews out money and you have to get it to the fat cat CEOs.
Duties:
• Acted as a tester.
• Provide Playtesting feedback.
• Test that localization was correctly implemented.
• Make sure the app is ready for shipping goals.
Nori & The Curry Caper
PC Dev & QA
Nori and the Curry Caper was my senior project at SIUE and I handled the entire development of the game. Since I was the sole developer I also was in charge of handling QA through the development of the project all the way to its release.
I managed bugs with notes in my code as well as through a spreadsheet. In addition to testing the game, I needed to perform unit testing in my code to ensure bugs were resolved.
Duties:
• Acted as a tester.
• Test code and resolve bugs.
• Provide Playtesting feedback.
• Gather Playtesting feedback from volunteers.
• Make sure the app is ready for shipping goals.
SIUE URCA
Educational Application
This program was the result of a student-funded project I was awarded by SIUE. For the project, I was to develop a teaching tool based on a dice game created by Barb Nwacha. I was the sole developer which required me to also handle all QA-related tasks.
I managed bugs with notes in my code as well as through a spreadsheet. In addition to testing the game, I needed to perform unit testing in my code to ensure bugs were resolved. I also managed UX and bug testing with volunteers.
• Acted as a tester.
• Test code and resolve bugs.
• Provide Playtesting feedback.
• Gather Playtesting feedback from volunteers.
• Assess changes from UX research.
• Make sure the app is ready for shipping goals.