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Video Game Tester Career - 4 Kind of Bugs, What Are They?

By: Michel Gerard Click author's name for more of his/her articles

Game players do not want to see the game they have just purchased with so many bugs that it makes impossible for them to use the product in a normal way. In this scenario, many bugs could be considered as a production defect and the newly launched game would have to be recalled just like a faulty electric device.

In order to prevent this unfortunate event, game companies have lots of Quality Control and Beta game tester people to identify and note all bugs that should be fixed. Ideally, all bugs should be corrected, but it is not always the case as game companies have to meet deadlines for the release in the market of their products.

It would be economically impossible to fix everything and testers have to know what minor or major bugs are in order to classify them and prioritize what is necessary to fix. For that reason, computer bugs have been grouped in four categories, which are: the A bug, the B bug, the C bug and the D bug.

The A bug is the worst of all and has to be imperatively corrected before the game is released. Ignoring the problem would be the death of the new released game and a huge financial fiasco for the video game company. What is considered as a A bug? A game with a computer virus or that crashes for no reason will be first in the A bug group. A game with spelling mistakes, graphical or audio problem, or a non-working feature would follow.

The B bug is the second most important problem that can be found in a new game. The group of knowledgeable programmers working on the game may meet to discuss the possibility to fix the problem, see if it is worth their time and fit in the budget, or decide to let it go. If the bug does not break the gamer's pleasure to play, and has only minor graphical or audio problems not compromising the overall of the game, the flaw may be left untouched.

The C bug is a slight issue in the coding of the game that would be a plus to correct. If the bug is a breeze to eliminate, it is reasonable to think that it will be done. If it is challenging and requires too much time to fix, the issue will not be addressed depending on the game producer's decision. The game tester may feel that the bug he has identified should be fixed, but economic constraints decide otherwise.

The D bug is more a feature request than a bug in itself, and would be a nice addition to the video game. If the report of such a bug was made well in advance in the testing process, it will be possible to add the feature. If it was reported close to the launch date of the newly created game, it will not be added.

Article Source: ABC Article Directory

About The Author: Michel Gerard is a freelance author based in Asia. His expertise is wide and varied in a number of topics. Visit the Video Game Tester website and learn how to become a game tester => www.videogametestercareer.net