Category Archives: Games QA Tester

Train2Game News: Paradox Interactive announce A Game of Dwarves closed beta

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Paradox Interactive will be holding a closed beta for their upcoming strategy and management title A Game of Dwarves, and you can apply to be a part of it.

In  AGame of Dwarves, players build, dig and conduct research in a randomly generated dwavern settlement, as you build your dwarves up from being poor and weak to master craftsmen,all the while defending yourself against various enemies.

To apply to take part in the Game of Dwarves closed beta, simply visit Paradox Interactive’s signup page and enter all of the required details.  It could provide a great opportunity for Train2Game QA Testers to use their skills.

The beta scheduled to begin on Friday 13th July, with the selected applicants receiving more information nearer the time. A Game of Dwarves is pencilled in for release towards the end of the year.

Get a taste of A Game of Dwarves in the trailer below, here on The Train2Game Blog.

There’s more  beta testing news, and information on how it’s useful for developers and Train2Game students, here on The Train2Game Blog. And be sure to keep reading for the latest news from Paradox Interactive.

Will you apply to take part in the A Game of Dwarves beta? What are your initial thoughts on the game?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or here on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: Guild Wars 2 holding server stress test next week

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ArenaNet are holding a short beta test for Guild Wars 2 next week, as the MMO gears up for launch later this year.

The server stress test will take place on Wednesday 27th June from 6pm through to 10pm and is accessible for anyone who’s previously taken part in a Guild Wars 2 beta test.

Developers ArenaNet recently discussed the importance of testing in determining how fun their MMO sequel is.

There’s more beta testing news, and information on how it’s useful for developers and Train2Game students, here on The Train2Game Blog.  There’s more on Guild Wars 2 from ArenaNet and NCsoft  here

Will you be taking part in the Guild Wars 2 stress test? How important is this process in the development of MMOs?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum,

Train2Game News: The Secret World holding open beta this weekend

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The Secret World, the upcoming MMO based in a modern day setting is holding an open beta this weekend, which means you can get involved!

Funcom’s MMORPG sees players join one of three secret societies – the Illuminati, the Dragon or the Templars – as each faction battles for world domination, and you’ll be able to test it out for yourself from Friday 22nd June through to Monday 25th June.  You can sign up take part in The Secret World open beta here.

“This marks the first public opening of the massive, persistent player vs. player war zone where over two hundred players clash in adrenaline-fuelled battles for power and world domination! Stonehenge and Eldorado are also opening up, allowing smaller groups of players to fight for control over the power held within these legendary locations.” reads the announcement from Funcom.

“This is the final Beta Weekend before launch on July 3rd and we are ending with a bang. Everyone who has ever registered for The Secret World beta will get access to this final Beta Weekend. This is also true for anyone who has not registered yet but still registers by Friday, June 22nd.” they add.

There’s more beta testing news, and information on how it’s useful for developers and Train2Game students, here on The Train2Game Blog. There’s more about The Secret World here.

Will you be taking part in The Secret World open beta? Have you been part of one of the closed tests?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: ArenaNet on the importance of testing in making Guild Wars 2 fun

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QA testing and beta tests are hugely important when it comes to designing Guild Wars 2 to be as fun as possible.  That’s according to a huge blog post by ArenaNet, which discusses how they’re determining what will make their upcoming MMO – which isn’t based on a subscription model – successful and fun.

“When looking at content design for Guild Wars 2, we’ve tried to ask the question: What if the development of the game was based on…wait for it…fun?” writes Guild Wars 2 lead content designer Colin Johanson, in a highly informative piece.

He says QA Testers play a large role in development at ArenaNet.

“We ask our QA team to ask this question when they test everything that goes into the game. When they play an event, they don’t just file bugs, they write suggestions and ideas for how to make it better.

“I’ve never heard of a game company where the QA team is so integrated into the development process, where they can enact and impact change on a daily basis in the game. They aren’t just testers, they are developers who help make every part of the game better” said Johanson, adding that many Guild Wars 2 designers started in QA.

“As a result of allowing our QA team to be so involved in the development process, it helps us find people with amazing minds for design based on their feedback and suggestions. Many of our current content designers on GW2 originally started their careers in our QA department” he said.

The Guild Wars 2 lead content designer also discusses how important beta tests and player feedback are to development.

“We added surveys to the game that occur after you finish story steps, renown regions, events, and dungeons. Each of these asks players a few simple questions, but the most important question we always ask? “On a scale of 1 to 5, how much fun was what you just did?”

“From this, we print out giant reports of survey information, then meet as subteams and target the content that isn’t scoring well on “the fun factor” before brainstorming, together, on how to make that content more fun and exciting.”

There’s much, much more on how ArenaNet judge fun when designing Guild Wars 2 in the blog post, which should make interesting reading for anyone on a Train2Game course.

There’s more on Guild Wars 2 here on The Train2Game Blog.

What are your thoughts on how ArenaNet determine what’s fun? Is the fact that a number of their QA Testers have moved into design roles encouraging for you?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: Phantasy Star Online 2 open beta begins this week

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Phantasy Star Online 2 enters open beta this week, and you can get involved.  You can sign up to take part in the beta test by downloading the game here.

Those taking part in the Phantasy Star Online 2 open beta, which begins on Thursday 21st June, will be able to reach Level 30 as the game is tested before its planned full release as a free-to-play title this summer on PC, PlayStation Vita and smartphones.

41,500 players took part in a test of SEGAs MMO last weekend producer Satoshi Sakai revealed, say Siliconera.

There’s more beta testing news, and information on how it’s useful for developers and Train2Game students, here on The Train2Game Blog.

Will you sign up to take part in the Phantasy Star Online 2 beta? Were you a fan of the original?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: Register to take part in Paradox Interactive’s War of the Roses Alpha now

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Paradox Interactive are accepting sign-ups to join their War of the Roses Alpha, but hurry, because the short registration window closes this afternoon!

The open sign-up means anyone who manages to register will get to play the Alpha.

The publisher is looking for extra people to help test their upcoming medieval combat title, based during the 15th century wars between York and Lancaster that ultimately led to Henry VII becoming King of England.

Sign up to take part in the War of the Roses Alpha here.

There’s beta testing news, and information on how it’s useful for developers and Train2Game students, here on The Train2Game Blog. And be sure to keep reading for the latest news from Paradox Interactive.

Will you sign up to take part in the War of the Roses Alpha?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: The Secret World beta test takes place this weekend

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The Secret World enters its third beta test this weekend, and there’s still time for Train2Game students to register to take part.

Funcom’s MMO is based in a modern day setting, and sees players join one of three secret societies – the Illuminati, the Dragon or the Templars – as each faction battles for world domination.  To register for a chance to take part to the upcoming beta weekend, visit http://www.thesecretworld.com/

The third beta test weekend will open up a region known as The Savage Coast, along with two dungeons The Polaris and Hell Rising, as Funcom look to gain feedback from beta testers.

“We are very encouraged by both the numbers of beta registrations and the positive feedback we are getting from our testers,” said Funcom CEO Trond Arne Aas.

“The fact that so many gamers want to play ‘The Secret World’ combined with the high purchase intent among testers is something we consider a very positive indicator.”

There’s more beta testing news, and information on how it’s useful for developers and Train2Game students, here on The Train2Game Blog.

What are your thoughts on The Secret World? Have you taken part in any previous beta tests? Will you be taking part this weekend?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: BioWare product manager and former QA Tester on getting into the industry

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Getting a foot in the door is the most important thing  for those looking to get into the games industry. That’s according to BioWare product manager Nick Clifford, who started with the Mass Effect and Dragon Age developer as a QA Tester before moving into his current role.

“I started in the industry as a QA tester. I spent about a year testing games before I made the jump to marketing. You have to get your foot in the door, whether it’s testing or by making connections with people.” Clifford told the BioWare Blog, before adding that no matter if you’re a game designer, a game artist or something else, having a portfolio is also key.

“If you have a trade such as writing, do some fan fiction, if you are an artist, draw! The way to get noticed is to show off your skills. We are always looking for talented people to join the BioWare family.” he said.

Of course, Train2Game offers a potential foot in the door for students with the work placement scheme.

There’s much more advice from games professionals on getting into the industry here on The Train2Game Blog.

What are your thoughts on the advice from BioWare’s Nick Clifford?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: American McGee’s BigHead BASH enters open beta

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BigHead BASH, a free-to-play multiplayer game from Spicy Horse and American McGee has entered open beta.

Train2Game students may know American McGee as the creator of the Alice and Alice: Madness Returns, as well as working as a game designer for classic titles including Quake and Doom.

BigHead Bash is described as “a fast-paced, multiplayer online action game with console-quality graphics using licensed content. Among the content licensed includes bands, brands, comics, and games.”

“BigHead BASH is designed to bridge the gap between social-online and hardcore action games – targeting the magical ‘mid-core’,” said McGee

“Set in a toy shop, the game offers up an impressive collection of virtual toys and weapons for players to collect and fight.” he added.

You can sign up to take part in the BigHead Bash open beta here. The trailer is below.

There’s more beta testing news, and information on how it’s useful to developers andTrain2Game students, here on The Train2Game Blog.

What are your initial thoughts about American McGee’s BigHead Bash? Will you take part in the open beta?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: Guild Wars 2 beta tests taken “very seriously in terms of development strategy”

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Beta tests are very important when it comes to deciding development strategy for Guild Wars 2. So says ArenaNet lead producer Chris Whiteside on the announcement of a second beta test weekend for the upcoming MMO.

Guild Wars 2 beta weekend 2 takes place from Friday 8th June to Sunday 10th June for those who’ve pre-ordered the game.

“Your participation is even more important when you consider that we take our beta events very seriously in terms of our development strategy.” wrote Whiteside on the ArenaNet blog announcement, detailing the ways it helps game development.

“At ArenaNet, “beta event” means exactly that—it’s a development-centric event in which we test our systems, discover new and exciting bugs, and get pivotal feedback from our testers about what is going in the right direction and what isn’t.” he continued.

“We have listened intently to all of your feedback from our first Beta Weekend Event, and we’ve made great strides toward resolving many of the issues you’ve helped us identify. These include party movement into overflow servers, chat functionality, key bindings, server stability, performance, and many more that we will detail in the near future.” added the Guild Wars 2 lead producer.

There’s more about the next Guild Wars 2 beta event over on the ArenaNet blog.

There’s more beta testing news, and information on how it’s useful to developers and Train2Game students, here on The Train2Game Blog.

What are your thoughts on ArenaNet’s view on beta testing? Will you be taking part in the Guild Wars 2 beta weekend?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.