Tag Archives: playtesting
“Smart” App Controls
As a heads up to fellow devs, today is the second time a player on Steam has sent me this concern after a game update: “An Application Control policy has blocked this file.” I have a hard time figuring out exactly what triggered their “smart” app controls, but this work around took care of it […]
Livestreaming Your Way to a Better Game, Part 1
For years we developers had it drummed into our heads to never allow public scrutiny of a game until it was ready for prime time. The (warranted) fear is that negative previews can haunt a game long after it launches, no matter how good it becomes. Livestreaming has a similar dictum – if you want […]
Bug Hunting Baby
When I cry, there can be any of a myriad number of reasons – pain, sadness, lag, death of a character, rolling too many fumbles, existential angst, lack of coffee, existential lack of coffee, etc. – but our daughter is much more of a stoic than am I. When she cries, there is one of […]
FSNA Bug Hunting
One of my personal GDC highlights was meeting with the Fading Suns: Noble Armada programmer and getting the latest build of the game working on my new iPad. Now the playtesting starts in earnest. Playtesting, also known as Quality Assurance (QA) and bug hunting, gives people the idea that all we do is sit around […]