Paul James, Games Testing

Why Games Testing?

You may have a project where every part of development has combined to create something wonderful but until you get your game out into the world, you will not truly know how well it will withstand the various approaches players take while playing it. I often hear developers state that they are ‘too close to the game now’ and need some fresh perspective and feedback when testing and developing their game. This is where I come in.

About Me

I’m Paul James, and I am a multi-credited, part-time games tester based in the UK.

I’ve been play-testing, bug-testing and contributing to projects since 2021 and have since gone on to become an integral part of over 30 projects spanning multiple platforms(with more on the way), with many happy collaborations and testimonials to back this up.

I’ve also played games for fun for nearly 40 years and I’m confident in saying I know what makes a great game, and I know the difference between the ones that are good and great. I know what works and what doesn’t. I also know when things need to be shaken up and a new approach taken so that a game isn’t like everything else. There’s a balance between creating something that people expect, and wanting to push the boundaries of a genre and offering something new.

I enjoy what I do. Testing games is not glamorous; trust me, I know! Spending hours and hours chasing that one game-breaking bug can be difficult but when I do catch it, it is incredibly satisfying and even more importantly, you have one less bug to worry about!

It doesn’t matter if the game is a solo project or part of a bigger team, my approach to testing your game remains the same: thorough, honest and detailed. I don’t promise to find all the issues but I do promise that I will always do my very best to help contribute to the final development of your game. I understand there are people working very hard to create something they care about, and that is the same way I approach testing.

How do I test:

My normal process is to play the game once, with no understanding of what it is about or what I will expect. It’ll be a completely fresh experience.

During this first run, I’ll note anything like:

• potential grammatical changes;
• mechanics that appear to be broken;
• audio issues;
• areas for signposting;
• user experience (think is this fun, boring, not quite grabbing my attention, etc. and why);
• does the story make sense;
• is the difficulty too hard, easy, balanced;
• anything else that may occur during this first run.

From this, you’ll receive detailed and written feedback on anything I find or is worth noting; all contained within a simple format so you can easily work through each point. Suggestions are usually offered and no offence is taken, if ignored. It is your game after all.

I also record what I play, making sure that clips are available to demonstrate what I’m describing, as this is often easier to show as an example, or to compliment the written feedback.

On a second playthrough, if needed, I’ll then try and do anything I shouldn’t be able to do, now knowing what the game involves. This will usually be a far more in-depth but ultimately more rewarding test as the more unexpected or unusual bugs tend to appear here. This is when I go and try to purposely break the game.

A third playthrough usually means testing that the fixes made are working correctly and that they haven’t broken something else in the game that was previously working. This isn’t always needed, but I would expect to know the game very well by this point and the speed at which these can be covered is much quicker (the caveat here being the type of game being tested and how long it’ll take to reach that particular point).

That’s my general approach if no direction is given but I can work in whatever way suits us best. Outside of this, if you have something specific in mind, I will concentrate on that.

So, if this is of interest, I’d be very happy to hear from you. Let me know what you need and I’ll get back to you with a quote.

Testimonials

“I highly recommend you do whatever you can to have Paul playtest your game. If you are reading this testimonial, stop, heed my advice, and welcome him on board.” — Tonda Ros, Architect of Blue Prince

“Paul is personable and highly professional. His help in testing Cryptmaster was thorough and hugely useful, leading to a number of changes which greatly improved the game. I would recommend him without hesitation to anyone seeking a thoughtful, diligent and insightful playtest of their game.” — Lee Williams, Co-creator of Cryptmaster.

“Paul’s contribution to the beta testing of Darklight was truly outstanding. His commitment, attention to detail, and thoroughness in providing feedback were instrumental in refining the game to perfection. Not only did he meticulously identify and report bugs, but he also offered valuable insights on gameplay mechanics and contributed ideas to our achievement system that made it to the final version of the game. Paul’s dedication and expertise made him an invaluable asset to our team. His friendly demeanor and collaborative approach made working with him a pleasure. I have no doubt that I will be reaching out to Paul again in the future for testing our upcoming projects. Thank you, Paul, for your exceptional work on Darklight!” — Kevin Wickenden, polytely games.