Autonomous Quality

The Skyblivion fan project, a highly ambitious attempt to recreate The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion within The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim's engine, serves as a fascinating case study. Its development is open, transparent, and driven by passionate volunteers. While official remasters and remakes often focus on surface-level enhancements, Skyblivion is a deep dive, rebuilding the game from the ground up. The developers' sentiment, "players will be the true winners," underscores the importance of community-driven QA and the potential for fan-made projects to exceed commercial expectations. This is where Teardown's methodology becomes surprisingly applicable. Imagine approaching a software product or a digital service as a series of interlocking voxels. Each voxel represents a specific function, feature, or user interaction. Just as a Teardown player meticulously dismantles a structure to understand its weaknesses and vulnerabilities, QA professionals can use similar techn...

Take, for example, the hypothetical launch of a "Nintendo Switch 2". It's a guaranteed media frenzy. Rumors will swirl, "leaks" will proliferate, and every gaming forum will be ablaze with speculation. Now, imagine that some of the most ardent fans, particularly those with a deep love for a game like "Cyberpunk 2077," are gearing up to pre-order this new console. Cyberpunk, despite its redemption arc, is still remembered for its disastrous launch. Fans eagerly anticipating the title were promised the moon, only to receive a buggy, unstable product that failed to deliver on its ambitious promises. The connection between this past experience and the upcoming console launch lies in the area of expectation management. Cyberpunk fans, burned by their initial experience, might approach the Nintendo Switch 2 launch with a level of skepticism far exceeding that of the average consumer. They might have learned the hard way that pre-ordering based on promises an...

But what exactly is a Schedule 1 review. For the uninitiated. It's a highly sought-after preliminary glimpse into a game's build. Schedule 1 reviews are performed before general release. The results from these reviews provide invaluable feedback to developers. This feedback can be used to smooth out any remaining kinks. Hoyo. The company that initiated the aforementioned Schedule 1 review. Is a major player in the gaming world. Their decision to showcase a new game was a calculated move. It set a new precedent for quality assurance transparency. Something the market wasn't privy to as much as it would be sooner rather than later. The implications for Elden Ring were immediate. The success of Hoyo's initiative put pressure on FromSoftware. Which is the development team behind Elden Ring. This pressure was largely a result of the fact that FromSoftware would also need to demonstrate an equal commitment to quality and transparency. Cyberpunk. Fresh off a rocky launch. Face...

The global quality assurance industry is a complex web of processes. These processes are intended to catch errors and oversights. Yet, they also serve to refine products and services. Horizon, a prominent organization in the realm of technology, has implemented a system known as the "dead mail review". Puzzle Vistas, another player in the industry, and Dark Legion, perhaps a group focused on user experience, stand to learn valuable lessons from Horizon's efforts. What exactly is a dead mail review? Imagine a scenario where emails sent by a company are undeliverable. They bounce back or never reach their intended recipients. These "dead" emails often contain vital information. The information may include feedback, complaints, or even crucial bugs. A thorough review of these emails can uncover systemic issues. These issues might relate to data collection, customer communication, or product functionality. Here are five ways that Dark Legion can benefit from underst...

The global quality assurance industry is a complex ecosystem. It's where the rubber meets the road for software, games, and countless other products. But what happens when the QA testers themselves are in the dark. When critical information is withheld. Or when the very nature of the product they're testing is shrouded in mystery. Consider the scenario surrounding "Worlds Beyond," a hypothetical ambitious game launch. Imagine "Play," a dedicated QA team tasked with scrutinizing its early access build. They diligently reported bugs, assessed performance, and evaluated the overall player experience. Unbeknownst to them, "Worlds Beyond" had already scheduled a glowing early access review with a prominent gaming publication, intentionally timed to coincide with the initial wave of player impressions. If Play knew about the impending positive review, it could subtly influence their testing. Consciously or unconsciously, there may be a desire to confirm...

This scenario highlights the information asymmetry prevalent in the gaming world. The "Avowed" player, perhaps by choice or circumstance, "Won't know for the time being" about the experiences and evolving narrative of "Star Wars Outlaws", "At the same time as" other players are actively engaging with the demo and full game. This creates a gap, a potential blind spot that impacts how QA teams might approach their work. How so? The QA landscape isn't just about isolated bug hunts. It's about understanding the broader gaming ecosystem. The reception to "Star Wars Outlaws", its successes and failures, the community's reactions, and the gameplay trends it establishes – all of this information, initially unknown to our hypothetical "Avowed" player, becomes crucial data for QA professionals across the industry. Imagine a QA team working on a fantasy RPG. If "Star Wars Outlaws" successfully implements a new t...

Imagine a triple-A title, akin to "Indiana Jones and the Great Circle" (currently in early access on PS5, as a convenient example). A game boasting stunning graphics, immersive narratives, and complex mechanics. QA teams meticulously comb through every inch of the code, hunting for bugs, glitches, and inconsistencies. They strive to create a seamless and enjoyable experience for the player. But could their perspective be inherently limited? Here's where our hypothetical assassin comes in. Picture someone deeply immersed in the world of "Cyberpunk" a universe where technology has redefined human existence. This assassin, through their experiences in that virtual landscape, has developed a unique understanding of game mechanics, exploitable loopholes, and the psychology of player behavior. Standard QA often focuses on isolated bugs. An assassin, however, conditioned by the often-glitchy nature of games like "Cyberpunk," is trained to see how individual ...