When a game is getting ready, we send the game to the publisher so they can take a closer look of the game and provide us with their feedback. Roughly 2 to 4 weeks before the Beta milestone date, we start sending the Publisher with the game build twice a week (e.g. every Tuesday and Friday). When the game is Beta, we will send the Publisher with our daily build of the game. Most of the publishers have their own FTP (File Transfer Protocol) site where we can upload the game file over the Internet. You should find out the FTP instructions from the Publisher.

The Publisher sends us their bug reports weekly to almost daily as the game is getting closed to Final. You must be aware that the publisher tests the game remotely, and uses a build that is afew days older than our latest version. We often receive “crack” bugs (i.e. misinterpretation of the feature) or bugs that have already been identified. This is the responsibility of the Test Lead to rectify these defect records before they are reviewed by the game designer or Producer. To facilitate the bug submission by the publisher, the Test Lead will provide with a file exchange format and the PVCS Tracker Defect Reporting template to the publisher so their bug data can be imported to our defect database.

When the game is (or closed to) Final, the game is sent to the game platform manufacturer for testing. The primary focus of testing is on the peripherals and devices (e.g. controller and game pad), the naming convention, standards and the legal text appeared in the NIS or menus. The tester must be familiar with the Technical Requirements for each of the game platform.

Usually there are two kinds of submission to the manufacturer:

The game is sent to the manufacturer (e.g. SONY, Microsoft) so they will briefly look at it and provide us with some feedback. Pre-submission gets us some idea about the readiness of the game. This is sort of an informal review, if we don’t receive any problem, it doesn’t necessarily mean the game is bug free. We often have a couple of pre-submissions for a brand new game (e.g. our first action game of Jackie Chan Stuntmaster),and we may skip the pre-submission for the second generation of a previous game title.

The game is formally reviewed by the manufacturer, usually a team of people is assigned to test the game. The result in the form of a manufacturer bug report is sent tous through the publisher. The submission process takes about a week. A game must meet certain standards and requirements (e.g. no crash bugs, no more than certain number of non-critical bugs identified by the manufacturer) before it is considered “commercial ready” by the manufacturer, and no game can be published without manufacturer’s approval.

There are certain rules that must be followed for the submission procedure, e.g. the use of special CD media, the number of copies, and the game packaging, etc. Please refer to the manufacturer specification for details. The Test Lead must work closely with the Producer, the Publisher and the testing group of the manufacturer for the submission process.

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