11-05-2012, 12:19 PM
Blackbox and Scenario-Based Testing of Online Games Using Game Description Language
etrij.jun2011.0470.pdf (Size: 1.24 MB / Downloads: 52)
Introduction
A massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) is a
multiplayer video game that can be played via a game server
over the Internet with players from around the world. In an
MMOG, large numbers of players enter a single virtual world
concurrently and interact with each other [1]. World of
Warcraft [2] is the most representative of MMOGs.
MMOGs are deployed using a client-server system
architecture and can actually be run on multiple servers. The
stability and performance of game servers have become major
issues in online games because the servers must be able to
handle and verify a large number of connections.
Scenario and Game Description Language
In our approach, testing is automated by using scenarios. To
generate a heavy load and provide a set of stresses to the game
servers, a plurality of virtual users should be created and
controlled. A large number of virtual users can be generated
with group and action commands being applied to the group of
virtual users at the same time. An example of game testing
scenarios is shown in Fig 1. A script language with simple
control constructs and time constraint constructs is used for
describing test scenarios. So, the testers can minimize the
simple and repetitive work by using script.
Conclusion
In this letter, along with simple load testing, we propose
blackbox and scenario-based testing of online games. In
previous test automation, developers were required to provide
their client code to the game testers because a test client code is
based on a dummy game client code without a GUI. In our
approach, the game logic is described using game description
language and a virtual game map, so the test client code does
not need to be rewritten when a new game is to be tested. The
virtual clients automatically generate a packet load according to
the game description language. Moreover, complex scenarios,
such as iterative attack and looting, party play, and waypoint
movement, can be tested by combining actions. In our system,
the testing unit is scenario-based instead of command script
and we use the game map for intuitive user interface.