Playtesting
One of the most important parts of early development is testing. Here at AMG we hold weekly playtests on ‘83 which not only allow us to identify issues with new features but also keeps members of the team who may be on other projects up to date with the progress of development. On a playtest day we ask everyone to submit the features they’ve been working on as early as possible during the day, so that our programmers can run an afternoon build. Production then make a list of changes that have occurred since we last tested and create a feedback form relating to the features that have changed. This week, for instance, we were testing new Role Data implementations and also a new neutral test bed map. After the playtest is completed it is production's job to collate the forms and create actionable feedback for our developers.
Development Maps
Another way which we test new features of ‘83 is in maps created specially for the purpose. In the images to the left you can see three such maps. The first image is our physics test bed, this is where we make sure that the ragdoll deaths of the characters are working as intended, helping our animators define any issues and test them without requiring a whole playtest. Our level designers have been making a number of these maps to test all sorts of features; a shooting range to test our weapon accuracy and an obstacle course to test our crouching, prone and vaulting heights. We also have development maps to test art assets, audio and vehicles. We try to keep most of these maps as neutral as possible to enable developers to focus on the feature that they are testing.
Do you want to know more about how we test '83? Ask us in the comments below or reach out on our discord!
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