Bugs are inevitable in game development, but they can also ruin your players' experience and your reputation. How can you fix them quickly without sacrificing quality? In this article, you'll learn some practical tips and tools to help you streamline your bug fixing process and deliver a better game.
The first step to fix a bug is to find out what causes it. You can use a debugger, a tool that lets you inspect and modify the state of your game code while it runs, to pinpoint the source of the error. Alternatively, you can use logging, a technique that records the events and values of your game code in a file or a console, to track the flow of your game logic and spot any anomalies. You should also use comments, annotations that explain your code to yourself and other developers, to document your assumptions and decisions and make your code easier to understand and debug.
in this case two most powerful tips : Write unit tests , these automated tests ensure that individual components of your code function as intended, catching bugs early in the development process. Colegues code reviews, having other developers review your code can help identify potential issues and improve code quality.
The first step to fix a bug is to find out what causes it. You can use a debugger, a tool that lets you inspect and modify the state of your game code while it runs, to pinpoint the source of the error.
Well, there could be many ways to identify the root cause of the bugs. Yes, debugger helps to go line by line to check where it cause the error. But mostly if you read the console logs, it can give you more better idea to help you with debug the specific section that causing the error. Also adding print statement as well help to see till which line it executed properly and from where it's throwing the error message. There can be many other approach can be adopted depending how efficient way you want to debug it.
The second step to fix a bug is to reproduce it consistently, meaning that you can trigger it under the same conditions every time. This will help you verify that the bug exists, isolate the factors that affect it, and test your solutions. You can use a bug report, a document that describes the bug and how to reproduce it, to communicate the bug details to yourself and other developers. A good bug report should include the steps to reproduce the bug, the expected and actual results, the platform and version of the game, and any relevant screenshots or videos.
The third step to fix a bug is to prioritize it according to its severity, meaning how much it impacts the game functionality and user experience. You can use a bug tracker, a tool that organizes and manages the bug reports, to assign a priority level to each bug and sort them by importance. A common way to classify bugs is by using the following categories: critical, major, minor, and trivial. Critical bugs are those that prevent the game from running or cause data loss or security issues. Major bugs are those that affect the core features or gameplay of the game. Minor bugs are those that cause cosmetic or usability problems. Trivial bugs are those that have no noticeable effect on the game.
The fourth step to fix a bug is to apply the simplest solution, meaning the one that requires the least amount of code changes and has the least side effects. You can use a version control system, a tool that tracks and manages the changes to your game code, to create a branch, a copy of your code, where you can work on the bug fix without affecting the main code. You can also use unit testing, a technique that verifies that each piece of your code works as intended, to ensure that your solution does not introduce new bugs or break existing features.
The fifth step to fix a bug is to review and test the fix, meaning that you check that your solution meets the requirements and standards of your game project. You can use a code review, a process that involves examining and improving your code with the help of other developers, to ensure that your code is clear, consistent, and maintainable. You can also use a playtest, a process that involves playing and evaluating your game with the help of testers, to ensure that your fix works as expected and improves the game quality.
The sixth and final step to fix a bug is to deploy and monitor the fix, meaning that you release the updated version of your game to your players and collect feedback and data. You can use a deployment tool, a tool that automates and simplifies the process of distributing your game to different platforms and channels, to ensure that your fix reaches your target audience. You can also use an analytics tool, a tool that measures and analyzes the behavior and performance of your game and its players, to monitor the impact of your fix on your game metrics and user satisfaction.
It's about the costs-time-quality triangle. In general it could be done quicker by enlarging the costs (e.g. hire more engineers, assign senior engineers instead of juniors).