KDU CGT study plan
KDU CGT · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Game Testing Fundamentals and the Software Development Life Cycle
Map each phase of the software development life cycle (concept, pre-production, production, alpha, beta, release, live ops) to the types of testing that occur in that phase.
Distinguish verification from validation and classify ten sample game testing activities under each.
Explain how a game build flows from a developer branch through QA sign-off to a release candidate, and identify where a tester's gate sits.
Define the core testing vocabulary (test case, test suite, regression, smoke test, build, defect, severity versus priority) in your own words with one game example each.
Your checkpoint
A one-page SDLC-to-testing map listing all seven phases with at least two testing activities and one tester gate per phase.
Test Design Techniques and Test Case Creation
Apply equivalence partitioning and boundary value analysis to a game stat or damage formula and write the resulting test cases.
Write decision-table test cases for a multi-condition game rule such as a crafting recipe with level, material, and currency requirements.
Construct a state transition diagram for a player state machine (idle, run, jump, stunned, dead) and derive transition test cases including invalid transitions.
Draft five test cases using a consistent template with preconditions, steps, expected result, and test data.
Your checkpoint
A test case pack of at least fifteen cases covering one mechanic, each tagged with the design technique used to derive it.
Functional Testing of Game Mechanics and Systems
Decompose a game mechanic into its rules, inputs, states, and outputs before designing tests for it.
Test a combat or damage system against its stated formula, including rounding, caps, and edge values.
Test inventory and item systems for stacking limits, slot capacity, duplication exploits, and drop-on-death behavior.
Test progression systems (XP curves, level gates, unlock conditions) at boundary levels and for save-and-reload persistence.
Verify UI and HUD behavior across state changes such as pause, death, and scene transition.
Your checkpoint
A functional test suite for one complete game system, with a traceability table linking each requirement to at least one test case.
Functional Testing of Game Mechanics and Systems & Defect Reporting, Tracking, and Bug Life Cycle
Execute your functional suite from week 3 against a build or a mock and log every discrepancy found.
Write bug reports that a developer can reproduce without asking a question: exact steps, build identifier, environment, frequency, expected versus actual, and attached evidence description.
Assign severity and priority independently and justify three cases where they diverge.
Trace one defect through the full life cycle from new to closed, including reopened and deferred paths.
Your checkpoint
A defect log of at least ten well-formed reports, each with severity, priority, and a stated life-cycle path.
Non-Functional Testing: Performance, Compatibility, and Usability
Define performance acceptance criteria for frame rate, frame time, load time, and memory on a target hardware tier.
Design a performance test that isolates a bottleneck by varying one factor at a time (draw distance, particle count, entity count).
Build a compatibility matrix across platform, OS version, GPU or chipset, input device, and display configuration, and select the highest-risk combinations.
Run a heuristic usability review of a game UI and record findings against a named heuristic set.
Your checkpoint
A non-functional test plan containing a performance criteria table, a compatibility matrix with risk ranking, and ten usability findings.
Platform Certification and Compliance Testing
List the certification requirement categories common to major console platforms (save data handling, user sign-in, controller disconnect, parental controls, network loss) and state the test implication of each.
Write a submission-readiness checklist that a build must pass before a compliance run.
Identify the five most common certification failure causes and describe the test that would catch each.
Explain the difference between a compliance requirement and a platform technical requirement and classify ten sample checks.
Your checkpoint
A certification readiness checklist with at least twenty checks, each mapped to a test case or a manual verification step.
Multiplayer, Network, and Online Service Testing & Test Management, Tools, and Metrics
Test a multiplayer session life cycle: lobby creation, matchmaking, join, host migration or disconnect, and reconnect.
Design network condition tests using latency, packet loss, and jitter profiles, and state the expected game behavior for each.
Test online service dependencies such as authentication, leaderboards, and cloud saves for graceful failure when the service is unavailable.
Select a test management approach and tool set for a small team and define the five metrics you would report weekly (for example defect escape rate, pass rate, open defect trend, test coverage, mean time to fix).
Your checkpoint
A multiplayer and online test plan plus a one-page metrics dashboard mock showing five metrics with their definitions and data sources.
Professional Ethics and Industry Practices & Defect Reporting, Tracking, and Bug Life Cycle & Game Testing Fundamentals and the Software Development Life Cycle
Apply a professional ethics scenario set: handling pressure to pass a failing build, reporting a defect that embarrasses a colleague, protecting player data, and disclosing a conflict of interest.
Review your full defect log from week 4 and rewrite any report that lacks reproducibility or contains blame language.
Take a timed mixed-domain practice set and classify every miss by domain to identify remaining weak areas.
Produce a personal weak-area list with a concrete remediation action for each item.
Your checkpoint
A final review packet containing your ethics scenario responses, revised defect reports, and a scored practice-set analysis with remediation actions.
Milestones
Week 2: You can derive test cases from a rule using at least three named design techniques without a reference sheet.
Week 4: Your defect log passes a self-audit: every report is reproducible from the written steps alone and severity and priority are separately justified.
Week 6: You can explain the purpose of certification testing and name at least fifteen concrete compliance checks from memory.
Week 8: On a timed mixed-domain practice set you score above your target pass mark and every miss is assigned a remediation action.