First of all, it’s important to define the two terms to avoid any confusion: User Testing looks at player motivation and the overall player experience, whereas Bug Testing tests whether the game is playable or broken in certain aspects.

Fundamentals of Testing

• Give the game to someone and watch them play
  • Don’t speak, only write
• If you find yourself talking to justify something that means you should prioritise fixing it
• Games cannot be played wrong but they can be made wrong

Bug Test Report

Below is an example bug test report made on a game jam project from last years global game jam. The chosen game was Bonzo’s Aftermatch.

Summary line/bug description	Player can phase through walls
Background details	Browser: Google Chrome Controls: Z & X / C & V Platform: PC (ASUS ZenBook laptop)
Steps to reproduce	Walk or jump over specific platform in first level.
Actual vs expected result	Player should walk over platform without falling or going through it.
Other relevant info	Unknown if this is a desigin choice.

This game had lots of other issues including the “press any key to start” instruction at the beginning the game did not work – the only key that started the game was “Z”, the game also stated there were P2 controls that did not work, and that dying meant you were taken back to the main menu rather than respawning at the start of the level.