2016 Reports

Why Are We Permanently Stuck in an Elevator? A Software Engineering Perspective on Game Bugs

Zhang, Iris

In the past decade, the complexity of video games have increased dramatically and so have the complexity of software systems behind them. The difficulty in designing and testing games invariably leads to bugs that manifest themselves across funny video reels on graphical glitches and millions of submitted support tickets. This paper presents an analysis of game developers and their teams who have knowingly released bugs to see what factors may motivate them in doing so. It examines different development environments as well as inquiring into varied types of game platforms and play-style. Above all, it seeks out how established research on software development best practices and challenges should inform understanding of these bugs. These findings may lead to targeted efforts to mitigate some of the factors leading to glitches, tailored to the specific needs of the game development team.