How to test your Game of Thrones app?

When #winteriscoming and everything is going to be covered with snow, the best thing to do is to enjoy your favorite TV series and to play some of your favorite Game of Thrones apps. Most of the fans are eagerly awaiting the next season, so they need something to keep them occupied during this downtime. Don’t waste anymore time twiddling your thumbs and miss a perfectly good opportunity. Start developing and testing your own Game of Thrones app. We will not make any spoilers about future episodes, but we will help you understand what you need to consider when testing your perfect Game of Thrones app.

Existing Top Game of Throne (GoT) apps

We’ve scoured the Internet to uncover the most popular GoT apps in order for you to understand what types of apps most users are attracted to and why.

Game of Thrones Guide

This is the only official Game of Thrones app. It is an encyclopedia that leads you through all the Houses of the Seven Kingdoms, and provides information about the characters, battles and events. The app contains a detailed bio of each main and secondary character, and gives you the full idea behind George Martin’s books.
Getting lost or confused in a fictional world can be quite easy. The interactive maps help guide you through the Game of Thrones world and track the character’s geographical movements. The app also has spoiler protection. Simply adding the books that you have already read is enough for the app to withhold information about the characters from the undiscovered books.

Created for iOS and Android

Winter is coming

“Winter is coming” is the most recently developed app that collects all the latest news about the upcoming series, rumours about characters, staff and fanfics. The main advantage of the app is that its users don’t need to look through the internet in its entirety to find some interesting info. It is a centralized place where all the news about the Game of Thrones is available.

Created for iOS and Android

Trivia for Game of Thrones

This quiz app is a great way to test how deep your knowledge of the Games of Thrones series and books really is. Users of the app can have a lot of fun playing with their friends and competing against each other. Users have to answer questions related to different houses, characters and events.

Created for iOS and Android

GoT Quotes

This app offers a set of quotes from all the Game of Thrones seasons. The app can help you add a little North or South dialect into your speech, while simply adding a lot of fun into your life. It can be useful for those who are fond of the series, but don’t know all the episodes by heart yet. If you want to surprise your friends, colleagues or family members with some fun quotes from their favorite character , you should install this app on your device.

Created for Android and iOS

Thrones Amino for Ice and Fire

The app is a kind of social network created especially for GoT fans. Its users are able to make friends with other fans, send them direct messages and share interesting info and pictures related to the Game of Thrones. The games allow users to discover new things and get acquainted with multiple reviews, news and fanfics.
Furthermore, fans can vote for their favorite characters, cosplay, etc.

Created for Android and iOS

Game of Thrones Ascent

This mobile app is a bit of a strategy game. The game’s plot is based on the books and film series. A user is able to select a Kingdom and join one of the main characters to enjoy cool adventures together. The app provides an opportunity for its users to actually take part in the battle for the Iron Throne in hopes of becoming the lord of the Seven Kingdoms.

Created for iOS

App testing approaches: What to pay attention to when testing your Game of Thrones app

Once you have decided what kind of GoT app you would like to develop, it is immediately time to think about the testing process. It is important to remember that the process for testing game apps is a bit different from the testing of regular mobile apps. The game should be always tested from at least two different angles – from the developer’s point – white box testing, and from the point of the end user – black box testing.

For example, it is considered black box testing If the tester is unaware of the numerous schemes that are unfolding in Westeros and is playing without a clear understanding of what’s going on in the Seven Kingdoms. This is a testing method when the tester doesn’t know what is inside the box. They don’t care how the back-end system works and how it communicates with the front end and user interface. The testers are mainly focused on what impression the end-user will get from the game. This includes

• UI and UX testing;
• checking how smooth the user experience is;
• functional testing;
• performance testing;
• highlighting points that can be improved; and
• checking menus, game elements; etc.

If your ‘little birds are everywhere’ and you know every step, this is white box testing: an approach when a developer or other software specialists are aware of the system architecture and integration between the server and the client-side. White box testing is concentrated on

• component integration;
• a smooth operation of the databases;
• graphic and other engines; as well as
• third party elements / entities.

Profound GoT app testing includes testing using both approaches as they are strongly connected to each other.

Testing in detail

At Ubertesters we have vast experience in testing mobile game apps, so we’ve collected some additional hints that should help you better organize the testing process of your Game of Throne app and define what should be checked by the chosen type of testing.

– Functional testing

This is the essential part of any mobile app testing. All the features should be covered with the test cases and checked carefully by the QA team or crowd testers. Test how the features are integrated and verify that the app’s behavior is correct.

| There are several aspects that should be tested:

• app features,
• screen orientation,
• screen size,
• user interface, and
• responsiveness.

How does the game work with different screen orientations? If your mobile app is accessible for both, vertical and horizontal orientation, make sure the game, when being played,is not interrupted when the screen orientation is changed. If the app is supposed to be played in one orientation only, then test the presence of proper notifications that inform users about this. Consider the fact that not all of the users will play the game using on the latest smartphones with high resolution displays. Test the game on different devices. If you are lacking devices, do not worry – we can help you arrange testing sessions with multiple devices all over the world. Just leave us a message at our website. The UI elements should work without issues and allow a user to navigate through the app without reading long tutorials.
This brings us to one more point that should be emphasized.

– User interface and user experience testing

The users want to play interesting mobile games. But what is even more important – the mobile game should attract the end-user with its appearance. Check that the user interface is clear and intuitive. Navigating through the app should be a breeze. Make sure the menus are organized in a convenient and logic way. If you involve the team of beta-testers or crowd testers, ask them to act exactly like end-users and report what can be improved or simplified. This will greatly increase the possibility of creating a popular mobile Game of Thrones app.

| The principles that should be verified include the following:

• A clear interface,
• simplistic menus,
• intuitive navigation, and
• a smooth general flow.

– Performance testing

The thing that really matters when testing a game app is determining if it gives a good first impression or not. There is a lot riding on this, as a user, from the very first attempt at playing the game, will decide to either buy the GoT app or use the trial version only. That is why we recommend paying close attention to performance testing when testing a game app and its features.
The graphical elements are yet another essential aspect of a game app. They may be displayed in different ways on different devices, and that is why it is strongly recommended to use real devices instead of simulators. Testing on older devices is no less important than testing on flagship devices, as this will increase the target group. Ask your testers to pass all the game levels and modes to make sure the app works smoothly.
One more important factor is battery consumption. Test that your app doesn’t consume too much battery as it can be the crucial factor when considering it. Load and stress testing should be considered as well, as they are performed to prove the app’s reliability and stability. Check the re-occurring events in the background – interruptions, battery consumption, and how various levels of battery life affects the overall performance and usage. These all have a significant impact on the user experience, and together aid in the creation of good, wholesome entertainment.

– Localisation testing

Language means a lot in mobile game apps. Of course, you can choose High Valyrian or the Common tongue for the app’s user interface, but if you are targeting international users, than it is recommended to translate your app into several widespread languages.
Test the app on multiple devices and check how the app interacts with the device’s native language or the language of third-party apps. As localisation testing is not limited to the text translation, make sure all the locale-specific symbols, date and time formats, as well as phone numbers, are adopted.

– Security testing

Open source libraries and solutions simplify the task of developers and decrease the general scope of work. However, these parts of the code should be tested twice to exclude any vulnerabilities, possibility of sql injections and other security holes. If your app has in-app payments, make sure the third-party payment processor you’ve chosen is as secure as the Iron bank. The last thing you want is for users’ credit card info to be available for thieves.

How to win the Iron Throne

It’s not enough to have the genius idea on how to create your new GoT app to the Iron Throne and conquer the Seven Kingdoms, your Game of Thrones app should be not only attractive and interesting, but also well developed and tested. Combine both black-box and white-box testing approaches, pay attention to UI/UX and performance testing so that users can enjoy the adventures of their favorite characters without lagging or bugs. Only when the app is tested with real experts on a wide range of devices, geographies and mobile carriers can you guarantee an exciting and ‘worry-free’ experience for the players.

Let the battle begin!