The Automated Testing In Games community is dedicated to test automation and quality engineering in the video game industry.
Members are involved in several sessions at GDC this year, which you can find below, along with other automation and automation-adjacent sessions. You’ll need a Festival pass or a Game Changer pass to access these sessions, unless stated.
If you’d like to stay involved with ATIG after GDC, join us here!
Automated Testing Roundtables
Having run for over a decade, these roundtables bring together people of all experience levels and budgets to discuss how they currently, or would like to, use automated testing of any form.
Moderated by ATIG veteran Andrew Fray, People propose questions and we open it up to the room to answer. All experience levels, budgets, genres and platforms are welcome.
We have loose themes for each day, but you may ask questions on any topic.
The roundtables are available to anyone with a Festival Pass or Game Changer Pass.
Day 1: Process
Monday, 4.30-5.30pm
Room 308, South Hall
GDC Agenda
Day 2: Legacy
Wednesday, 1.50-2.50pm
Room 308, South Hall
GDC Agenda
Day 3: Implementation
Friday, 10.50-11.50am
Room 306, South Hall
GDC Agenda
Panel: Test Automation Is an Essential Investment for All
Thursday, 4.30-5.30pm
Room 2010, West Hall
GDC Agenda
If you’re here, you almost certainly already believe that test automation is a useful tool for almost all game projects. This panel is aimed at stakeholders and decision makers who are interested but not yet convinced, or those who need to do that convincing.
Hear from a panel of three automation experts from a range of industry backgrounds across budgets, platforms and genres: Branka Billante (ex-Blizzard), Andrew Fray (Alphabear, Rollerdome), and Henry Golding (Sea of Thieves) will discuss what test automation can do for video game development, the successes they’ve seen across their careers, as well as the mistakes they’ve made.
Other Talks
These are not from members of the ATIG community, but still appear worth your time:
Tools Roundtables
Day 1: Engineering
Monday, 10.30-11.30am
Room 314, South Hall
GDC Agenda
Day 2: Assets
Tuesday, 10.3m-11.30am
Room 314, South Hall
GDC Agenda
Day 3: Build
Friday, 1.30-2.30pm
Room 306, South Hall
GDC Agenda
(Tooling and builds are a huge part of automation, so the tools roundtables are always really valuable)
From The Ground Up: Rethinking Quality In Games
Monday, 10.50-11.50am
Room 2014, West Hall
GDC Agenda
Quality can no longer be just about finding bugs. As games grow larger and systems more complex, the way we think about Quality must shift. In this talk, we will share how teams at Ubisoft are changing the game by blending tech and testing, upskilling roles, and using automation and data to focus on what really matters. Expect real stories, honest lessons, and a clear look at how we are raising the bar for modern Quality teams. If you are wondering what Quality teams should look like today and where it’s headed next, this talk is for you.
WICKED PROBLEMS: Balancing Complex Systems
Thursday, 2.00-5.30pm
Room 3016, West Hall
GDC Agenda
(An all-afternoon workshop, including some elements of automation)
Contemporary game designers often face the challenge of designing large-scale “heterogeneous” systems. In genres like Roguelikes, RPGs, MOBAs, CCGs, and strategy games, there are interacting systems of abilities, skills, equipment, etc. - that create design challenges of nearly infinite complexity. This workshop focuses specifically on concepts and methods for solving these kinds of wicked design problems, using hands-on exercises as the basis for learning and practicing skills. We will look closely at how network effects happen and try out a number of approaches for balancing massively complex problems in a many-to-many character battling game. Along the way, we will discuss and learn about relevant game design concepts like the advantages and disadvantages of automated testing, or how to leverage systems as part of content design. Please come to the session prepared to actively play and participate.