Contribution Period: Feb – May 2020
Platforms: PC & Switch
Game Engine: Unity
Roles: QA Specialist
Responsibilities:
- Functional testing of releases in builds (PC & Switch) and in engine
- Documentation and evaluation of bugs
- Evaluation of patches and release candidates
Broken Lines is a turn based tactical RPG set in an alternative version of WWII. Players can gain and lose members of their squad, and narrative decisions taken on their path will impact both the overall story, as well as the members’ lifes.
The most critical bug I found was a saving related issue that occurred when a player reloaded a check point after having made a narrative choice. This would soft lock the player fully out of progressing the campaign.
I found this bug while I was tasked to confirm the function of all narrative paths (path coverage task). However, going beyond the test case, I became curious how saving and loading interacted with the narrative choice system – ultimately leading to me discovering this critical bug.
The release of a patch was delayed because of it, the issue could be fixed, and a stable candidate released to the public.
What I Learned
Portaplay used their own custom ticketing system, which was interesting to explore and dig around in. This was also the first time that I filed bugs in an official capacity at a company and that I used Unity on a professionally developed project.