Compliance testing
Description
Testing to ensure that the game meets the requirements of e.g. game platform holders. Typically based on platform holder's checklists / guidelines.Noob
Description
Short for newbie, new inexperience player.MAU
Description
Engagement metric, Monthly active users.
Use
Monetization termFirst person shooter
Description
Shooting game seen from first person view.ROAS
Description
Return On Advertising Spend, calculated by divided revenue by advertising costs.Regression testing
Description
Retesting unchanged part of the game to ensure functionally still work after changing or building new parts of the game.RPR
Description
Repeat Purchase Rate = Purchases from existing customers / total purchases
Use
Monetization termPCG
Description
Procedural content generation. Content like levels or game assets are made algorithmically, making the precise outcome unpredictable for or adaptive to the player.Code Freeze
Description
New development is stopped and only bugs are fixed. The focus is on making the game ready to ship.Retention rate
Description
Measure for number of user that keep playing the game with a set timeframe; D1 after a day, D7 after a week, D30 after a month
Use
Monetization termMUD
Description
Multi user dungeonMMO
Description
Massively multiplayer online game, a video game that can be played by many people simultaneouslySoak testing
Description
Leaving a game running for an extended period without any user interaction in the various modes. Objective to find memory leaks and errors that manifest over time.
Use
Monetization termAlpha
Description
Key gameplay is implemented in the game and the game is playableIPMs
Description
Installs per Mille. It is a metric that is used to track the number of app installs per thousand ad impressions.
Use
Monetization termIAP
Description
In-app purchases
Use
Monetization termPre-production
Description
Idea and concept phase of the developmentEaster egg
Description
Hidden jokes, references or itemsCasual
Description
games designed to appeal to a larger audience. Typically simpler gameplay and shorter play sessionsTurn base
Description
Game where player play one after another. Usually time based.First playable
Description
First version of a game that has the essential game play featuresSmoke testing
Description
Fast, shallow test i.e. playing through a level to see it can be completed and that there are no obvious bug/issues
Use
TestingBug
Description
Error or flaw in the gameDAU
Description
Engagement metric, Daily active usersTest case
Description
Description of a test. A set of action, input and the desired outcome
Use
TestingAffect modeling
Description
Creating a computational model of affect; affect is the experience of an emotion
Use
Player ExperienceCPI rate
Description
Cost per installs
Use
Monetization termBug fix
Description
Correction of a bug, flaw in the gamePorting
Description
Converting a game to run on a different platform than it was originally made for.CVR
Description
Conversion Rate = (Total number of initial event in the app / total number of desired event conversions) x 100
Use
Monetization termNerf
Description
Change that reduces the effectiveness or desirability of an game element. opposite of buffPTR / Public Test Realm or region
Description
Beta testing service open to a large number of player to test new features. Separate part of the game/ specific test serversCustomer Lifetime Value
Description
Average revenue per user X average customer lifespan
Use
Monetization term
ARPPU
Description
Average Revenue Per Paying User
Use
Monetization termARPDAU
Description
Average Revenue Per Daily Active User
Use
Monetization termARPU
Description
Average revenue per UserLoad testing
Description
Testing the limits of a system.
Use
TestingBuff
Description
Adjustment where a game element is increased in power. Opposite of nerfHeadless client
Description
A version of the game that can run without graphic used for running fast simulation of a game.Theory of flow
Description
A theory from psychologist Csíkszentmihályi that views flow as the state of happiness. When in "flow" a person is fully immersed (aka in the zone).
Use
Game Design, Player experienceGame design document
Description
A structured document describing the game design used as a reference point for developmentSpeed Run
Description
A speed run is a play-through, or a recording thereof, of a whole video game or a selected part of it (such as a single level), performed with the intention of completing it as fast as possible.Real time strategy
Description
A genre of strategy games in real-time in contrast to turn-based strategy games. Example: StarCraftRoguelike
Description
A dungeon crawler with procedurally generated levelsMMORPG
Description
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game Negative test
Description
Testing with invalid input data / abnormal behavior.
Use
TestingPositive test
Description
Testing with valid input data / normal behavior.Compatibility testing
Description
Testing on different hardware and software to see if the game acts the same in different configurations.Functionally testing
Description
Testing if the game plays as intended. Regular game testing, regression testing, smoke testing, acceptance testing.
Use
TestingBeta testing
Description
Testing in the first 'publically' available version with players.Ad hoc testing
Description
Testing (exploratory) without a define plan or documentation, meaningful if the tester already has a good understanding of the game.
Use
TestingLocalization testing
Description
Test focused on ensuring the quality of localization / translation.
Use
Testing
AAA or triple A
Description
Term used for large scale game studios, no fixed definition sometime it refers to the size of the company, or the scale of the productions, marketing budgets or game type.Code release
Description
Stage where most bugs are fixed an the game is ready for release or submission to platform holderAgent
Description
Someone or something that acts. In a game context, this is either a human or an AI agent, that for example plays a game of builds levels.Multiplayer testing
Description
Testing with multiple player to investigate issue that may occur when multiple players are playing.
Use
TestingSim
Description
Simulation game.Release candidate
Description
Version of the game ready for shipping.AI-assisted game design
Description
Using AI for assisting the game design process.
Use
Game DesignUA
Description
User acquisition, getting new playing into the game.Game feel
Description
The tactile sensation experienced when interacting with a gameGameplay
Description
The implementation of the rules and features of the game.Exploratory testing
Description
Testing without a set plan of actions, without a formal test plan.
Use
TestingCrunch time
Description
Working overtime to make the game ready for release.