MO SADEK
Staff Writer
If you’ve been around the gaming scene long enough, you’ve probably come across a few beta codes yourself. If you haven’t, they aren’t so hard to get access to.
Most developers will have giveaways or email entry forms that will put you in a queue to get your own key. In the end, game makers want to give players these keys; they act as a form of free publicity and give developers immediate feedback on how the game is developing and what bugs are present straight from the players.
To start off, betas are just a small step in the rigorous testing that games go through. Games are developed in stages. The first steps are all technical and coding, so we won’t delve into that so much.
The first one that we should focus on is pre-alpha. Since games are developed in stages and sections, this part isolates sections of the game and tests them individually to make sure all the raw components are functioning properly.
After that, the individual components are put together in the alpha phase. While the pre-alpha and alpha phases have traditionally been reserved for in-house testers, nowadays there’s more open access for consumers through services provided by crowdsourcing, pre-ordering and Steam’s Early Access — just to name a few.
After the alpha testing is complete, we get into beta testing, which we’ll delve into shortly. Finally, there are the silver and gold phases, where the game goes through its final touch-ups and fixes and is sent out to be placed on store shelves.
Typically, there are two types of betas — opened and closed. An open beta is available to the public, and you won’t have to request a key. A client is made available for everyone, and you can just download and get started.
Closed betas are made specifically for veterans, early contributors or fans who’ve shown a lot of interest in getting their hands on a copy. Since these are people who intrinsically want the game to be good, developers know that giving them access to an unfinished beta won’t push these folks away despite the bugs and errors they might encounter.
So the good parts about betas are easy to see. As a game developer, you’re getting quality feedback from people other than your employees who want to see the game succeed.However, this really only works with beta periods of a few days or even a week. On the other hand, extended betas are usually more disappointing in the long run.
In a short beta, players aren’t really focusing on what bugs they can find but rather on if they can enjoy the game’s features at that time. Developers are looking more at how the network handles large amounts of traffic in these kinds, as well. A bug in this kind of beta isn’t too big of a deal — you’re only exposed to it for a very short period of time, and it will most likely be fixed in the final version if you report it.
In early access titles and extended betas, the developers include players in the game making process by allowing them to play early builds of the game while it’s being developed. While this is beneficial on some levels, it becomes detrimental if it lasts too long. Instead of having to deal with a problem for a few days, you’ll end up spending time facing them for a while. Eventually, more and more bugs pop up, and the game you were so excited for has so many bugs and glitches it’ll seem like the final copy will never be good.
One game that has had this problem for a while is “DayZ, an Early Access Alpha.” While the game does have a disclaimer, many people buy it early and criticize the game for being horrible. For some of the players who bought it early, this is discerning for them, as it seems the game will never actually be finished. Other players are generally disappointed with the game’s development and vow to never return to the game.
Beta is great for people who are willing to deal with some problems and experience a game before its release, as well as people interested in the software development process. However, if you don’t see yourself as either of those kinds of people, then you’d be better off waiting for a full demo or the finished product, instead.