Activision Patent Will Make Bug Fixing Even Better | Game Rant
Bug fixing can be one of the most cumbersome processes in video game development, even for a large studio like Activision, with developers generally having to rely on the ability of their play-testers to iron out issues with the game during alpha and beta phases. Oftentimes, bugs can still make their way into a completed game, which can have a huge effect on sales if they are pervasive enough. However, a new patent from Activision could help to simplify the process of bug squashing with a system of programmable controllers.
With Call of Duty Warzone having such massive success, seeing over 100 million concurrent players at any given time, bugs are becoming a larger issue than ever for the company. Backlash over bugs and glitches for a game of Warzone's scale come in the form of waves of criticism from fans and tirades from content creators like Dr Disrespect. Any new technology that could streamline the process of ironing out these issues would likely help Activision to avoid bad press and to ensure that its games maintain a long lifespan.
The patent itself deals with the concept of a system in which controllers can be programmed to recreate certain scenarios created by players during testing. A specific example could be one Warzone's recent slide boost glitch, which players found difficult to replicate, although suspected it was down to certain button presses on parts of the map after collecting in-game dog tags. In this scenario, the controller could signal the exact moment the button press occurs, allowing for the developers to "remedy the exploit," more easily. This is as opposed to the usual process of attempting to recreate the situation manually and figure out the timing of the button press via constant testing or implementation of lengthy coding solutions.
What the patent also aims to do is to have controllers that can be programmed using a microprocessor embedded inside of them, with the potential to synchronize these microprocessors to other systems and allow for inputs to be repeated and altered on the fly across multiple different games and platforms. This could allow for high precision testing of issues involving framerate or network latency problems, whereby the outcome of a player's actions are negatively impacted by microseconds of lag or frame drops. The importance of this sort of testing for esports is mentioned specifically in the patent, with Activision's Call of Duty League likely a priority.
While the concept appears to be in nascent stages, programmable controllers for testing seem like a great way to take some of the guess work out of bug testing. With many glitches in speed runs requiring button inputs during minute windows of time, it seems that a lot of bugs in games could be incredibly difficult to reproduce. This technology could allow developers to instantly recreate an issue as long as it is discovered once, which would have a massive impact on bug fixing and development time, and help to avoid another Cyberpunk 2077 fiasco.
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