Failures in software testing: Epic gaming bugs

Every software testing expert knows about failures in software testing. Or rather, failures that are either detected or missed in software testing. Bugs will always exist and there is no such thing as perfect software. But some bugs are more memorable than others. The eTestware team are as partial to video games as the next person, and gaming has had more than its fair share of epic bugs. Today we list some of our favourites from over the years – enjoy!

Civilisation

1991 saw the release of Sid Meier’s Civilisation, a turn-based strategy 4X computer game. Players had to lead an entire human civilisation over the course of several millennia. They did so by controlling areas such as urban development, government, trade, and military. The player’s civilisation competed with other computer-controlled civilisations. They could choose to enter into diplomatic relationships with them or wage war against them.

The game featured Mahatma Gandhi and a quite spectacular glitch saw him deploying a nuclear arsenal against players! How, you ask? Well, leaders discovering democracy in Civilisation saw their aggression level reduced by 2. Gandhi’s peace rating was so low that an integer overflow glitch saw it change to 255.

Madden NFL 15

Madden NFL 15 is an American football sports game that was published by EA Sports in 2014. Players entering the Ultimate Team mode were treated to a tiny version of 6’2”, 235lbs Line backer Christian Kirksey, courtesy of a unique glitch.

Incredibly, despite his miniscule stature, Madden NFL 15’s Kirksey could successfully tackle runners, block passes and deliver high-fives. Perhaps even more incredibly, EA Sports acknowledged and then embraced the glitch, going so far as to create an advert based on the “Tiny Titan”.

Assassin’s Creed Unity

2014 also saw the release of Assassin’s Creed Unity, from Ubisoft. The game was the eighth one in the Assassin’s Creed series and was set in the French Revolution. Unfortunately, there were more than a few issues during the development of the game. It became widely panned for graphical issues and bugs, leading to Ubisoft issuing an apology and offering players a free story expansion.

Perhaps the most infamous issue was a graphical one that deprived certain characters of their faces. Due to facial textures not loading correctly, some were left with just eyeballs and mouths floating beneath a mane of hair… Nice!

There have been, and always will be, failures in software testing and also in software development. That is a given, but the key is to keep going, to keep on moving forwards. Learning from our mistakes is crucial in all walks of life. So too is having a little bit of fun every now and then!

If you found this article interesting, you may want to read this one too: Software testing failure examples.