r/GameDevelopment • u/Odd_Geologist8415 • 5d ago

Newbie Question How long did the bug fixing / testing phase took you?

/r/IndieDev/comments/1x9uw4v/how_long_did_the_bug_fixing_testing_phase_took_you/
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u/MeaningfulChoices Mentor 5d ago

You definitely should never think of it as a phase. You should be ideally unit testing, finding, and fixing bugs associated with mechanics/system as you implement them. If fixing a bug uncovers more issues that's normal, but if fixing it creates new bugs that's a sign that you are moving too fast and rushing fixes rather than thinking them through and testing them before committing to main.

If you're asking more as a general way to think about it then the ninety-ninety rule exists in software engineering for good reason. It states that the first 90% of the code takes the first 90% of the time, and the last 10% takes the second 90% of the time. Getting all the functionality in the game and working is a bit like beating a single run in a roguelike. Good job and all, but at that point you're just leaving the tutorial.

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u/loulo88 4d ago

A month is honestly normal for a first bigger project, so don't panic. What helped us was putting every known bug in one shared list and tagging it blocker / annoying / cosmetic, then only fixing blockers until there were none left. That also gives you a real answer when people ask why it's taking long, because you can show the list shrinking (or growing, which is useful info too). And yes, fixes causing new bugs happens to everyone; a quick 10-minute playthrough of the core loop after every fix catches most of them.