sprites active on the screen, or the number of threads running in a particular program. Load testing requires either a large group of testers or software that emulates heavy activity. Load testing also measures the capability of an application to function correctly under load. Multiplayer testing may involve separate multiplayer QA team if the game has significant multiplayer portions. This testing is more common with PC games. The testers ensure that all connectivity methods (modem, LAN, Internet) are working. This allows single player and multiplayer testing to occur in parallel. Player-experience modeling refers to attempts to mathematically model player experience and predict player's preference for or liking of a video game. Console hardware For consoles, the majority of testing is not performed on a normal system or consumer unit. Special test equipment is provided to developers and publishers. The most significant tools are the test or debug kits, and the dev kits. The main difference from consumer units is the ability to load games from a burned disc, USB stick, or hard drive. The console can also be set to any publishing region. This allows game developers to produce copies for testing. This functionality is not present in consumer units to combat software piracy and grey-market imports. Test kits have the same hardware specifications and overall appearance as a consumer unit, though often with additional ports and connectors for other testing equipment. Test kits contain additional options, such as running automated compliance checks, especially with regard to save data. The system software also allows the user to capture memory dumps for aid in debugging. Dev kits are not normally used by game testers, but are used by programmers for lower-level testing. In addition to the features of a test kit, dev kits usually have higher hardware specifications, most notably increased system memory. This allows developers to estimate early game performance without worrying about optimizations. Dev kits are usually larger and look different from a test kit or consumer unit. See also Software testing Test plan Game development Software release life cycle Notes References Research Lahti, M., Game testing in Finnish game companies, Master's thesis, Aalto University, School of Science, 2014, Thesis External links Article: The Basics of Test Automation for Apps, Games And the Mobile Web Article: Architecture and Infrastructure Aspects of Mobile Game Testing The Trenches: a collection of stories from current and former game testers Game Test Life: