Regression Testing of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games

Regression testing aims to check the functionality consistency during software evolution. Although general regression testing has been extensively studied, regression testing in the context of video games, especially Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs), is largely untouched so far. One big challenge is that game testing requires a certain level of intelligence in generating suitable action sequences among the huge search space, to accomplish complex tasks in the MMORPG. Existing game testing mainly relies on either the manual playing or manual scripting, which are labor-intensive and time-consuming. Even worse, it is often unable to satisfy the frequent industrial game evolution. The recent process in machine learning brings new opportunities for automatic game playing and testing. In this paper, we propose a reinforcement learning-based regression testing technique that explores differential behaviors between multiple versions of an MMORPGs such that the potential regression bugs could be detected. The preliminary evaluation on real industrial MMORPGs demonstrates the promising of our technique.