Runic Tower - QA Pass (PC)
🧾 Test Overview
- Platform: PC
- Focus Areas: Onboarding clarity, ability feedback, Background and Aspect behaviour, Player vs Tower assignment, and how clearly the game communicates system behaviour during gameplay
- Why this was tested: To check how understandable and reliable the game feels after recent updates, especially during active play
Introduction
This is a focused QA pass on Runic Tower, tested on PC using build v1.7.0.0.
The goal was to check how clearly the game communicates its systems after the recent update, especially during active gameplay.
Testing focused on:
- Onboarding clarity
- Ability feedback (active vs passive)
- Background and Aspect behaviour
- Player vs Tower assignment
- Whether selections match actual gameplay behaviour
Findings are based on direct testing and supported by reproducible behaviour and evidence.
| Game | Platform | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Runic Tower | PC, live build v1.7.0.0 | Targeted QA pass focused on onboarding clarity, ability feedback, Background and Aspect consistency, Player vs Tower assignment, and system clarity under gameplay pressure. |
🎯 Goal
Evaluate whether onboarding, abilities, and build systems are understandable to the player, and whether updated systems behave consistently during real gameplay.
🧭 Focus Areas
- Onboarding and first-time player clarity
- Active vs passive ability feedback
- Background and Aspect system behaviour
- Player vs Tower ability assignment
- Combat readability under overlapping effects
📄 Deliverables
- QA workbook with README, charters, session notes, bug log, risk matrix, and player experience notes
- One-line findings summary for quick review
- Bug log with reproducible steps and evidence links
- Short video evidence for key findings
📊 Metrics
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Total Sessions Logged | 2 |
| Total Bugs Logged | 4 |
| Critical | 0 |
| High | 2 |
| Medium | 2 |
| Low | 0 |
| Primary Risk Area | System clarity and Background/Aspect consistency |
| Repro Rate | Varied by issue, including 3/3 and inconsistent behaviour across runs |
📷 Evidence
Supporting evidence is included to clearly show the issues and make them easy to reproduce.
- Short gameplay clips showing system clarity issues, Aspect mismatch, and Player vs Tower assignment behaviour
- Screenshots highlighting unclear feedback and system behaviour
- Bug notes with steps, expected vs actual behaviour, and linked evidence
| Type | File / Link |
|---|---|
| QA Workbook (Google Sheets) | Open Workbook |
| QA Workbook (PDF Export) | Open PDF |
📌 Core Project Findings
| Area | Finding | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Onboarding | Core controls and gameplay flow are not communicated, forcing players to rely on guesswork to begin playing. | S001 session results |
| Ability Feedback | Active abilities are readable, but passive effects and system-driven behaviour are unclear and not communicated. | S002 observations |
| System Behaviour | Background and Aspect systems are inconsistent, with selections not reliably reflected in HUD or gameplay. | RT-C02-003 clip |
| Ability Assignment | Abilities are assigned between Player and Tower without clear rules or player control. | RT-C02-004 clip |
| Combat Clarity | Overlapping effects reduce clarity, making it difficult to track cause-and-effect during gameplay. | S002 observations |
| Audio Feedback | Ability audio is minimal and does not meaningfully support player understanding. | S002 observations |
🐞 Bugs Logged
| ID | Title | Severity | Repro | Evidence Clip/Screenshot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RT-C02-001 | [Clarity][Systems] Background and Aspect effects are not distinguishable during gameplay | Medium | 3/3 |
|
| RT-C02-002 | [Clarity][Systems] Background and Aspect are mapped to Passive/Active abilities without explanation | Medium | 1/1 | View Screenshot |
| RT-C02-003 | [Functional][Systems] Selected Aspect does not match loaded Aspect in gameplay | High | 1/1, requires further validation |
|
| RT-C02-004 | [Functional][Systems] Aspect abilities inconsistently assigned to Player or Tower | High | Inconsistent, observed across multiple runs | View Screenshot |
Full bug log with repro steps, expected vs actual, and evidence: Download Bug Log (PDF)
The strongest functional issue was RT-C02-003, where the selected Aspect did not match the Aspect loaded in gameplay. RT-C02-004 expanded the system risk by showing that ability assignment between Player and Tower was not clearly communicated and behaved inconsistently across runs.
🧠 Player Experience Notes
| Moment | Player Expectation | Actual Experience | Friction Type | Impact | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Launch → Initial Control Discovery | Basic controls for movement, attack, and abilities are introduced or immediately understandable through prompts or feedback. | Movement can be guessed using WASD, but no instructions are provided. Attack and ability inputs are unclear, forcing the player to open the settings menu to understand how to interact with the game. | Onboarding Failure → Missing Core Input Communication | Player cannot begin meaningful interaction without leaving gameplay. Early experience relies on guessing, creating confusion and breaking engagement flow. | High |
| First Run → Combat & Ability Use | Abilities and combat actions provide clear feedback, allowing the player to understand what actions do and how they affect gameplay. | Abilities are readable when used directly, but passive effects are not communicated. Background and Aspect systems are unclear, with effects not distinguishable and no indication of which system triggered an outcome. Behaviour is inconsistent across runs, including mismatches between selected and loaded abilities. | Feedback Clarity Failure → Ability Readability & System Clarity | Player cannot reliably link input to outcome or understand how systems interact. Build decisions feel unreliable due to inconsistent behaviour, reducing confidence and clarity during gameplay. | High |
| End of Run → Defeat Screen | Clear feedback explains why the run ended and how selected systems contributed to the outcome. | Defeated screen displays stats and ability breakdown, but includes inconsistent or unexplained ability assignment between Player and Tower, with no clear indication of what caused failure or how systems contributed to the outcome. | Feedback Failure → Unclear Failure State | Player cannot learn from failure. Results are shown without enough explanation to understand what happened during the run or how to improve. | High |
📈 Results
- Completed 2 focused QA sessions on Runic Tower.
- Logged 4 issues covering onboarding, system clarity, ability mapping, and functional build-selection behaviour.
- Confirmed active ability feedback is readable in isolation.
- Identified passive ability behaviour as unclear and not meaningfully communicated.
- Observed mismatches between selected Aspect, HUD display, and loaded gameplay behaviour.
- Identified unclear and inconsistent assignment of abilities between Player and Tower.
🔍 Key Points for the Developer
- System feedback is inconsistent outside of active abilities. Active abilities are clear, but passive and background effects are not communicated well, making it hard to understand what is influencing gameplay.
- Aspect selection does not reliably match gameplay behaviour. Selected Aspects do not consistently align with what is loaded in-game, breaking trust in the build system.
- End screens expose underlying system issues. The defeat screen revealed problems with ability classification and Player vs Tower assignment that are harder to identify during combat.
- System relationships are not clearly explained. Background, Aspect, passive, active, Player, and Tower roles are not clearly connected, making it difficult to understand or control builds.
- This area should be prioritised after updates. These issues affect multiple systems and should be rechecked after any related changes.
🔚 QA Summary & Next Steps
The main issue in this build is weak system clarity. Active abilities are readable, but passive effects and system-driven behaviour are not clearly communicated, making it difficult to understand what is happening during gameplay.
A key functional problem is that selected Aspects do not reliably match the behaviour loaded in-game. This is confirmed through both HUD display and ability behaviour, making it more than a visual issue.
Build control is also unclear. The relationship between Background, Aspect, passive and active roles, and Player vs Tower assignment is not explained well enough for players to make informed decisions.
Recommended next steps:
- Fix Aspect selection so it consistently matches gameplay behaviour.
- Improve feedback for passive and system-driven effects.
- Clarify how Background, Aspect, and role systems interact.
- Re-test system behaviour after updates, especially around build selection and assignment.
Need Someone to Test Your Game?
If you have a demo, early build, or update that needs testing, message me on Discord or email with your platform, build, and what you’d like checked.
📎 Disclaimer
This is a personal, non-commercial portfolio for educational and recruitment purposes. I’m not affiliated with or endorsed by any game studios or publishers. All trademarks, logos, and game assets are the property of their respective owners. Any screenshots or short clips are included solely to document testing outcomes. If anything here needs to be removed or credited differently, please contact me and I’ll update it promptly.