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Teaching Software Testing and Debugging with the Serious Game Sojourner under Sabotage

Philipp Straubinger, Tim Greller, Gordon Fraser

TL;DR

Addresses the challenge of teaching software testing and debugging by introducing Sojourner under Sabotage, a browser-based serious game that blends narrative gameplay with hands-on testing using JUnit. The paper details the game design, implementation (Unity WebGL frontend, Spring Boot backend, dynamic Java code execution), deployment, extensibility, and an initial evaluation with 79 students showing improved test coverage, debugging performance, and motivation. It demonstrates that serious games can complement traditional software engineering education and outlines concrete future improvements (step-through debugging, adaptive difficulty, tutorials) and broader validation efforts. Overall, the work highlights how immersive gameplay can bridge theory and practice in software testing and debugging education.

Abstract

Software testing and debugging are often seen as tedious, making them challenging to teach effectively. We present Sojourner under Sabotage, a browser-based serious game that enhances learning through interactive, narrative-driven challenges. Players act as spaceship crew members, using unit tests and debugging techniques to fix sabotaged components. Sojourner under Sabotage provides hands-on experience with the real-world testing framework JUnit, improving student engagement, test coverage, and debugging skills.

Teaching Software Testing and Debugging with the Serious Game Sojourner under Sabotage

TL;DR

Addresses the challenge of teaching software testing and debugging by introducing Sojourner under Sabotage, a browser-based serious game that blends narrative gameplay with hands-on testing using JUnit. The paper details the game design, implementation (Unity WebGL frontend, Spring Boot backend, dynamic Java code execution), deployment, extensibility, and an initial evaluation with 79 students showing improved test coverage, debugging performance, and motivation. It demonstrates that serious games can complement traditional software engineering education and outlines concrete future improvements (step-through debugging, adaptive difficulty, tutorials) and broader validation efforts. Overall, the work highlights how immersive gameplay can bridge theory and practice in software testing and debugging education.

Abstract

Software testing and debugging are often seen as tedious, making them challenging to teach effectively. We present Sojourner under Sabotage, a browser-based serious game that enhances learning through interactive, narrative-driven challenges. Players act as spaceship crew members, using unit tests and debugging techniques to fix sabotaged components. Sojourner under Sabotage provides hands-on experience with the real-world testing framework JUnit, improving student engagement, test coverage, and debugging skills.
Paper Structure (12 sections, 4 figures)

This paper contains 12 sections, 4 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Background
  3. Sojourner under Sabotage
  4. Gameplay
  5. Administrator Interface and Data Export
  6. Implementation
  7. Deployment
  8. Extensibility
  9. Evaluation
  10. Engagement and Performance
  11. Student Perception
  12. Conclusions

Figures (4)

  • Figure 1: Sojourner under Sabotage during an interaction between the player and the accompanying robot, which is reporting a sabotaged component
  • Figure 2: Code editor integrated into the game for writing tests (shown in picture), but also for debugging and fixing
  • Figure 3: Code editor of Sojourner under Sabotage after writing tests
  • Figure 4: Code editor of Sojourner under Sabotage while debugging