LogInAn unorthodox optimization approach, sure, but probably the one more game studios should adopt.
How do you make sure your game is optimized and doesn't become remembered as "yet another unoptimized mess" by players? Well, you could, for instance, spend hundreds of hours watching tutorials to learn how to get smooth performance in your preferred engine, meticulously downsize every mesh and material, use static lighting, and so on.
But, as with most things in life, there's also a much simpler and more corner-cutting, albeit less elegant, solution – just use the weakest, cheapest hardware you can get your hands on and test your game on it, so that, unless someone tries to run your title on an actual sandwich, their PC will be able to handle it.
This is exactly what Indie Game Developer known as gitpullorigin did, responding to players' complaints about performance by buying a ridiculously cheap €89 (around $104) PC to test their upcoming game on.
For context, the game in question is Yes, My Queen, a chess roguelike by the Wall Spaghetti team where you build your army, collect cards, and defeat enemy queens while protecting your own. While the full release isn't out yet, a demo version was recently launched, allowing the team to gather player feedback – including the aforementioned performance complaints.
Opting for a radical approach to fixing this issue, gitpullorigin somehow managed to obtain an actual PC – an Intel DC3217IYE Mini PC NUC Kit, by the looks of it – that costs less than the premium edition of your run-of-the-mill AAA title, powered by a 1.80 GHz Intel Core i3-3217U processor and featuring 4GB of internal memory and a 120GB SSD.
According to the developer, this modest machine makes it easier to spot bottlenecks that aren't as obvious on mid-tier PCs, with some discoveries made thanks to it including the fact that "using Vulkan on this low-tier integrated GPU makes all text go invisible" and that "using a custom cursor in Software mode adds a noticeable lag."
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