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Game Tester

LivinDeadLivinDead Member Posts: 16
in Off-Topic Discussion
I've heard a lot of stories surrounding a possition in the Game Testing field...It seems like there are a lot of nice perks to having this job like getting free software and consoles to test for major companies like EA...I'm curious as to what I would have to do to become a full fledge Game Tester on a company salary...If anyone has any info then please feel free to rant...

Comments

  • NeoKyosuke18NeoKyosuke18 Member Posts: 204

    if your seriuos your not gonna want the truth then..

    I had that same question about 7 years ago.. looked into it and found out both sides of the "wonderful life"

    look at what you do in your gaming life... how much time do you spend playing your games... and what do you do in them??

    Now ... think of your job... how much time do you work.. and what does it entail.

    Video Game testing is like any other job.. 8 hours a day for 40-50 hrs a week... Now you might be thinking SWEET!! but then again think about this...

    Your testing out the newest edition of final fantasy series games... for 8 hours a day for 6 weeks straight they ask you to just walk back and forth on one map alone.. trying to find any mapping bugs or glithces that causes the game to freeze.. when you find it you need to log the exact location via the X Y axis on the map. Now this is something you will be doing over and over and over and over again till you make sure every bit of that one map is perfect..

    Being a game tester isn't all FUn and games.. ironic..

    Most of the time you spend testing 1/1000 of the actual game yourself being told not to deviate from your task..

    You will learn to HATE THAT GAME so much!

  • LivinDeadLivinDead Member Posts: 16
    I have thought about what your saying with the 8 hour work days and the glitch testing and what not...But if you knew how badly I want a possition in the gaming industry...I understand that testing may not be all that it is cracked up to be but if I had the job...I wouldn't have to leave home often, I could have my GF and friends to play along side with me, and I would be making a salary for something that I love...I can play games on and on without hesitance, Making money while doing this only amps me more to wanna become a game tester...

  • AdrealAdreal Member Posts: 2,087
    for me I don't think that making a hobby or pastime of mine into a job would be exciting. I like keeping my hobbies and favorite pastimes separate from my job. I like writing, but becoming a writer as a profession would just sap my strength. I don't like having deadlines and such put on my "recreational activities"... just takes the spark out of life.

    "As the eagle was killed by the arrow winged with his own feather, so the hand of the world is wounded by its own skill." - Helen Keller

    "Put your foot where your mouth is." - Wisdom from my grandfather
    "Paper or plastic? ... because I'm afraid I'll have to suffocate you unless you put this bag on your head..." - Ethnitrek
    AC1: Wierding from Harvestgain

  • DienekesDienekes Member Posts: 484

    I actually am a game tester for Sony North America. I work in the Online department so I test the online portion of the games that are on the PS2. Lemme give you a general idea of how testing works in the world, some of the benefits and some of the drawbacks.

    For most testing jobs there are two jobs. There are the contractors which is the entry level and then there are the permanent workers which have been hired by the companies such as Sony or EA. The "perms" are usually paid more but not much more and have all the real benefits. Oh and btw...testing games will not make you rich. We are paid very poorly and in my area at least as a contractor at my job I'm making more than the average tester makes. It is truly a labor of love and if you meet me or any of my co-workers you can see how dedicated we are to games and that we test these games for the love of testing. Breaking things is so much fun. :) As a contractor for Sony though I'm required to take 3 months off at the end of my contract which is a 1 year contract.

    There is also two types of game testing you will want to look at when you go applying for a position. These would be first party and third party testing. When your in first party you are on the project for as long as it is being developed. And you will be with the same people each time so it can get very stressful. It would require you to play a game for 7 months. Now....it isn't nearly as bad as NeoKyosuke has mensioned. At least not from my experience. First party is not told to go back and forth on one level. There isn't enough manpower in QA to do that. Instead you usually are given a task such as look for collision bugs...or another person might have looking for crash bugs. You will go through as much of the game as possible and find those bugs.

    Third party testing is a fair bit easier. This is the type of testing I prefer and currently work in. We work on a title for anywhere between 1 day and 2 weeks at a time. It may come in and out based on problems we find and they fix. There is also a lot of politics involved. I love online testing because it brings in my networking skills into play and mixes things up a bit. I often look for exploits in games using routers instead of manipulating in game features just to name a bit of what I do. As a third party tester you have much less of a role and are more free to find bugs as you can. You still aren't "playing" the game. Instead you are testing it so it can get boring and repatative.

    As for landing a job in QA...well it isn't as hard as you might think. The best bet is to look in the help wanted section of your newspaper. Most of the entry level QA spots are contracted out to a third party firm that will handle all the advertising and hiring. So applying to say Sony won't get you the job...most of the time. Go in knowing what you want too. If you are good with networks and know a lot about the internet than online might be good for you...if you want short projects than third party is for you...if you want to be in on something for the long haul than first party is it. Remember though that you rarely get to work on the title you want to. Also remember that each company varies so not all of the things I relayed to you will be the same. However, working at Sony and getting games from almost every publisher and having tested for some before I have an idea of what goes on.

    I hope this helps and sorry it is so long. Feel free to PM me if you have more questions.

    "Feel free to hate me, but hate me for the right reasons."

    "Your still ignorant if you believe the first thing you see when the blindfold is removed."

    "Be smart enough to know I'm smarter than you."

  • lordthrawnlordthrawn Member Posts: 276
    why I hate living in va not a single damn game company within +500 miles...ooh wait there is AOL

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  • DienekesDienekes Member Posts: 484

    AOL needs testers....badly. :P

    "Feel free to hate me, but hate me for the right reasons."

    "Your still ignorant if you believe the first thing you see when the blindfold is removed."

    "Be smart enough to know I'm smarter than you."

  • LivinDeadLivinDead Member Posts: 16
    I wouldn't mind doing beta testing either...Anything involving computers or video games with work is definatly something I wanna learn more about....

  • IowaYetiIowaYeti Member Posts: 468
    I agree, performing a full time job on a highly loved hobby, like video games, would kill my love. Thus, I have no problem playing the games on release, not having to "walk a grid over and over, etc" bug/glitch identifying. It is not the same, there is no fun to it, and I would not want to dedicate that much time for this purpose. I would however seriously consider any Beta positions on games that interest me. Thanks for the Industry info, I was aware, but it's nice to hear it once again, while currently going nuts waiting for a game to bne released. image

    ~Yeti
    image
    ...Role Player for a long, long time.
    ...has a very hard time keeping the same avatar.

    ~Yeti
    image
    image

  • CoraithCoraith Member Posts: 311

    working in the games industry wouldnt be all that bad. Id love to get into it but it seems to me that its really difficult to get certian positions and in one in particular, the creativity side of it. Thinking about what should happen etc, a Miyamoto-san type position, but hey, its just a dream ::::35::

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  • gerberKidgerberKid Member Posts: 10
    Intresting enough this is my first post here, but i can tell you this much, I am a game tester for sony, mainly 989 studios and being a tester is not fun and games. Sure it is a lot better than many other jobs out there, but on the other hand i saw you saying something about a 40 hour week; that is a little off come to release date time.  Man oh man last 3 weeks now i have been working a 72 + hour weeks playing the same game over and over trying to look for things i missed in the previous day.  Honestly the pay is good for all of the overtime/double time but yes it still is a job...but somebody has got to do it :)

  • DienekesDienekes Member Posts: 484

    Hey gerber...you work in 989? First party or offline?

    Also that is the main reason I took online isntead of first party games. I test every online game for the PS2 so I can a nice variety. I play games I really love, games I hate, and games I thought I'd hate but really love. It is nice to be able to play those games before they come out and then play the games I thought I'd hate. hehe. I would never be a tester in a first party position or for a MMO because then I surely would hate playing the games for fun. :P

    As for the hours yea you first party work dreadful. I only average 50 hour work weeks. And lately it has been kinda chunky. I actually like the overtime because the pay is worth it. ::::28::

    "Feel free to hate me, but hate me for the right reasons."

    "Your still ignorant if you believe the first thing you see when the blindfold is removed."

    "Be smart enough to know I'm smarter than you."

  • gerberKidgerberKid Member Posts: 10
    Well, i see that you said you only do online games only, well i do both. We get all sorts of games, mainly sports due to 989 being a sports title.  We all work in groups like in one big area some of us to online work and some of us do offline work, myself for the last game did mainly offline, just playing the game straight up but now and then i throw a online game with some one across the room from me.  The job i have is very laid back so pretty much you can test any part of the game or just help others with bugs they find.  Hope that gave ya some info ;) btw i work at Sony Computer Entertainment America in San Diego , CA. So i don't ONLY get 989 games ;) BUT unfortunitaly no MMO's come my way :P

  • IowaYetiIowaYeti Member Posts: 468
    r.e. 989 I loved Syphon Filter I & II, never got to play III. image


    ~Yeti
    image
    ...Role Player for a long, long time.
    ...has a very hard time keeping the same avatar.

    ~Yeti
    image
    image

  • DienekesDienekes Member Posts: 484

    Ohhhh your in SD. I work up in Foster City. When you said you worked for Sony mainly doing 989 games I figured you worked in firsty party which quite literally works in building 989 which the dev company is named for. :P Oh well. I thought it was too ironic to meet someone on these forums that I work only 150 yards away from. LoL.

    I myself work in Sony's online department which tests all of the online games for PS2. Are you still considered first party? Meaning only Sony titled dev companies (makers of Ratchet and Clank, 989, etc)? Or do you get every title?

    "Feel free to hate me, but hate me for the right reasons."

    "Your still ignorant if you believe the first thing you see when the blindfold is removed."

    "Be smart enough to know I'm smarter than you."

  • NeoKyosuke18NeoKyosuke18 Member Posts: 204

    Originally posted by LivinDead
    I have thought about what your saying with the 8 hour work days and the glitch testing and what not...But if you knew how badly I want a possition in the gaming industry...I understand that testing may not be all that it is cracked up to be but if I had the job...I wouldn't have to leave home often, I could have my GF and friends to play along side with me, and I would be making a salary for something that I love...I can play games on and on without hesitance, Making money while doing this only amps me more to wanna become a game tester...


    sry i haven't posted back... Just to fill you in...

    If you had a job as a tester making a salary.. You would have to go to an OFFICE outside of your house and most likely not have your g/f sitting next to you.

  • DienekesDienekes Member Posts: 484

    To do any kind of testing that your getting paid for you would have to not have people around you because of the whole NDA thing. :P I hadn't even registered that when I first read the post. But yea add on the fact that your working in a building with co-workers that can be your friends or your g/f I suppose. I do know one guy who worked with his g/f. I wouldn't usually recommend going that far though. :P

    "Feel free to hate me, but hate me for the right reasons."

    "Your still ignorant if you believe the first thing you see when the blindfold is removed."

    "Be smart enough to know I'm smarter than you."

  • NeoKyosuke18NeoKyosuke18 Member Posts: 204

    Personally I would still love to get into game testing as a career however, just like the one other guy who posted.. I live in Virginia.. Richmond Virginia... and I can't find a single company in this state that I could get a position doing anything remotely close to this.

    ANY OF YOU READING THIS POST who work for a company lookin for testers in VA !!!!! Give me a hoot!!!

    anythings better than my current job... i hate blockbuster!!!

  • DienekesDienekes Member Posts: 484

    Ouch I can't think of any companies in VA that to game dev. Looks like you'll have to move. :P The Bay Area (San Fransisco California) is a hotbed of game devs. We have EA, Lucas, Eidos, Rockstar, Parahna, Sony, Sega, ESPN, hmmm...a couple more that I can't even think about atm.

    "Feel free to hate me, but hate me for the right reasons."

    "Your still ignorant if you believe the first thing you see when the blindfold is removed."

    "Be smart enough to know I'm smarter than you."

  • gerberKidgerberKid Member Posts: 10

    Ya, Sony titles only, right on the money you are ;) ..

     

    Another day of work here we go, i think its the last day though gonna ship tonight i hope *crosses fingers*

  • CrazedWarrioCrazedWarrio Member Posts: 21

    I dont know what to choose! Which one is the hotest? I nvr played that game ::::40::

    World of WarCraft!
    http://www.warcraftaddict.com/

    World of WarCraft!

    image

  • DienekesDienekes Member Posts: 484

    hehe gerber...I just got home. It is gonna be one of those weeks at Sony I think. Just got in two titles that will have OT all week. One I bet your rather familiar with since it is a first party title unless you weren't on it. Ah well, less time to play games and post here I suppose. :(

    "Feel free to hate me, but hate me for the right reasons."

    "Your still ignorant if you believe the first thing you see when the blindfold is removed."

    "Be smart enough to know I'm smarter than you."

  • gerberKidgerberKid Member Posts: 10
    Ya, man its been 2 weeks straight of 12-14 hour days but its almost over i hope...

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