As blatantly self-promotional as this thread may sound, I thought that it might end up being interesting and informative to other forum members, so I figured, "What the heck?"
I worked as a video game tester for several years, so if anyone has any questions about the ins and outs of the job, please feel free to post them here and I'll do my best to respond. Maybe we'll all learn something. :D
N B 4 , . . . uh . . .
UncommonOtaku said:
N B 4 , . . . uh . . .
Questions?
How many games did you enter the Konami code in?
palmtop-tiger said:
How many games did you enter the Konami code in?
Of the ones I tested? None that I can recall. We usually had more advanced cheating methods available to us (though not always).
Why don't modern games have button codes anymore? Things like level select or debug mode.
Why would a company pay someone to test video games?
giascle said:
Why would a company pay someone to test video games?
To find and report all the bugs. It's an entry level job into the gaming industry and the equivalent of working fast food for those living in the Bay area.
You should submit to this: http://trenchescomic.com/
Sooooooo, what would one have to do to a get a job as a video game tester?
palmtop-tiger said:
Why don't modern games have button codes anymore? Things like level select or debug mode.
That kind of thing's totally at the whim of the developer, honestly. Several modern games do have debug menus when we get them, but access is disabled before the games are released to the public. The ubiquity of USB ports on game systems has also influenced the nature of cheats, though. Some games, such as "Green Day Rock Band", for example, have debug menus that were accessed by plugging keyboards into the controller ports and using various key combinations to turn things on and off.
giascle said:
Why would a company pay someone to test video games?
Pretty much what Palmtop Tiger said, though with two caveats:
1. It may be an entry level position, but it's probably one of the most important part of the industry next to programming and development.
2. There's not much lateral advancement possible as a tester. You might be able to graduate from being a tester to team leader, quality assurance controller, project manager, or line manager, but don't think that it's some kind of shortcut to becoming an artist, programmer, or storyboard writer.
That being said, there are three kinds of testers:
i. Functionality Testers: These testers are responsible for checking the game mechanics to see if they're in order and to see how far they can be pushed before they break. The latter is usually accomplished by trying to anticipate all the crazy things that players might do. In a facing game, for example, this might involve driving around a track backwards or seeing if a racecar that can take physical damage can still be drive around when it's missing all four wheels.
ii. Localization Testers: These testers are responsible for checking whether or not a game has been completely and accurately translated into or from a foreign language.
iii. Compliance Testers: Not strictly a separate class unto itself since it usually overlaps with the former two, but compliance testing involves checking error messages and in-game terminology to make sure that everything adheres to Microsoft, Sony, or Nintendo's standards, depending on what game is being tested for what system. This is ridiculously important due to legal, copyright, and trademark issues and the big three have been known to fail games for spelling mistakes in key terms or referring to components by incorrect names.
Peter Barton said:
You should submit to this: http://trenchescomic.com/
How would I go about doing such a thing and would they welcome it?
hikikomori1969 said:
Sooooooo, what would one have to do to a get a job as a video game tester?
That depends on what kind of skills you can bring to the table, really.
In general, you have to be thorough, systematic, and have a good eye for detail. A certain amount of "outside the box" thinking also helps.
If you want to become a functionality tester, I'd say that being a skilled or hardcore gamer - the kind who likes experimentation - helps a lot. In the end, being an excellent functionality tester boils down to having an innate skill for such things. It's something you either have or you don't.
If you speak a second language fluently and well, such as French, German, Italian, or Spanish, then you're probably better suited to being a localization tester. In that line of work, being a student of pop culture helps as most translators out there seem to live under rocks and don't get such simple things as blatant "Star Wars" and "South Park" references or even simple puns. :P
The best way to find out if you have what it takes is to simply apply for a job at a video game testing or quality assurance company. You'll be given a test to determine if you've got the basic skills for the position and things will proceed from there.
do you have fixed working hours in a week?
or do they just pay you based on the project taken?
since this is like playing game + observation, would it matter if we just took the longest possible time to complete the testing just for the sake of putting more working hours for ++money?
baronight said:
do you have fixed working hours in a week?
or do they just pay you based on the project taken?since this is like playing game + observation, would it matter if we just took the longest possible time to complete the testing just for the sake of putting more working hours for ++money?
They have deadlines. Lot's of overtime though the closer those deadlines approach. And when those deadlines aren't met, that's when you get your bug filled games. *coughbesethdacough*
yeah that's the thing about testing and deadlines...
if you were close to deadline submission, is that a sign of thorough testing have been done and you did well?
in the case of early submission, even if your report were seems fine, isn't that a sign of slacking in rigorous testing that should have been done? or do they just consider yourself as awesome tester?
How much do you get paid?
How come Capcom put Monster Hunter on console? It'll sell better here in the US/EU.
What was the worst game you ever tested.
palmtop-tiger said:
I also heard you get bonuses and stuff like that for finding each bug, but no idea really.
I'd do the job, if it weren't meant to be so boring, and energy consuming. I just need a small amount of income to eat so I have enough energy to take over the world with anyway.
but yeah, what was the pay like? and how much energy and free time did you have?
baronight said:
do you have fixed working hours in a week?
or do they just pay you based on the project taken?
If you're a freelancer, you're "on call" and paid for however many hours that you end up working. If you have a permanent contract, then you get fixed working hours in a week. They usually have some random tasks to keep you busy, but, if there's absolutely nothing to do, you end up just sitting around all day until it's time to go home.
baronight said:
since this is like playing game + observation, would it matter if we just took the longest possible time to complete the testing just for the sake of putting more working hours for ++money?
It doesn't really work that way. Usually, testing is divided up into several rounds of fixed length and with a set number of hours that generally last as little as one or two days to a week or more, with round lengths decresing the more advanced they are. This is set up long in advance upon mutual agreement between the company and the client. If a game takes a long time to complete, then testing might be divided up into specific tasks, such as have Tester 1 play through Levels 1 through 7 while Tester 2 plays through Levels 8 through 12 and Tester 3 reads all the item summaries and trophy/achievement titles and descriptions, for example.
In the end, it all boils down to money: the client will have a tester sitting in a chair for the exact number of hours that are agreed upon, no more and no less. In the absolute worst case scenario, testers might be replaced if they're especially incompetent or slow, but the testing company's not going to assign extra people to a project and pay them out of their own pocket if a project falls behind schedule. They're a business, not a charity.
LotionExplosion said:
How much do you get paid?How come Capcom put Monster Hunter on console? It'll sell better here in the US/EU.
What was the worst game you ever tested.
US capcom doesn't think we have a decent enough fan base for such a push....
And for frontier's case, they don't have the same internet infrastructure capcom jap has... I'll go find the article
Are the games tested before the final product is released? Also how many times are the games tested, given that the bugs or mistakes were dictated by the tester (like a trial and error method).
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