Posted: 8/12/2009 11:05:33 AM EDT
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So I'm looking for a job. I have been looking for a long time.
I decided on a whim to search for "video game tester" in indeed.com and found several options. Has anyone ever done any of these? Are any of them legit? |
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I was a QA tester for Acclaim, EA and ID at different times over the years. Never paid much of anything, but it was fun. Lots of bug reports to fill out I remember the Wolfenstein ET run. A group was online playing, and I found a hole in the map, that when you fell through, you fell about 1000 feet down and were dumped back in the sky +1000 feet, only to drop through the hole again. There was no way out. BUT you could snipe the shit out of people while you were dropping to the ground again.  We had fun with that one. |
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So the claims of 150/day and 40/hr probably aren't true? Heck no. You'll be lucky if you make minimum wage. Think about any crappy (or even good) game you have played, then imagine playing the same levels over and over for 9-10 hours a day 6 days a week. I'm a gamer and that does not fit my idea of fun. |
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I have been in the video game industry for 12 years. Started off as a tester when I was 18, I am now a producer overseeing 9 different game projects. I have worked on a dozen triple A titles for large and small companies. I have worked on more than 10 games that have sold more than a million copies. All in all I think I have helped ship about 30 million games.
If you are a hard worker and don't have a social life it might work out for you. That being said. Being a tester sucks. You must be analytically minded. Be prepared to spend alot of hours at work and have no one appreciate what you do. It is not "I get to play games all day and it is fun". It is "fucking play this 10,000 times and piss of the devs while we keep changing the project, oh and by the way you are going to be fired once we ship this turd". That being said some of my best memories are from the games industry. From one of my friends that is in the industry and has been working on games since the atari 2600 days "It is the best and worst time you have ever had, sometimes in the same day". |
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So the claims of 150/day and 40/hr probably aren't true? Heck no. You'll be lucky if you make minimum wage. Think about any crappy (or even good) game you have played, then imagine playing the same levels over and over for 9-10 hours a day 6 days a week. I'm a gamer and that does not fit my idea of fun. This. Boring as hell. Looked into it in high school (who didn't?) and got to interview for Donkey Kong Country for the Super. The pay is also very low because of all the kids who want to do it. |
I was on the beta team for Microsoft Flight Simulator X. We brought up an issue early on (one of the aircraft's ailerons turned the opposite direction they should, but only when viewing from inside the cockpit). MS told us they would look into it. Game was released, then the expansion pack beta started. We pointed out the problem was still there. They said no time to fix it now. FWIW, they are all working somewhere else now... |
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Game testing sucks. You will go in on a game that you know nothing about, handed a controller and told "stand in this area and jump the dude in the game for the next 8 hours". Or "walk around the entire map and try to find holes that you fall through". Or "load the game, save the game, exit the game and then restart the game, rinse and repeat for the next 8 hours". Once you get past all that crap and work your way up the food chain for a bit, it can be fun but the pay sucks and if it is a major name game.....prepare for some massively long days testing. I did ALOT of stuff for Microsoft game studios. Was playing Halo 3 about 2 months before it was released, worked on the panel that developed the 360 elite, my camaro was modeled for Forza 2, among other things. All in all I would say to look into something else unless you have no desire to go anywhere in life or havea marketable skill to the industry such and conceptual art, digital art, building pyhsics generators etc. |
| Been there done that... Lots of playing buggy games to report bugs, and find problems. Lots of note taking, and similar. It's not lik you get to play games and really enjoy it, because after playing the same game for 60 hours in 5 days, where all your advancement routinely gets lost, it becomes fairly frustrating. |
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I was a game analyst for about 5 years once. I reviewed games that were submitted to the company, and reported my findings to the CEO. These games were from 3rd party developers. Most of them were barely playable, and some weren't at all. It was my job to analyze it's sales potential. I made damn good money for a 18 year old kid (started when I was 18), but eventually left the company to finish school.
I only did bug testing when it was 'crunch time" and there were lots of bugs to be found. Most people in the company became "bug testers" at this time lol. Bug testing sucks! Went to E3 several times. That was cool. It is very hard to get into the business unless you know someone, but you can really work your way up if you have the talent. Lots of people think they do, but most really don't. I don't know how old you are, but I doubt you will like video games your entire life. I'm glad I didn't go that route. as an adult, I have very little interest in video games. |
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I have been in the video game industry for 12 years. Started off as a tester when I was 18, I am now a producer overseeing 9 different game projects. I have worked on a dozen triple A titles for large and small companies. I have worked on more than 10 games that have sold more than a million copies. All in all I think I have helped ship about 30 million games. If you are a hard worker and don't have a social life it might work out for you. That being said. Being a tester sucks. You must be analytically minded. Be prepared to spend alot of hours at work and have no one appreciate what you do. It is not "I get to play games all day and it is fun". It is "fucking play this 10,000 times and piss of the devs while we keep changing the project, oh and by the way you are going to be fired once we ship this turd". That being said some of my best memories are from the games industry. From one of my friends that is in the industry and has been working on games since the atari 2600 days "It is the best and worst time you have ever had, sometimes in the same day". In Texas huh? |
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I have been in the video game industry for 12 years. Started off as a tester when I was 18, I am now a producer overseeing 9 different game projects. I have worked on a dozen triple A titles for large and small companies. I have worked on more than 10 games that have sold more than a million copies. All in all I think I have helped ship about 30 million games. If you are a hard worker and don't have a social life it might work out for you. That being said. Being a tester sucks. You must be analytically minded. Be prepared to spend alot of hours at work and have no one appreciate what you do. It is not "I get to play games all day and it is fun". It is "fucking play this 10,000 times and piss of the devs while we keep changing the project, oh and by the way you are going to be fired once we ship this turd". That being said some of my best memories are from the games industry. From one of my friends that is in the industry and has been working on games since the atari 2600 days "It is the best and worst time you have ever had, sometimes in the same day". In Texas huh? Damn straight. Worked in every big studio here. Except Bioware. |
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I have been in the video game industry for 12 years. Started off as a tester when I was 18, I am now a producer overseeing 9 different game projects. I have worked on a dozen triple A titles for large and small companies. I have worked on more than 10 games that have sold more than a million copies. All in all I think I have helped ship about 30 million games. If you are a hard worker and don't have a social life it might work out for you. That being said. Being a tester sucks. You must be analytically minded. Be prepared to spend alot of hours at work and have no one appreciate what you do. It is not "I get to play games all day and it is fun". It is "fucking play this 10,000 times and piss of the devs while we keep changing the project, oh and by the way you are going to be fired once we ship this turd". That being said some of my best memories are from the games industry. From one of my friends that is in the industry and has been working on games since the atari 2600 days "It is the best and worst time you have ever had, sometimes in the same day". In Texas huh? Damn straight. Worked in every big studio here. Except Bioware. Ensemble? |
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I have been in the video game industry for 12 years. Started off as a tester when I was 18, I am now a producer overseeing 9 different game projects. I have worked on a dozen triple A titles for large and small companies. I have worked on more than 10 games that have sold more than a million copies. All in all I think I have helped ship about 30 million games. If you are a hard worker and don't have a social life it might work out for you. That being said. Being a tester sucks. You must be analytically minded. Be prepared to spend alot of hours at work and have no one appreciate what you do. It is not "I get to play games all day and it is fun". It is "fucking play this 10,000 times and piss of the devs while we keep changing the project, oh and by the way you are going to be fired once we ship this turd". That being said some of my best memories are from the games industry. From one of my friends that is in the industry and has been working on games since the atari 2600 days "It is the best and worst time you have ever had, sometimes in the same day". In Texas huh? Damn straight. Worked in every big studio here. Except Bioware. Ensemble? Maybe. Do I know you 
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I have been in the video game industry for 12 years. Started off as a tester when I was 18, I am now a producer overseeing 9 different game projects. I have worked on a dozen triple A titles for large and small companies. I have worked on more than 10 games that have sold more than a million copies. All in all I think I have helped ship about 30 million games. If you are a hard worker and don't have a social life it might work out for you. That being said. Being a tester sucks. You must be analytically minded. Be prepared to spend alot of hours at work and have no one appreciate what you do. It is not "I get to play games all day and it is fun". It is "fucking play this 10,000 times and piss of the devs while we keep changing the project, oh and by the way you are going to be fired once we ship this turd". That being said some of my best memories are from the games industry. From one of my friends that is in the industry and has been working on games since the atari 2600 days "It is the best and worst time you have ever had, sometimes in the same day". In Texas huh? Damn straight. Worked in every big studio here. Except Bioware. Ensemble? Maybe. Do I know you
It's possible, but I doubt it. I didn't work at ensemble. |
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I have been in the video game industry for 12 years. Started off as a tester when I was 18, I am now a producer overseeing 9 different game projects. I have worked on a dozen triple A titles for large and small companies. I have worked on more than 10 games that have sold more than a million copies. All in all I think I have helped ship about 30 million games. If you are a hard worker and don't have a social life it might work out for you. That being said. Being a tester sucks. You must be analytically minded. Be prepared to spend alot of hours at work and have no one appreciate what you do. It is not "I get to play games all day and it is fun". It is "fucking play this 10,000 times and piss of the devs while we keep changing the project, oh and by the way you are going to be fired once we ship this turd". That being said some of my best memories are from the games industry. From one of my friends that is in the industry and has been working on games since the atari 2600 days "It is the best and worst time you have ever had, sometimes in the same day". In Texas huh? Damn straight. Worked in every big studio here. Except Bioware. Ensemble? Maybe. Do I know you
It's possible, but I doubt it. I didn't work at ensemble. I worked there 6 years. I have worked at id software, GODGames, and a few publishers as well as a handful of startups. |
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I have been in the video game industry for 12 years. Started off as a tester when I was 18, I am now a producer overseeing 9 different game projects. I have worked on a dozen triple A titles for large and small companies. I have worked on more than 10 games that have sold more than a million copies. All in all I think I have helped ship about 30 million games. If you are a hard worker and don't have a social life it might work out for you. That being said. Being a tester sucks. You must be analytically minded. Be prepared to spend alot of hours at work and have no one appreciate what you do. It is not "I get to play games all day and it is fun". It is "fucking play this 10,000 times and piss of the devs while we keep changing the project, oh and by the way you are going to be fired once we ship this turd". That being said some of my best memories are from the games industry. From one of my friends that is in the industry and has been working on games since the atari 2600 days "It is the best and worst time you have ever had, sometimes in the same day". In Texas huh? Damn straight. Worked in every big studio here. Except Bioware. Ensemble? Maybe. Do I know you
It's possible, but I doubt it. I didn't work at ensemble. I worked there 6 years. I have worked at id software, GODGames, and a few publishers as well as a handful of startups. Any publishers in TX? |
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I have been in the video game industry for 12 years. Started off as a tester when I was 18, I am now a producer overseeing 9 different game projects. I have worked on a dozen triple A titles for large and small companies. I have worked on more than 10 games that have sold more than a million copies. All in all I think I have helped ship about 30 million games. If you are a hard worker and don't have a social life it might work out for you. That being said. Being a tester sucks. You must be analytically minded. Be prepared to spend alot of hours at work and have no one appreciate what you do. It is not "I get to play games all day and it is fun". It is "fucking play this 10,000 times and piss of the devs while we keep changing the project, oh and by the way you are going to be fired once we ship this turd". That being said some of my best memories are from the games industry. From one of my friends that is in the industry and has been working on games since the atari 2600 days "It is the best and worst time you have ever had, sometimes in the same day". In Texas huh? Damn straight. Worked in every big studio here. Except Bioware. Ensemble? Maybe. Do I know you
It's possible, but I doubt it. I didn't work at ensemble. I worked there 6 years. I have worked at id software, GODGames, and a few publishers as well as a handful of startups. Any publishers in TX? GODGames, UDGames\Mumbo Jumbo. No real publishers really exist in TX right now beyond small in house stuff. |
| I had a friend do QA testing for Gearbox. It isn't glamorous or fun according to him. You play the same level over and over, find bugs, submit bug report, wait for fix, and then test again. You get no respect and there isn't any upward mobility. He and a bunch of others got laid off when a game (Brothers in Arms: Hells Highway) tanked. |
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I have been in the video game industry for 12 years. Started off as a tester when I was 18, I am now a producer overseeing 9 different game projects. I have worked on a dozen triple A titles for large and small companies. I have worked on more than 10 games that have sold more than a million copies. All in all I think I have helped ship about 30 million games. If you are a hard worker and don't have a social life it might work out for you. That being said. Being a tester sucks. You must be analytically minded. Be prepared to spend alot of hours at work and have no one appreciate what you do. It is not "I get to play games all day and it is fun". It is "fucking play this 10,000 times and piss of the devs while we keep changing the project, oh and by the way you are going to be fired once we ship this turd". That being said some of my best memories are from the games industry. From one of my friends that is in the industry and has been working on games since the atari 2600 days "It is the best and worst time you have ever had, sometimes in the same day". In Texas huh? Damn straight. Worked in every big studio here. Except Bioware. Ensemble? Maybe. Do I know you
It's possible, but I doubt it. I didn't work at ensemble. I worked there 6 years. I have worked at id software, GODGames, and a few publishers as well as a handful of startups. Any publishers in TX? GODGames, UDGames\Mumbo Jumbo. No real publishers really exist in TX right now beyond small in house stuff. I probably know you 
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I have been in the video game industry for 12 years. Started off as a tester when I was 18, I am now a producer overseeing 9 different game projects. I have worked on a dozen triple A titles for large and small companies. I have worked on more than 10 games that have sold more than a million copies. All in all I think I have helped ship about 30 million games. If you are a hard worker and don't have a social life it might work out for you. That being said. Being a tester sucks. You must be analytically minded. Be prepared to spend alot of hours at work and have no one appreciate what you do. It is not "I get to play games all day and it is fun". It is "fucking play this 10,000 times and piss of the devs while we keep changing the project, oh and by the way you are going to be fired once we ship this turd". That being said some of my best memories are from the games industry. From one of my friends that is in the industry and has been working on games since the atari 2600 days "It is the best and worst time you have ever had, sometimes in the same day". In Texas huh? Damn straight. Worked in every big studio here. Except Bioware. Ensemble? Maybe. Do I know you
It's possible, but I doubt it. I didn't work at ensemble. I worked there 6 years. I have worked at id software, GODGames, and a few publishers as well as a handful of startups. Any publishers in TX? GODGames, UDGames\Mumbo Jumbo. No real publishers really exist in TX right now beyond small in house stuff. I probably know you IM Sent 
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