Video game testing

[XLordXNightmareX]

I'm just curious if any of you guys work as a video game tester as a living or just for extra money. I myself am contemplating becoming one sometime in the near future.

[GT__Jedi]

I'm always on the list for beta testing, but it doesn't pay anything.  You get a free game or stuff like that.  I suggest keeping your day job. 

 

What is your background?  Do you have a programmer or any technical expertise?  Are you interested in working with a game developer or are you thinking of more at home stuff?

Edited May 3, 2018 by PermaFox

[EternalChaos72]

I've always thought about it, but i wouldn't know where to look.

Edited May 3, 2018 by EternalChaos72

[Dr_Mayus]

 

Seriously though I know a lot of people think game testing is this sweet job where you get to play Uncharted 5 before everyone else...but in reality it isn't that glamorous.

 

 

If you want a fun job that is either part time or full time (depending on where you live) be a Rep instead. I was the Playstation Rep for 3 years in my province and I had a blast. I tried out the latest games, promoted all the new items to stores and customers, set up kick ass displays, ran tournaments etc. It is a lot different now than when I did it as I hear the reps now don't have nearly as much freedom as I did...but still a fun job  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ExHaseo]

I've done testing for a couple of different companies, but they didn't pay anything. I got other things instead, like games and gift cards.

 

If you like gaming, you don't want to be a professional tester anyway. A tester's job is to break the game. So, you're generally limited to a small section of the game, in order to find bugs. You just have to replay the same things over and over and over again and report any bugs. Once they're possibly fixed, you get to do it again. It's not fun, and it absolutely ruins the game.

[XLordXNightmareX]

2 hours ago, PermaFox said:

I'm always on the list for beta testing, but it doesn't pay anything.  You get a free game or stuff like that.  I suggest keeping your day job. 

 

What is your background?  Do you have a programmer or any technical expertise?  Are you interested in working with a game developer or are you thinking of more at home stuff?

I think I have more of an interest at an at home job working with a developer but right now I'm taking some I.T. Network classes and I do have quite a bit of experience with glitches in gaming and the closest thing job-wise that comes to game testing is Problem Solve at an Amazon Fulfillment Center around my area.

[Kittet3]

In my area, we have a nonprofit that allows indie devs to playtest their games for free, so I go to that a lot. It's not true playtesting as it's more of a way to show off your game and get feedback, but it strikes a good balance between what players want to do in games and a service game devs need. I'm also signed up with Able Gamer's player panel where they maintain a database of people with various disabilities to playtest games with a focus on accessibility. I only got one offer so far and I wasn't able to complete it, but they offered a drawing for a steam gift card, so I guess that's potential payment. 

[Asvinia]

I looked into getting a job as a tester several years ago. You're required to have extremely good written communication skills and a lot of patience. Your job is to play and replay the same sections of game over and over and over and over again in slightly different ways to see if you can break it. You basically need to jump at slightly different sections of wall at slightly different angles for 8 hours a day or more. If you find a bug, you need to replicate it several times over and write in a form exactly how you broke the game and instructions on how to replicate it. Doesn't matter if you like the game or it's a type of game you're good at. There's a good chance it will ruin your hobby for you.

The hours are long and the pay is abysmal. But apparently it's a good way to get your foot in the door in you want to work your way higher up.

Edited May 4, 2018 by Asvinia

[DEMON]

Like @Dr_Mayus said, it's not a sweet job, and it's definitely not a job you can do on the side, it like others say, you have to do loads of writing, it's not just playing a game, and going "Yo, I found a bug here", you actually have to figure out what kind of bug it is, does it always happen? Or does it only happen sometimes? You could be playing through the same section of a game for eight hours straight or more, your purpose in games testing is to essentially try, and break the game, so that the developers can see that there is indeed bugs in their coding somewhere, you may even have to suggest what could be causing the bug, so programming knowledge can also be required. I'm actually qualified to do professional games testing, although, I've never done it, and the college I went to that granted me the qualification to do it, really scared me off the idea, it's really long hours as well, more than average, you can expect eye strain, headaches as well to happen during that. It's also not really a work from home job at all.

 

Think about being a game reviewer/journalist (whereas you go, and request copies of games off developers, you'll probably not be paid anything except from ads if you use your own personal website, and then the free games if you have any success there, or join a website that pays per review/post), you will probably have to buy your games first, review them to show developers your skills at analysing a game, and probably don't expect anyone like Capcom to send games out (I found they're very difficult as they look at your website ratings). Game reviewing/journalism can be a work from home job (depends who you work with or if you do freelancing/your own personal website with ads), and really, some might ask for qualifications, but so long as you can write, grammar/spell check your stuff, you would be good to go for this.

[Lava_Yuki]

I wasn't but one of my friends from Japan was. She told that in terms of pay, it was next to nothing and she did it in addition her main job at a sales company. It involved repeatedly playing the same game over and over to find bugs, faults, glitches etc. basically like a Beta tester. No qualifications or anything of that sort was needed, but it is certainly not a job that would put food on the table. The downsides are that you are sitting in front of the screen for 8 hours, like a normal 9-5 shift so health-wise it's not a great job in that you strain your eyes, no exercise and are liable to things like poor posture and back pain from sitting down all day. 

 

Money wise, she said it was comparable to a part time job students do for a bit of cash on the side. Although a lot of the time it is unpaid.

 

If you want a gaming related job, Games programmer or designer is an option? My best friend was a game designer for Otomate in Japan, and now she works at a different company that designs App games. She designs the field, characters, levels etc.  Her husband is a programmer and does games mostly for Steam. He developed a game called After Life on Steam. They make a decent living as well.

Another one of my friends is an animator, although she said the pay is extremely low with a lot of overtime and late nights and has to live with her parents. 

 

Gaming companies have many roles though, like Audio, level editing, character design, engineer, technical artist, project manager etc. that are pretty flexible in terms of qualifications with transferable skills,  

 

Games journalism for gaming magazines or online (a degree in journalism/ English/ writing etc. is helpful) is an option too. 

[XLordXNightmareX]

2 hours ago, Lava_Yuki said:

I wasn't but one of my friends from Japan was. She told that in terms of pay, it was next to nothing and she did it in addition her main job at a sales company. It involved repeatedly playing the same game over and over to find bugs, faults, glitches etc. basically like a Beta tester. No qualifications or anything of that sort was needed, but it is certainly not a job that would put food on the table. The downsides are that you are sitting in front of the screen for 8 hours, like a normal 9-5 shift so health-wise it's not a great job in that you strain your eyes, no exercise and are liable to things like poor posture and back pain from sitting down all day. 

 

Money wise, she said it was comparable to a part time job students do for a bit of cash on the side. Although a lot of the time it is unpaid.

 

If you want a gaming related job, Games programmer or designer is an option? My best friend was a game designer for Otomate in Japan, and now she works at a different company that designs App games. She designs the field, characters, levels etc.  Her husband is a programmer and does games mostly for Steam. He developed a game called After Life on Steam. They make a decent living as well.

Another one of my friends is an animator, although she said the pay is extremely low with a lot of overtime and late nights and has to live with her parents. 

 

Gaming companies have many roles though, like Audio, level editing, character design, engineer, technical artist, project manager etc. that are pretty flexible in terms of qualifications with transferable skills,  

 

Games journalism for gaming magazines or online (a degree in journalism/ English/ writing etc. is helpful) is an option too. 

I had an I.T. class that is Project Manager and I passed it although I don't have the certification for it yet and I have a huge idea for a AAA game so I think it would possibly be a great combination and an opportunity to rise up in the world.