Game Test Report

You’re great at beating games, finding bugs, and have everything you need to become a video game tester.  So you go to iGameTester, and they help you get an entry-level gaming job, but how do you move up? What about becoming a video game designer? or an executive?

You need to upgrade your education, and one of the best resources out there is webdesignschools.com, which has information on all of the best design programs, specifically geared toward the video game industry.  Westwood College is one of the most well-known schools for people with a knack for design and and interest in the game industry.

It’s well worth your time to check out the schools and at least get the information about their programs (you only have to fill out a simple form) and you can get started on moving up!

A lot of them even offer financial aid, and if you’re serious about becoming a game tester or designer and moving up in the industry, your education is a super-important investment.

Gamefly is a fairly new site that is basically the “Netflix” of video games.  This is such a great service, because I always have a hard time paying $50+ for a game that will only take me a few days to beat.

Even renting games costs more than renting movies, and you have to return it on time or you face getting raped by late fees.  Gamefly allows you to rent your games online, and have them delivered by mail without requiring you to walk farther than your mailbox.  And there’s no late fees!

This is key information and terminology that will be really useful once you’re in the industry.  The following are the names and descriptions of different types of testing that game testers do.

*Beta testing is a term that almost everyone knows. Technically, it means any testing that’s done on a game that’s in the “beta” stage of development. Often, though, it means the first version of a game that anyone outside the company sees… a ‘public beta’. Public betas are great because thousands of eager fans will often find bugs that your small group of testers couldn’t. It’s also useful to distinguish beta testers from QA testers: beta testers might test from home, or casually on a single project, while QA testing is generally a full-time, trained job.

*Regression testing is a stage of testing. Once a bug has been fixed by the coders, it’s returned to the QA department for regression testing. QA checks to see whether the bug is still there (regression) and then runs similar tests to see whether the fix broke something else. That second stage is often called halo testing; it involves no space marines, but rather tests all around a bug, looking for other bugs.

*Compatibility testing is one of the geekier kinds of testing, in my opinion: it’s for the hardware mechanics. In order to get the list of system requirements for a game, you need to test it on a bunch of different machines, each with specific video cards, amounts of RAM, operating systems, processors, and so on. You can often start with a good guess (if a game was built for Flash, it has the requirements that Flash does) but you’ve still got to test from there. Compatibility testing pretty much has to come toward the end of development, when the game is coming together, because so much of the compatibility depends on exactly how the programmers work their magic. This means that if you can afford it, it’s often good to run at least two rounds of compatibility tests: one early in beta to highlight some problems with plenty of time to fix them, and one late in beta or during GMC (gold master candidate, when the game is ready to ship) to really figure out exactly what the system requirements are.

*Load testing tests the limits of a system. The system could be the number of players on an MMO server, or the number of sprites active on the screen, the amount of traffic running over an internet connection, or the number of threads running in a particular program. It’s most commonly used in the first sense, to mean the number of players or processes running on a server. Load testing generally requires a lot of people (like a beta test group) or software that fakes heavy activity.

*Unit testing is another pretty technical term, and it may not be the responsibility of the QA department. A unit test is run on a piece of code, often automated, to test whether it works at a basic level. For instance, if a piece of code is supposed to take in a username for an MMO and return an error if the name is already taken, then the unit test would automatically input a name that is known not to be used and one that is used and make sure that the proper response is given. Often programmers write unit tests for their own code, and QA only gets to see that part of the game once it has passed all of its unit tests. A good QA department, though, may help design unit tests to make them rigorous. Unit testing happens throughout a project… anytime the programmers are working!

*Soak testing is a very technical term that will make you look good in interviews but which might land you a tedious job. Soak testing involves running a game for a long time to see whether performance degrades. Very subtle bugs like memory leaks might not come out in playing the game for five minutes but could ruin a saved game or crash the computer after an hour and a half of playing. Soak testing is often automated, with software faking mouseclicks or otherwise making sure the computer doesn’t go to sleep. Many soak test bugs end up being filed unfixed as PUB (”Psychotic User Behavior”, a useful term, really) because a normal player wouldn’t play the same Pac-man level for 175 minutes in a row.

Check out the below description so you know exactly what you need to be able to do for a more advanced game testing job.  So once you’ve been working for a year or so, this is what you can expect!  Hone your skills now. (This is taken from an actual job description!)

Responsibilities include:

* Adhere to posted game policies of each product support

* Address and resolve any technical abnormalities, bugs

* Exploration and side by side comparison of what has been implemented in terms of content against intended design documents, if any.

* Annotation of bugs\issues found using DevTrack Database followed by reenactment of each issue when another update to a title has been received. Results are fed back through way of notes, screenshots and technical data documented on each issue written until there is a confirmed resolution for the matter.

* Investigate and document daily problems, technical issues

* Document and communicate game/technical/investigation issues to supervisors

* Attend regular team/department meetings

* Test tools and log events

* Coexist with CS\GM departments – Verify reports given by players and note them into database if found to be valid.

Qualifications are:
* Minimum 1-2 years of relative experience

* Flexible work schedule: Employees may be required to work a variety of shifts including nights and weekends. Overtime may be requested during time of high volume due to game updates or product launches.

* Possess good computer skills and knowledge of MS Office. Experience with Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Office, and experience with Microsoft Internet Explorer is required.

* Database Knowledge: DevTrack/DevTest/Test Track/Merant Tracker.

* Must have good communication skills; verbal and written

* Ability to work well with others and independently.

* Ability to multi-task and perform during stressful situations.

So, you think you want to be a video game tester? Do you have any idea what you’re getting yourself into?

Sure you can make a lot of money playing video games. The gaming industry continues to grow by the billions of dollars, but that doesn’t mean that you’ll be making a ton of money right away. You’ll start off around $10/hour (not bad for extra money or gas money!), but can work your way up to making around $80/hour. You’re going to have to work hard and prove yourself before the cash really starts rolling in. You can just be John Doe off the street and realistically make $80/hour, so don’t be naive.

Being a video game tester isn’t actually all fun and games. It can be super boring at times, so this job is really only a good idea for serious gamers. I mean, it’s one thing to play Grand Theft Auto IV and beat it in a couple of days. It’s totally another when the game company tells you what game to play, and sometimes you’ll just play the same level, over and over…and over. You’ll have to test every pixel of the game and find bugs. I tested Need For Speed and drove my car backwards for the entire course to find a bug (got a nice bonus though!). So once you’ve played the same level 50 times and found a repeatable bug, you then have to fill out a bug report and survey of the game. Yep, you have to write stuff and send it in.

Game testing can be pretty fun, and I have obtained some pretty sweet unreleased games, but the only reason to really become a game tester is if you eventually want bigger and better jobs in the video game industry. Being a video game tester is great experience, and you can establish relationships and reputation with game companies. Before you go to game design or programming school, it’s a good idea to try game testing and get a taste of what you’ll really be dealing with. Game industry experience is a huge thing to put on your resume, and you’ll wind up having the advantage.

So, you still want to be a video game tester? I have found a few sites online that are great resources for getting in the door. There are a lot of other sites out there, and I haven’t tried them all, but beware of scams and sites with useless information. You’ll end up wasting time and money.

Only4Gamers has a fairly decent 3-step plan to get paid to play games. I followed the steps and managed to get started. This one takes a little longer to get rolling, but I was ultimately able to get a game testing job (withing 90 days) for a really popular unreleased game.

This one includes a game tester e-book, which can be really valuable, especially if you are a brand new game tester. There are also some pretty nice bonuses, you have the chance to win a PSP, Playstation 3, or Xbox 360! But who knows? It may just be a ploy to get people to sign up.

Only4Gamers also has a money-back guarantee, which is an important feature of all of the products here. It gives you everything you need to get started, but you have to put in a little effort on your own. So, again, if you’re serious, any of these sites can work for you.

I thought this program was also really good. The creator of this group claims to be a game tester, and that he’s been making money doing it. Based on his guide, I think he’s legit and his guidance will be really helpful for new game testers.

Like iGameTester, GameTesterGuide offers a onetime membership fee. This program covers everything! You set up your gamer profile, which they then help you submit to get game testing jobs. This one doesn’t offer as many high-paying opportunities, but it is pretty straightforward. You send in your profile and start getting games in the mail with a survey. You play the game, send in your review, and then the company sends you a check!

GameTesterGuide has a lifetime membership and although you’re not earning big bucks, you can get started pretty easily. They have a membership special going on this month so it’s worth having a look!