Video Game Tester: Is It A Real Job Or Just Too Good To Be True?
You should not be fooled by the title "video game tester" into believing that this is a job, but rather an opportunity to be paid to do something you enjoy. While it is true that video game testers have a lot of fun playing the games that they grew up loving, it is also a highly serious profession.
Video game testers are employed by gaming firms to ensure that the products they are going to release are free of flaws. People will be turned off by a video game that is filled with faults and errors. As a result, becoming a video game tester (also known as a quality assurance tester) is a crucial position with numerous responsibilities.
The good news is that employment comes with a slew of perks that you can take advantage of while playing video games.
A video game tester's tasks include the following:
1) Determining the game's problems and errors
One of the key roles of a video game tester is to perform this task. To guarantee that there are no defects that may interfere with the game's functionality, you must play it multiple times (and in varied combinations). The gaming corporation has put in place databases and mechanisms to ensure that you may report any problems you find to the game developers.
You will frequently find that the corporation will evaluate your performance depending on how many bugs you can find. Finding the bugs in the software isn't enough. You must also be able to reproduce the bug numerous times to demonstrate that it is serious enough to warrant investigation. A game is frequently developed on a tight timetable by a gaming firm. This implies it will only examine major issues that will obstruct the game's progress and degrade the user experience.
2) Experimenting with the game's restrictions
As a video game tester, you'll be responsible for discovering the craziest and oddest things that gamers will be capable of doing with the game in question. Some players may wish to travel to the game's farthest point on the map. Others may wish to build the largest army feasible in the game. It's up to you to figure out if the game can withstand the strain of such occurrences. If it can't, you should notify the game's developers as soon as possible.
3) It is your obligation to ensure that the game can be defeated.
It's also crucial to determine whether or not the game can be defeated. Introducing an unbeatable game to the market will only serve to frustrate potential customers. They only want to be challenged to the point where they have to put in a lot of effort to win. They do, however, want to win in the end. It's up to you to figure out if this is possible.
One of the advantages of working as a video game tester is the opportunity to play games that have not yet been released. You'll also have access to a full collection of cheat codes for a specific game. The most significant advantage is that you will be compensated for doing something that you enjoy.
It's not all fun and games being a video game tester, but if you're up for it, it could be the coolest job you've ever had.
Why do job programs for video game testers that pay some people thousands of dollars leave others with a negative experience? And how do you know when these programs are right for you and when they aren't?
Let's take a look at traditional job hunting first.
Take a step back and consider classic job opportunities. When looking for work, whether it's as a secretary, sales representative, or plumber, there are a variety of options.
Doing it yourself is one option. Search for job positions on your own, produce your own resumes, then apply and attend interviews at each location (at the expense of gasoline or public transportation). You keep your entire paycheck at the conclusion of the process, owe no one anything to acquire a job, and owe no one anything once you have a job. This is the conventional technique of finding work, and in many cases, it is still the best option today. If you are receiving unemployment benefits from a former job, performing at least some of your job-seeking this manner may be required by law in your area in order to avoid losing your benefits before finding a new job.
Working with a staffing agency or a temporary job agency is another option. They use this strategy to try to discover work for you from a pool of hundreds of candidates. They may conduct one or a few interviews with you to obtain information that will help them locate the greatest matches for you among all of the positions in their database. They might also give help build a master resume for them, or a series of resumes from which they can choose the best for each type of job and submit to different employers.
Some agencies pay you, but charge the company in need of personnel both what you owe and more to cover their expenses. In this case, the agency is charging the company that needs personnel for labor as well as human resource management and other administrative services.
Alternatively, placement agencies and organizations that cater to freelancers may charge the job seeker a one-time fee for each successful placement or monthly membership fees. One-time payments are more frequent among agencies that place people in permanent jobs, whereas membership fees are more popular among freelancers.
For example, independent truckers can sign up for services that provide them with access to hundreds of potential shipping contracts from which to choose. In this case, the agency gathers and delivers as many potential contracts to truckers as possible for a charge, and it is up to the truckers to accept the proposals that best match their personal, scheduling and financial goals. Taxi drivers may have a similar arrangement with a dispatch agency that charges a monthly fee for the use of a branded name, the service of forwarding callers to drivers, and possibly the use of a vehicle expressly outfitted to function as a taxi. The money collected from passengers is kept by the drivers.
What are the differences between video game tester jobs?
They are not, in fact, any different.
You have the same alternatives when it comes to game tester jobs.
It's something you can do on your own. You can find free work entirely on your own, based on your own experience, education, and training. You can look for changes on your own, just like you would for any other work.
Directly contacting firms like Blizzard, EA Software, Konami, Riot Games, and others will just waste your time and resources. All you have to do is compete against other, potentially more experienced game testers; some of them may already know what hiring managers are looking for, be familiar with these firms, and have a broader variety of experiences to draw from when building their credentials and portfolios. You won't have to pay someone to compete against other applicants who may be able to react faster, have stronger qualifications, and have a better understanding of what counts and what doesn't to potential employers.
You might also apply for a job as a video game tester. For more traditional occupations, this structure works similarly to the one with staffing businesses and freelance agencies.
The person looking for a job may be able to join for free in some cases. In this situation, the game production firm that needs their games tested pays the company that runs the program to offer testers from a pool of candidates. You may or may not be paid the same as if you worked for the game development business directly.
If your membership is free in either situation, it's because the game production business contributes funds to the program in addition to the funds you receive. In exchange, the firm running the program takes care of human resources and other chores, such as screening possible applicants and only picking those who they believe are most suited to the game development company's objectives. These businesses do not charge you because they are paid by the game production company, which is who they work for, not you.
Other arrangements are more like taxi drivers, truckers, message specialists, beauticians, and other freelancers. You pay a membership fee in exchange for services, the most basic of which is making as many jobs as you qualify for available to you. Others may include assisting you with the development and presentation of your resume, matching you with the best contracts, and managing your portfolio on your behalf. You pay them a monthly fee or a part of your earnings, and they work for you rather than the gaming corporation.
So, why are certain video game tester job programs great while others aren't?
And how can I know if a program like this is good for me?
The main issue is a misalignment of the game tester's goals and objectives with the services and advantages of the program.
Experienced game testers may not profit from a curriculum, although they may benefit from the books and other materials provided by some programs. They should first see if they could get the same books and materials sooner, cheaper, or both on their own. A program would only benefit experienced game testers if paying a price to access these kinds of resources would save them time and money compared to going out and finding them on their own.
Experienced game testers may not profit from a curriculum, although they may benefit from the books and other materials provided by some programs. They should first see if they could get the same books and materials sooner, cheaper, or both on their own. A program would only benefit experienced game testers if paying a price to access these kinds of resources would save them time and money compared to going out and finding them on their own.
If you're a professional game tester who thinks the jobs offered through these programs are a step backward for you, but you still don't want to search on your own (perhaps you average $11/hr. but could average $35/hr. if you had help being more competitive), traditional staffing agencies are an option. This is ideal if you're looking to advance from a full-time game tester position to a better one, or if you're open to different types of work. On the downside, unless they specialize in gaming, they may struggle with video game tester work.
If your qualifications are strong enough and your portfolio stands on its own, a typical hiring agency is still your best bet if you're serious about rising up in your game development career.
If you're new to game-related professions or the job market in general, a program will most likely help you. If you want to get a degree in the field, college education programs are the finest option. College programs, on the other hand, rarely provide job placement at the conclusion of the degree.
If you're worried about finding work when you graduate, you may supplement your college education by working as a freelance video game tester in your spare time. For someone new to game development, supplementing your college degree with time spent in a freelance program is usually the ideal option.
Another concern is the marketing of these programs. Although the practice of matching people with projects for a fee predates the United States, the video game industry has only grown since the dawn of the computer age.
As a result, firms that link employees with traditional jobs typically market themselves by stating their benefits plainly. There is no need to persuade anyone about the concept of a traditional job; instead, they should tell people about the benefits of using a staffing service rather than looking for work on their own.
Video game tester work programs, on the other hand, must promote both the concept of being a video game tester and the concept of doing so through a freelance program. This is sometimes accomplished by combining compelling language with the finest instances of prospective revenue, which, while correct, may not reflect the typical results of the average tester.
Furthermore, some of the websites marketing these programs are not created by the program's operator, but rather by third-party internet marketers who merely develop a website with the most positive and persuasive content before moving on to another site promoting a different product. It's not that somebody is perpetrating a "scam." The video game tester job program matches potential testers with open positions, whereas the affiliate webmaster's goal is to create as many websites as possible for as many things as they can earn money marketing.
Look for: citations from well-known game industry writers or trusted sources like Wikipedia, in-depth many-paged articles, recently updated articles (indicating a site that's kept up to date), at least one page being older (an older term of service or privacy policy shows the site has been around for a while), and at least one page being older (an older term of service or privacy policy shows the site has been around for a while). Affiliate sites that exhibit these traits are more likely to provide you with information you can trust and rely on, as well as advertise and market tried-and-true programs, even if other sites marketing the same products employ more generic sales approaches.
What if you don't care about college or a long-term profession and just want some quick cash?
If this is the case, you should consider the types of assignments you choose once you enroll in a video game tester training program. Even if their website focuses mostly on QA, most schools give both consumer experience (CE, UX, or UXA) and quality assurance (QA) tasks. When choosing, applying for, and accepting assignments, be sure to read the assignment thoroughly to understand what it requires and the standards you must meet in order to get paid. QA jobs pay a lot more, but they're not as easy and aren't nearly as entertaining.
QA testing is time-consuming, difficult at times, and necessitates a more dedicated approach. Of course, if you encounter a QA opportunity that looks like something you'd enjoy doing (and pays well), don't pass it up. Just keep in mind that QA tasks aren't as simple as CE, UX, or UXA jobs - especially if you're looking for quick cash. Of course, the benefit of QA is that it pays more if you meet all of its requirements.
Autumn Zajczerova is Atlantic Magnolia Solutions' Head of IT/IS Research. Autumn began "experimenting" with computers at the age of eight, modifying computer code in simple programs, and she now has over 26 years of experience with computers and technology.
Autumn was producing "little, generic, 2D Graphics games" as a novelty for friends who had access to computers before she began playing video games herself in 1996 at the age of 16.
Autumn has been researching and writing for almost 9 years on the internet. She is skilled at detecting opportunities, weighing the benefits and drawbacks of various work options, and recognizing a good find when she sees one.