5 Tips For Video Game Testers

I've told you about the basics of game testing before. Being a video game tester is a dream job for most gamers but it's not easy. You should take it seriously. There are some tips you should know to become a good video game tester and I'll tell you about them. If you learn everything well, you could write down quality reports, look more professional and get more job offers.

1. Developers will send you some data and information about the game. You should read them again and again to have an idea about what the game will be like. You are expected for a feedback about the game with a standard format for evaluation reports. You will be also given a deadline. So read everything and use every resource that was sent to you for your advantage.

2. You should always remember that you won't play the games for fun. You must do more than just playing a game. You need an extra attention on details and test every single part of the game. If there are more than one character in the game, you should play them all. Open your eyes widely and focus for anything abnormal or out of place. You are a video game tester, always remember that.

3. While testing a game, take notes for everything that doesn't seem normal or you think it doesn't work. But avoid of being vague, because these notes will be the basics of your report. One of the most important thing when writing down a report is being as concrete as you can. Describe bugs and glitches and try not to make too many mistakes. If you do, developers might start to look for a new tester and let you go. Remember, there are many people who want to be a game tester.

4. Finding bugs will be your main duty in game testing job and if you come across one, you should try recreating it. Because some bugs could be random and some of them could be triggered by a specific action. So all you need to do is finding out why it happens. Characters, equipments and items that you use, levels, locations, etc. every single information will be very important to help developers on fixing errors. That's why you shouldn't miss any detail. Also you must find other small errors such as audio errors, discoloration, misspelling, etc.

5. If you do your job well and have time before deadline, I suggest you to play the entire game again. Maybe you can't have enough time for long lasting games that takes more than 35 hours, but spend your any free time to play it again as long as you can. This way you can find a bug or something else that you missed before. When your deadline is close, don't forget anything and write down your final report. Every piece of information is important in your notes. Start writing from main errors and make your report look professional and well organized.

I hope you find these tips useful. I think you should know them to be a successful video game tester. Game testing could be a hard job sometimes but if you love video games, then that won't be a problem for you.