You can find a lot of informations about video game testing jobs on the internet. But most of them will tell you that you will be rich with this job and some of them will tell you it's a scam. Do not believe any of it! I will share every "true" information with you that I know and find about video game testing jobs. Ok, let's start.What does a video game tester do?
As a video game tester, you will test some games and get paid, right? Right, but not that easy. If you are reading this, that means you are a game lover and interested in game testing jobs. That's the most important thing. Because you should love playing games to become a video game tester. It must be a passion for you. I don't know what you know about game testing but it's not just playing games and getting paid. Before doing anything, answer all these questions. They might give you a clue about yourself to become a video game tester;
- In which difficulty do you generally play games? Easy? Normal? Hard?
- What do you feel or do when a game that you play has a lot of bugs?
- What do you do if you can't complete a part of a game which is very hard? Do you play it again and again until complete it? Or you swear and quit the game? Are you patient enough?
- Do you like playing every single detail of a game?
- How much do you know about games market?
Are you qualified to become a game tester?
If you are wondering why I asked those questions to you, answer is simple. They are actually answer of the question; "Are you qualified to become a video game tester?". First of all you should know that, game testing is not only about playing games. It's a real "job"! Every job requires responsibilities and this one does too. So what's the duty of a game tester?
As a video game tester, you will get unreleased games. Every game company presents their new games to game testers before releasing it to find out the bugs and other issues. That means these games might have a lot of bugs. You will play them and report the bugs. Simple, right? No, not at all. That's why I asked you the questions above. Your duty won't be only playing them, video game testers are expected to play every detail of a game. You need an extra attention on the games. Have you ever played a game which is full of bugs? I'm sure you have and know how annoying it is. But get used to it, because if you decided to become a tester, playing games with bugs will be your job.
When I play a game, I don't explore everywhere sometimes. But game testers must do. You must look everywhere and explore every detail. You don't have a chance to miss any detail or bug. Because this is your job and your job is to find and report bugs, graphical problems, playability and other issues.
I asked you about hard levels of games. What was your answer to that question? I hope it was the first option, because sometimes testers need to play a part of a game hundreds of times to find bugs and other issues. So you won't play the games for pleasure. But you will get paid by playing games, that's still a truth and if you love playing games no matter what, it's still a good job.
As a game tester you would;
- play every detail of a game
- play and test different versions
- check the game performance
- compare the game with other games
- find bugs, problems, spelling mistakes and report them to developers.
Working days, hours and income
If you want to be a video game tester, be ready for draconian employers. Because you would probably work long but unsocial hours to meet the deadlines. Evenings, weekends and public holidays will be your working days and times. At some places, you will need to work up to 8 hours.
Like I said before, don't expect to get rich. This is not a job for this. Starting salary of a game tester might be between 15,000$ and 20,000$ per year. But with experience, you can earn up to 25,000$-30,000$. Also if you really want to have a job in game industry, video game testing will be a good opportunity for you.
Conclusion
Video game testing might be a really good job for gamers. But remember, you should LOVE video games. Playing video games should be a passion for you. That's the most important thing. I think working hours and salary won't be a problem for game lovers. Also salary is not bad, you will play games and get paid, how bad could it be?
You don't need formal qualifications. Your playing skills, gaming experience and knowledge about the market are more imortant. If you know about the basics of programming, that will be an extra advantage for you. Also I suggest you to improve your written and spoken communication skills.
If you have a passion about playing video games, game testing could be a great opportunity for you. Also this job could be your first step in to the game industry career. But finding jobs could be a little hard and complicated. Here is a site that you can find gaming jobs. But remember, it doesn't promise you a job, it's a useful database of available jobs. Also you can find other jobs about game industry than game testing by becoming a member. It's very useful for starters and people who are confused about finding a job as a video game tester.
Who knows, it could be your dream job...
No comments:
Post a Comment