[PlayStation] Casting Call for "The Tester" Reality Show

I've heard QA is a terrible if you actually like playing games.

 

Probably depends on the developer/publisher. But yeah, not really some great prize IMO. Then again, if you want to get into the industry (especially as a designer?), you have to start somewhere.

 

Why would playing video games for a living be terrible?

 

This isn't playing games for a living. This is testing/doing QA for games.

As much as I enjoyed Fallout 3, I don't think I'd want to replay every quest 15-20 times (in a limited amount of time), just to make sure they all worked properly under different circumstances. Not to mention all the work you'd have to put in when it comes to reporting problems. And there would be plenty of problems...if there weren't any, you wouldn't have a job.

And that's actually assuming you're lucky enough to do QA for a good game. Imagine having to QA something like...I don't know...Dora the Explorer: Dora Saves the Snow Princess. To be fair, I might be exaggerating things I bit (I've never done QA for games), but I doubt things are that much different.

Now that's not to say there aren't worse jobs. There definitely are. Just saying that it may not be as great as it sounds.

 

You can't just play a game like you normally would. You have to look for mistakes and go though every possible thing that can potentially be done in a game. That includes playing like a n00b and doing all the stupid things anyone could conceivably do. It becomes very tedious and boring after awhile. You have to play the same section over and over and over again for hours on end. It's very easy to get burned out. Even hardcore gamers can get burned out playing the same section of a game every day for 8 hours a day. As deadline approach, they may have to put in 16 hour days. I don't care what it is, even if it's something you like it can be very hard to do the same thing over and over again for 16 hours.

 

I routinely replay the same sections of a game over and over and over again, so I wouldn't mind that. But I guess I'm weird that way. I must have restarted GTA IV 10-15 times before I finally decided to just finish the game.

 

You ain't lying bro...

- Peter North

 

Got a buddy who's a tester for EA, or at least used to be. He got to test... get this... the PS2 version of Mercenaries 2, last I heard (haven't talked to him for awhile). He pretty much thought it was torture. Not only did the game simply suck, there was the aforementioned endless repetition and having to not really play it "for real," but play it with the intention of trying to "break" it.

I would never want to be a game tester. It would ruin the fun of my favorite passtime for me.

 

Ive never done QA but I would guess its not just playing the seconds over again and again.

You would have a whole list of things you have to do such as test the boundries of the game. If you say swim out far enough into the ocean in GTA and the game locks up, thats a problem. If you gain a certain amount of money and the game cant handle the numbers and locks up, thats a problem.

Imagine having to walk into all the different street signs, get hit by every car, having to eat every bit of food at every hotdog stand in GTA over and over again non stop.

It would be very tedious.

I've also heard many times that QA in the games industry is not for people that like playing games. Its more for people that get more fun out of building and breaking down parts of games.


Still, better than digging ditches for a living!

 

Terrible prize for the winner, lol.

But, I will watch the show.

 

I think the final challenge should be....

Who can actually play NBA '10 without putting it down after 5 minutes? Obviously, the person that could do that would have the mental toughness that is required to be a game tester.

Although going by this thread, the final challenge should be whoever is willing to sign the contract.

Spoiler

I actually played a few of the demos for Sony's NBA games and somewhat enjoyed them...well, more than I expected anyway.

 

I don't think it's so much replaying the same sections deciding whether to use an Uzi or a Molotov cocktail, but, as Christopher/others have stated, replaying each section of the unfinished product, trying to mash all the button combinations possible and jump in just the right spots over and over and over again, trying to discover spots where Niko can fall into the blue pit of hell.

Then having to document the mistakes, send them off to be recoded, and do the same thing over all again.

Add to that, because of the laws of (infinite gamers') supply and (based on the perceived awesomeness of the job) demand, from an article I read a year or two back most companies only pay $10 or so an hour, part time.

At least ditch-diggers don't develop carpal tunnel syndrome as often, and usually belong to unions/get paid better.

Didn't sound like it was worth it.

 

Indeed.

EA would only hire my aforementioned buddy for a period of a few months... as long as they could without being required by law to pay him benefits. Plus the pay isn't/wasn't any good.

 

EA was also notorious for being lousy employers, trying to shortchange employees and overworking them (even by industry standards). I don't know if they've changed since then.

 

It sucks you play the same crappy game over an over until it finally gets ok, but by that time you are so sick of it, you want to move on...

DD

 

This actually sounds like a good reality show I would watch.

 

Games testing is a great way to get in the industry but they work those people like dogs......long hours, low pay.....it is a hard deal.

DD

 

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