Are any of you guys video-game testers?

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lnguyen831

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I saw a post on craigslist about a local company needing video games testers, and after 3 months they finally got back to me saying I can test for them...

$20 per session for 2 hours.... they say they are currently playing ps2 and 360 games...

so my question is, what exactly do I do as a video game tester? I know I should wait and see when I get there, but I wanna know the general ideas of being a video game tester...

Have any of you guys ever been a video game tester?
 
I got to be a tester for a whole week at THQ, after which I was booted out on my ass after the test we had to take. (Bitch of it is, I got a 97% correct on that test, highest from the class. I guess I "failed" due to my handwriting sucking.) Basically, you play games over and over. Do anything and everything a person playing might do. Play it normally, play it purposely trying to break it (running into a wall, trying to kill someone you're not supposed to, etc etc). If you find something that doesn't work, stop what you're doing and write it down. Write down *exactly* what you did to make it happen, your current in-game status, location, etc etc.

Putting down exactly how you made a bug happen is EXTREMELY important. A dev must be able to recreate the bug.

Then, turn off the console and try to do the bug again. Try it 10 times, which will give you a nice repeatability. (You'll write down something like "Repeatability: 6/10". This is super helpful.) Repeat until you go home. :)
 
Logain sums it up. Writing down exactly what happened and the repeatability is a definate MUST. Also if the bug is something small, write it up anyways. Most likely the bug(s) will be a will not fix but it shows that you're paying attention and dedicated to your work. This would apply to all game companies good or bad. Because it is a small industry and word can get around on how your performance is.

If you can't find agood bug or feel stumped...think out of the box. You never know what might happen. Good luck and hope you like where you're going to be at.
 
But I'm assuming these are not BETA games that we are testing because they mention they are playing PS2 and 360 games? Unless this company can get their hands on BETAS... is it possible to test a retail game? Or are these games guaranteed to be Beta versions of games.
 
They should be BETAs. There's no reason to re-test a game after they've been released for a particular model. However, there are exceptions. Those would be any online game, new content added to the game (ie..DMC 3, GTA) and/or if ported over to another console.
 
I think part of it is the company you test for- I had one friend work for Nintendo, who said it was really laid-back and you played whatever. On the flip side, my BF's siblings just did some 360 testing, and apparently spent several hours just turning the unit on and off in various ways. ;)
 
[quote name='camoor']If you bought an XBox 360 at launch (or any M$oft launch product/software for that matter) - then congrats - you're a BETA tester![/QUOTE]
ROFL

Amen bro, Amen!!
 
[quote name='camoor']If you bought an XBox 360 at launch (or any M$oft launch product/software for that matter) - then congrats - you're a BETA tester![/QUOTE]


hahah
 
[quote name='camoor']If you bought an XBox 360 at launch (or any M$oft launch product/software for that matter) - then congrats - you're a BETA tester![/QUOTE]

Quote of the year!! :rofl:
 
[quote name='JEKKI']testing for Atelier Iris = best job ever

seriously, u get paid to play video games[/QUOTE]

Okay, if someone as awesome as a CAGer beta-tested Atelier Iris, why the fuck were there so many glitches? Son of a bitch froze during the goddamn ending, and the final boss was a bitch, so I had to beat the bastard all over again, which took a while.
 
Sure you get paid to play games, but it's the same game and you play it over and over for hours each day, trying to break it anyway you can think of.
 
[quote name='Logain8955']play it purposely trying to break it [/QUOTE]


I thought I should explain a little bit more on "trying to break it". This means you are attempting to do things that you are *not supposed to do*. Chances are, some moron out there is gonna try to do them. Here's a few specific examples:


In World of Warcraft: Attempt to stab Thrall right in his stupid orc face. Try to disenchant vendor white items. My favorite is a bug my friend found back in closed beta where if you jumped and turned around in midair, you were suddenly unaggro to everything. He would go into Blackrock Depths and run the Emperor over and over without any repercussions.

In Burnout Revenge: Try to turn around and win the race in reverse. Try to drive into buildings. While in the air, try to fly over fences and walls that block the way.

In Diablo 2: Stab Deckard Cain right in his stupid old face.

You probably see the point. Try to do anything and everything and if something feels wrong, bug it up. :)



Oh, and for Console Betas, the test consoles are specilized units that will allow you to play burned games. The developers will take the latest version of the code, burn em to discs and throw em in the machines.
 
I remember reading an article about beta testing (maybe for Rockstar) a long time ago and they were talking about how hard it is to catch certain glitches, even with testers. One of the examples they gave was a tester who crashed a car into a wall in a game. Nothing unusual happened. The tester went to lunch, leaving the game on and the car against the wall. When the tester got back, the car was floating in that "no man's land" outside of the level.

Simply crashing the car into the wall did nothing, but leaving the car against the wall for a long period of time caused it to pass through it.
 
My friend is a game tester for Activision in LA. Apparently he's not a short-term or on contract, but rather, a full time game tester. He's been testing Q4 for 360 (yes, insert jokes here, I do it all the time), and now he's testing The Movies for PC. Whether he is testing the expansion pack I'm not sure, I'll have to ask him. But it's not an entirely lay back job. You don't just 'play games' (probably most of the time anyway), he gets a check list everyday and he has to complete all the tasks that were asked to do and write up a report of some sort. And he's doing the graveyard shift, 11pm to 9am.
 
[quote name='JEKKI']testing for Atelier Iris = best job ever

seriously, u get paid to play video games[/quote]

[quote name='Dead of Knight']Okay, if someone as awesome as a CAGer beta-tested Atelier Iris, why the fuck were there so many glitches? [/QUOTE]


:lol:
 
I am conflicted in this idea.

On the one hand it would be kickass to have games as your livelihood.

Oh the other hand, you would be forced to play in a very methodical and tedious manner. If there's a game you've really been looking forward to, and you end up being a tester for it, you will have to comb the game for bugs instead of just playing it to enjoy it. So if I was in this job I would almost hope to get games that I'm not really interested in.
 
Do keep in mind that a lot of postmordems for games mention that despite the fact that some companies have had games go through long periods of testing, if the publishers want a game out a door by a specific date with no ifs, ands, or buts about it, it's going out that door, glitchy or not. It's a shame, and it really makes you wonder about the divide between developers and publishers, but it happens.

I still think it sucks, though. Honestly, I seriously hope that's true of FF4 on the SP. I think I found around two or three major glitches just upon playing through the game and a somewhat reliable way to break the battle system in my favor around 70% of the time. That's a damned shame.
 
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