Applying for a Games Tester position

Shicky

Shicky

Shicky

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Joined
13 Jan 2007
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Belfast,Northern Ireland
Was just wondering if anyone has done this before?

Noticed it for a game i've been looking forward to somewhat and was considering applying. Do they want me to send off a proper CV or just a light spiel about why i would like to be part of the team etc etc? Also is this position paid? They advertise it like it would be, dont worry i realise it would be peanuts and dont intend on making a career from it. Would be cool to help shape a new game, even in a very minimal way.
 
If it's a proper job i.e. you physically go to work there then you will obviously get paid.

I test software for a living, not gaming but one of my colleagues used to do it. It's really not as exciting as it sounds.

One thing which springs to mind is that going to test a game you are looking forward to doesn't seem like a very good idea. You'll likely end up churning away running the same scenarios over and over again, also possibly exposing yourself to plot spoilers and in general spoiling your enjoyment of the game when you do finally sit down to play it.

One of the key fundamentals of testing is that you are not just sitting around running software/games, trying different things and hoping to find a bug. A lot of the work will be done to scripts written to test a specific requirement. As I said I haven't done games testing myself but I would imagine for example that in a FPS you might have to test that all the weapons work as they should, what happens when you run out of ammo for each weapon, making sure that scripting sequences are triggered as they should be etc.

That said it depends at what level the testing is done. A lot of the above may be covered by Unit testing, and you could be doing simple UAT i.e. 'playing the game' perhaps with a certain charter for testing given to you.
 
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Yeah I have a friend who works for Rockstar North (GTA games etc) who primarily does testing and from what he has told me it's certainly not fun.

He spends his time running around a map doing his best to make the game crash, jumping like a lunatic, deleting stuff while talking to npc etc (just examples - basically anything he can think of), then when you find a bug you can't just say what happened - you have to go into a lot of detail as to exactly what you did, is it repeatable, possible cause of the problem and whether you have a solution.

I also was keen to get into this but it's not for me.
 
well i think it'd be worth a try at least, going into the games industry is a possibility to me so i figure any step on the ladder before i complete my degree is a bonus, however minor. The position applys for those who speak english and is limited to the UK only so i assume its not a fixed position as it were and is dealt with online. So does anybody know about applying, is it looking for CV style applications or a general blurb about why they should choose you? I have no beef with crappy bug testing, i've fallen foul to them before and the chance to fix them is mildly better than falling through random holes in the floor.
 
The position applys for those who speak english and is limited to the UK only so i assume its not a fixed position as it were and is dealt with online. So does anybody know about applying, is it looking for CV style applications or a general blurb about why they should choose you? I have no beef with crappy bug testing, i've fallen foul to them before and the chance to fix them is mildly better than falling through random holes in the floor.
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I'd say do a CV style application, even if they are only looking for a general blurb your application will stand out and show that they have someone who has made the effort.
 
HangTime said:
If it's a proper job i.e. you physically go to work there then you will obviously get paid.

I test software for a living, not gaming but one of my colleagues used to do it. It's really not as exciting as it sounds.

One thing which springs to mind is that going to test a game you are looking forward to doesn't seem like a very good idea. You'll likely end up churning away running the same scenarios over and over again, also possibly exposing yourself to plot spoilers and in general spoiling your enjoyment of the game when you do finally sit down to play it.

One of the key fundamentals of testing is that you are not just sitting around running software/games, trying different things and hoping to find a bug. A lot of the work will be done to scripts written to test a specific requirement. As I said I haven't done games testing myself but I would imagine for example that in a FPS you might have to test that all the weapons work as they should, what happens when you run out of ammo for each weapon, making sure that scripting sequences are triggered as they should be etc.

That said it depends at what level the testing is done. A lot of the above may be covered by Unit testing, and you could be doing simple UAT i.e. 'playing the game' perhaps with a certain charter for testing given to you.
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This guy has it right, im also a gamestester for a very well known company. You dont choose the games you want to test in general, you get given them although you can specify what you would like to work on.
Qa testers do not get paid a lot and the work can be very tedious, if you can handle playing the same game for 4 months+ having completed it 20+ times with it being bugged to hell and actually influencing the game itself with suggestions then go for it.
Forgot to mention, if its a huge release and there are still quite a few bugs to work out you are almost guarenteed overtime which does get off balanced with days off. I know one guy who saved up so much time he had 6months off! (paid)
QA positions do not pay a lot either and are generally used to get into other sections of the business such as design or programming etc.

I got my position handing in an old cv by accident (one i had done at school) i was quite surprised as i did not hear anything for a month. Finally a letter with an interview time game through the post and that was that :D
 
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Hey mate glad to hear from a games tester! Can you tell me just how crumby the wages are? Like an example of a complete newstart at your company. Also what kind of hours are u expected to work?
 
Shicky said:
Hey mate glad to hear from a games tester! Can you tell me just how crumby the wages are? Like an example of a complete newstart at your company. Also what kind of hours are u expected to work?
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Talk to ben_j_davis on here, he's doing very well working in QA with a mobile games developer :)
 
40 hours p/w at about 5-6 pounds an hour(dependsing on experience).

I used to work for EA as a games tester which was jokes, here was my day...

3 (pm) - stroll into work, play a couple of hours of burnout multiplayer
5 - break time/play football
5.20 - check out the pizza/curry/chinese menu and place an order (for free)
5.30-7 do a bit more burnout
7 - play some more football and then come in and eat takeaway
Remaining few hours until 11 - play more burnout whilst eating ice cream.

Worked for Sega last summer and it was a total borefest though. 40 hours of Football Manager 2007 a week isn't fun...
 
I don't get paid to test games, but i like to do it anyway and get to play some of the biggest games months before release which is nice
 
:mad: done this for a while and was paid for it too. but its crap, you have to do loads of report writing and bug listing. and if you hate playing badly coded games like halo 2 your gonna want to stay away from this job!
 
Ive heard that the games industry is extreemely hard to get into, also most of the major companies make their employes work very very long hours. Sometimes from 9am-12pm when things are full steam ahead.
 
If it's proper professional QA/play testing and games are a hobby don't do it.

Seriously, the words "play" & "fun" don't come into it. It's repetative and structured in the extreme. Fine as a career and getting a foot into the industry but it'll ruin playing games as a hobby for a long time, trust me...

If on the other hand you want to test games for fun get a gaming/technology CV sorted and speak to the studios/publishers about geting involve as a beta tester/focus group regular.
 
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I worked as a tester at EA (when they did all the free pizza etc business)then at SCi (they did Carmageddon) and then we bought Eidos so I ended up at those offices.

I wouldn't do it again but it was the stepping stone I wanted to get in to Design. You will have to work long hours if you want any kind of money and expect to be used as a cog in a big machine. The work can be fun and the people in the games industry are generally great so that side of it is good.

If you want to get a job doing it then a proper CV etc is the best way, the industry is very relaxed but you still need to make that effort. You need to turn up in a suit for the interview and will feel out of place but if you get the job then it's all good.

Good luck! :)

P.s. I can't enjoy games like I used too, I see them in a whole new way. Good for my career but not for my playing games time. :(
 
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wizard91 said:
Ive heard that the games industry is extreemely hard to get into, also most of the major companies make their employes work very very long hours. Sometimes from 9am-12pm when things are full steam ahead.
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your correct. thats how it is with them.
 
yeah it destroys your home gaming life, you just dont wanna know...
pay for basic/starter is £12k a year at least where i work. Like the others said dont go into it thinking you are going to have fun constantly, but you will get to slack a lot! and yes to the long hours when a major game is being released although that tends to happen when a lot needs doing to the game... all depends on your team leader i guess.
 
wizard91 said:
Ive heard that the games industry is extreemely hard to get into, also most of the major companies make their employes work very very long hours. Sometimes from 9am-12pm when things are full steam ahead.
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3 hours a day!!!! sweet ;)
 
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