Game Tester

[Magena]

Nathaniel, I hope you get all those pesky bugs before they hit my computer. -- good luck!

[Krookie]

i was wondering what skills,requiements etc...

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Hm, well you'll need 2 hands, unless your very good with your feet.. :D

 

Couldn't resist...

[Cantousent]

Nathaniel, I sure hope you find the rig killing bugs before I do! hahahaha. okay, okay, I just hope they don't kill your computer before you find them.

[Craigboy2]

Is it totally sweet and awesome?

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Totally :cool:

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Quite you!

[Nathaniel Chapman]

Nathaniel, I sure hope you find the rig killing bugs before I do!  hahahaha.  okay, okay, I just hope they don't kill your computer before you find them.

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I don't forsee any rigs being killed regardless.

[EnderAndrew]

You guys aren't making a sequel to PoR:2?

[Cantousent]

Nathaniel, I sure hope you find the rig killing bugs before I do!  hahahaha.  okay, okay, I just hope they don't kill your computer before you find them.

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I don't forsee any rigs being killed regardless.

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This is good to hear! I'd hate to see the whole PoR2 thing revisited. For shame, Ender, even mentioning the name!

 

I've always thought being a game tester would be cool, but I've never applied. I guess I just don't think my schedule would allow it.

[Nathaniel Chapman]

You guys aren't making a sequel to PoR:2?

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Believe it or not, before I worked at Obsidian I found and researched a bug pretty much exactly like the infamous Pools of Radiance installer bug on one of the games I worked on (it was promptly squashed). It is troubling, though, how easy it can be to hose a Windows install.

 

Nothing even rometly like that on this project, though

[EnderAndrew]

What is the most interesting bug you've discovered?

[Nathaniel Chapman]

What is the most interesting bug you've discovered?

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Ever, or on NWN2? I'm just going to assume you meant ever, because I'm not going to reveal stuff about NWN2 yet, obviously. :ph34r:

 

You see all kinds of great stuff while in QA though. I've always wanted games I've worked for to have bloopers reels with the hilarious bugs that always pop-up in the course of development. Every game I've worked on has had at least one hilarious bug. A couple of the great ones I've seen:

• Jedi Academy - There are stationary gun placements throughout some of the levels of JA. At one point, one of the testers was being fired at from one of these guns by a Stormtrooper - the only thing was, the gun was firing Stormtroopers!
  
• X-Men Legends - For a couple of builds, the Sentinels in the game were engaging in the normal animation for firing their missles - that is, arms outstretched, in a semi-crouched position. The only problem was, the missles were firing from it's crotch. This was fixed pretty quickly, heh.
  

And more. Both of these were fixed in the final versions, by the way. Bugs are inevitable throughout the course of development, and typically at least some of those are funny or particularly interesting. The most interesting bugs as a QA Tester are usually the ones that require the most thought and effort to track down - however, these aren't always the most interesting to talk about, because they tend to be pretty mundane stuff. What distinguishes a great tester from a good one, though, is that the great ones can narrow down an issue from "the game crashes sometimes" to "the game crashes when I equip Mr. Marvin's Magical Cap and run through the Gate to the Magical Fairy Kingdom backwards." Or something like that.

[EnderAndrew]

Aren't you guys given some pretty specific tasks of things to try?

 

I would assume that like any other form of trouble-shooting a logical person can eliminate and control for certain variables until they find the problem.

[Cantousent]

The stormtrooper firing gun is just comedy. I'd actually like to see it.

 

Some bugs are kind of funny in a quirky sort of way. They don't detract from my experience and maybe even give me a laugh. Even then, however, I get tired of them. I like to suspend reality, which is impossible if the game itself makes its presence known because of the bugs.

 

How many truly terrible bugs have you seen of the PoR2 variety? I'm sure you get a lot of game crashing bugs and a whole horde of Sentinels shooting from the crotch, but how many truly devastating bugs do you find. Stuff where the game is corrupted, saved games are all destroy, or *gasp* unistalling the game destroys the system?

[Nathaniel Chapman]

Aren't you guys given some pretty specific tasks of things to try?

 

I would assume that like any other form of trouble-shooting a logical person can eliminate and control for certain variables until they find the problem.

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As for the first point, QA Testing is typically a fairly even balance between ad-hoc testing (that is, trying to break the game in as many ways as possible without specific direction), checklists (specific lists of things to check), and sprinting (trying to beat the game as quickly as possible to see if there are any major progression breaks).

 

And, as far as isolating bugs is concerned, you'd think it'd be that easy, but games are rarely that simple. The number of variables can be so huge that it can be pretty difficult to isolate them in a crash. Those variables can also be somewhat transparent to a tester, so it often falls to testers to try to isolate a series of steps without necissarily knowing the ins and outs of the code they are working with.

[Nathaniel Chapman]

How many truly terrible bugs have you seen of the PoR2 variety?  I'm sure you get a lot of game crashing bugs and a whole horde of Sentinels shooting from the crotch, but how many truly devastating bugs do you find.  Stuff where the game is corrupted, saved games are all destroy, or *gasp* unistalling the game destroys the system?

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These are typically pretty rare, at least in the games I've worked on. It can also be the result of user error in a lot of cases - like trying to save the game with the hard drive full, etc.

[Revan the great]

Which project are you working on?

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I'm a QA Tester on Neverwinter Nights 2.

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cool I've been looking into game testing or game development but I'm a programmer at heart and can pretty much learn all i want by playing around with a program so it that skill any help at all. I also have and Associates degree in Computer Information Systems so I know a few tricks of the trade. also another handy trait is being passionate about video games which I am and let people make fun of me for being 21 and still playing video games everyday .

 

I've also been considering applying for a job as one but I don't live any where near a game developer can you do it testing from home or do you do it in house.

i really don't break things I consider it more of a creative destruction when I intend to break some thing but I accustomed to fixing things though since I'm a PC tech.

 

also who do you contact to become a game tester because that is something I've always wanted to do

[Gold Roger]

In my personal experience at Blizzard and at EA, there isnt much of a future for a QA Tester... Unless you work extremely hard and seriously go out of your way to perform tasks out of the norm for a tester, then you might be considered for a more permanent position. Database, repetitive work, long hours and sore eyes are a requirement for QA work. It is fun work on some occasions but its definately not you sitting there 6-8hour day playing a game for fun. If you think that your sitting there playing a game your entire time then you really need to do more research on the position. Most companies are searching for temporary workers and by that they do mean temporary. You might be placed on a project only for that project and the pay is usually per hour. All work is usually NDA so you wont be able to talk about it much outside of your work... The key to knowing the role is that you pretty much know everything about the project your working on from the very beginning before you even play testing- so playing it for 6-8 hours a day isnt much "fun". Don't get me wrong, I loved doing everything I said above only for the sole reason that I felt like I was part of a team and that I got to see things normal gamers dont normally get to see. Names are listed in manuals, you get yourself into the industry BUT just remember that as you can see from the number of responses to this thread that there are a ton of people seeking this type of work.... its not as easy as you guys think and it takes someone who is really used to long hours of repetitive work to truely enjoy this job. To advance to maybe a manager position (which I think may be the highest position ) you need to set yourself apart from the rest of these other potential testers and know that you are always replaceable. Stable jobs that can last a lifetime if your good at it always are jobs outside of QA. Quality Assurance is a very vital part of the game development but you do not see the development team or anyone outside of QA offering to work on any testing. This is not a reply bashing QA but its giving honest information about QA for those who are interested because this is really how it is even if you enjoy your work as a QA Tester.

[Gold Roger]

Oh...if your programming stick with programming and then maybe do some testing if you have the time. Get with a company's Human Resources department to ask about QA positions available.

[Revan the great]

Oh...if your programming stick with programming and then maybe do some testing if you have the time. Get with a company's Human Resources department to ask about QA positions available.

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um I want to test games before I make them yes I'm a computer nerd so I want to do more than test then since I have no artistic talent what so ever I'll stick to the code

[dufflover]

A lot of the time you're doing very mundane, repetitive stuff.  Stuff like running through the same level over and over again, completing a checklist of every ability of every unit in an RTS, Checking the damage of ...., etc. etc. etc.

I just don't bother with that stuff cos it takes too much time - of-course it explains why Pazaak is so full of bugs.

 

Any of you Dev's wanna give my Pazaak AI a run-down for stupid behaviour ? (don't test anything else cos from your POV it will be a bug-filled disgrace)

[Musopticon?]

How about just contacting Akari? He showed some interest in your first pazaak thread and has seemingly started posting in the fora again.

 

Then again, devs probably get dozens of emails and pms to begin with...

[kirottu]

Then again, devs probably get dozens of emails and pms to begin with...

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The get pms? Damn. Being a dev sure mess up your body. How a guy even deals with pms? Hmmm... Disturbing thoughts, I better not go there.

[Nightshade]

  In my personal experience at Blizzard and at EA, there isnt much of a future for a QA Tester... Unless you work extremely hard and seriously go out of your way to perform tasks out of the norm for a tester, then you might be considered for a more permanent position. Database, repetitive work, long hours and sore eyes are a requirement for QA work. It is fun work on some occasions but its definately not you sitting there 6-8hour day playing a game for fun. If you think that your sitting there playing a game your entire time then you really need to do more research on the position. Most companies are searching for temporary workers and by that they do mean temporary. You might be placed on a project only for that project and the pay is usually per hour. All work is usually NDA so you wont be able to talk about it much outside of your work... The key to knowing the role is that you pretty much know everything about the project your working on from the very beginning before you even play testing- so playing it for 6-8 hours a day isnt much "fun". Don't get me wrong, I loved doing everything I said above only for the sole reason that I felt like I was part of a team and that I got to see things normal gamers dont normally get to see. Names are listed in manuals, you get yourself into the industry BUT just remember that as you can see from the number of responses to this thread that there are a ton of people seeking this type of work.... its not as easy as you guys think and it takes someone who is really used to long hours of repetitive work to truely enjoy this job. To advance to maybe a manager position (which I think may be the highest position ) you need to set yourself apart from the rest of these other potential testers and know that you are always replaceable. Stable jobs that can last a lifetime if your good at it always are jobs outside of QA. Quality Assurance is a very vital part of the game development but you do not see the development team or anyone outside of QA offering to work on any testing. This is not a reply bashing QA but its giving honest information about QA for those who are interested because this is really how it is even if you enjoy your work as a QA Tester.

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I am Test Lead at THQ. Much of what Gold Roger said is very true, however, your job stability and ability to move up in the company varies greatly depending on the company.

 

At THQ they have a fairly stable testing position. They have gone away from the "hire tons of testers for summer then dump them after all the projects are finished" strategy. They are now staffing a large amount of testers all year and are hiring at multiple times of the year. So testers stay around longer and are able to make permanent much sooner. From there, permanent testers can move up to other positions such as First Party Specialists(specialized testers who make sure that all console games follow the rules set by Nintendo, Sony, or Microsoft), Test Leads, and Test Supervisors. Test Leads and Test Supervisors commonly move to Production within the company or be able to jump to Production or Design at other companies.

 

Being a QA tester can be a very good way to break into the industry, because it teaches you the work ethic required in the industry and it covers that very commonly seen requirement of "industry experience" on other positions.

 

Of course, you still need the skills it takes to get into the desired positions.