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The experiences of a lowly playtester


Cantousent

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Well, my bug report was really, really bad. That part I can say. To go into more detail would not only be irresponsible, but also unseemly for a variety of reasons. However, after the title ships, I can go over what *I* did wrong in more detail. I rightfully received a verbal reprimand regarding this bug. I just received it four weeks after the fact.

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Well, it can't help yet. Maybe when I go into work tomorrow it will help in writing future bug reports. Probably not, as I've already been trying to tighten my reports for the past four weeks. The only thing I can do is rewrite my old reports. My new ones are good.

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Well, it wasn't exactly harsh. haha. I WILL let out the details I think are appropriate, but you'll just have to wait a couple of months.

 

As for the job, I do take it seriously. I won't stay here after the project, but I do take it seriously and try to do the best job I can.

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Remembering tarna, Phosphor, Metadigital, and Visceris.  Drink mead heartily in the halls of Valhalla, my friends!

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We wont have any info for a few months? Are you serious? Forget about it, I don't even care anymore. ):<

 

ok, maybe just a little bit

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There was a time when I questioned the ability for the schizoid to ever experience genuine happiness, at the very least for a prolonged segment of time. I am no closer to finding the answer, however, it has become apparent that contentment is certainly a realizable goal. I find these results to be adequate, if not pleasing. Unfortunately, connection is another subject entirely. When one has sufficiently examined the mind and their emotional constructs, connection can be easily imitated. More data must be gleaned and further collated before a sufficient judgment can be reached.

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Been reading this all the time and never posted, I think. Thanks for the updates Cant. ;)

 

How uptight/relaxed, hard-working/etc is your tester environment ocmpared to some of the other 'office' jobs you've been in? More? Less? Same? Different?

 

Is there generally a high turnover?

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Hmm, I can only think of one person who's left since I started. That person was hired on as a programmer at another company. I think there is some amount of pressure to perform, but not anything excessive. It's a job. Compared to other jobs? Frankly, I actually enjoyed being a salesperson quite a bit. I traveled around the Strip, talked to folks, and sold stuff. Between salary and commission, I didn

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I typically take the train for my 66 mile commute, but when I can't do that, I ride my motorcycle. I lane split pretty regularly, but do so in accordance with "the rules":

 

* No faster than 45mph, ever.

* No more than 15mph faster than surrounding traffic.

* Only on broken white lines.

 

Riding solid whites and double yellows is illegal and will usually get you pulled over if a police officer sees you. I also try to be smart about how I'm splitting. I stay at a high RPM to help people hear me (my exhausts aren't absurdly loud on my Triumph), I avoid passing between a car and an "open" lane, and I don't try to squeeze if the space looks questionable. My panniers help limit foolishness.

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Well, Sawyer's a lot tougher than me. He looks at a 66 mile commute and thinks, "Cake!" I look at a 53 mile commute and think, "Ugh!"

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Remembering tarna, Phosphor, Metadigital, and Visceris.  Drink mead heartily in the halls of Valhalla, my friends!

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Well, Sawyer's a lot tougher than me. He looks at a 66 mile commute and thinks, "Cake!" I look at a 53 mile commute and think, "Ugh!"

 

The man is just not a stupid biker...

 

I used to do a 40 mile commute on country lanes in england and that's a good hour journey.

 

Motorbikes are the answer and you know it!

 

All's said tho' Thankfully you don't have a extremely taxing job, testing is hard work, but atleast you ain't gotta fix those problems. I must admiut finding some of them is very difficult, bizzare inputs can create the oddest of problems and with a good description they can be solved quickly.

 

The tester is the unsung hero of games development.

RS_Silvestri_01.jpg

 

"I'm a programmer at a games company... REET GOOD!" - Me

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Code Monkey is only one I know (and I guess even that isn't exactly on game development)

How can it be a no ob build. It has PROVEN effective. I dare you to show your builds and I will tear you apart in an arugment about how these builds will won them.

- OverPowered Godzilla (OPG)

 

 

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Things are coming along nicely. I sent in a rather lengthy suggestion via the program we use for reporting bugs. I get the impression that it won't really come to anything, but I managed to express ideas concerning what I consider the most important part of the game. More and more, I'm looking forward to the end of the project, when I can share at least some of my experiences with the community.

 

No matter how small a part I've been playing, I have made an impact on the game. I can't think of any tester who hasn't. I'm not so foolish as to think that my views on game design matter much, but there's a lot to be said for finding the bugs and helping to get them fixed.

 

I've played through the game exactly one time. Mostly I'm rooting around finding stuff out of order. The build on which I finished the game is quite old now. I'm genuinely looking forward to playing through the game from beginning to end. I'm also looking forward to seeing if there's something new I haven't found already. I doubt it, but you never know.

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Join the revelry at the Obsidian Plays channel:
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Remembering tarna, Phosphor, Metadigital, and Visceris.  Drink mead heartily in the halls of Valhalla, my friends!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hmmm, doublenecroposting. I hope you guys don't hold it against me.

 

I've received permission to post my first interview, although my plan is still to be patient and wait until I'm released from the project.

 

As far as the project goes, I have high hopes. I honestly believe in the game. That's biased, to be sure, but I doubt if I make another foray into game development at any level. I don't need the job and I don't have any other vested interest. If I thought it sucked, I wouldn't act otherwise. I would be cautious and then hope folks forgot I started this in the first place. I would keep my mouth shut. ...But I won't. This will be a great game, even if there are a lot of things to resolve before it will be done.

 

I've been holding on to some of my favorite quotes in the meantime. For example, one of the QA guys mused one day about the irony of writing up a bug about the designer's use of the word pedantic. haha

 

Well, it's moving pretty fast now, and I have permission to post what I have so far. I'm just deciding how I want to approach it and then I can share things with you. I warn you, however, that I'm not going to "dish the dirt." I'm going to post my impressions honestly, of that you can be assured. What I won't do is gossip or engage in any other sort of shenanigan. Also, I'm not a reporter. I'm just some guy who was lucky enough to try his hand at QA for a while. I'll post interviews, but they'll be pretty lighthearted by nature. I've got one done and others on the way, so I hope to have four or five finished by the end.

Fionavar's Holliday Wishes to all members of our online community:  Happy Holidays

 

Join the revelry at the Obsidian Plays channel:
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Remembering tarna, Phosphor, Metadigital, and Visceris.  Drink mead heartily in the halls of Valhalla, my friends!

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Looking forward to the next update, Cant.

 

I found a very interesting article in a Seattle Weekly paper about what it's like to have a job doing QA for the 360.

 

Check it out.

 

It's fairly tabloid-eque -- as most weekly papers are -- but it's still a very entertaining read.

baby, take off your beret

everyone's a critic and most people are DJs

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