Game Tester Careers - Are They All About Excitement?

Gamers have a lot of fun thinking about a lucrative and exciting video game tester career, but how many gamers who think this way have a clue about what actually goes on in video game development? It may be every young gamer's dream to play exciting video games for a career, but it's not all fun. Game testing careers require a lot of hard work to help develop a winning game and get it into the marketplace.

Those specialists who test video games are also known as Quality Assurance Analysts. Now that certainly does sound like an important well paid job! It is their task to try every way possible to cause the game to fail or to malfunction in some way. In doing so, they must learn to play the game well at every level.

You don't require any special education or training in order to enjoy a career in game testing, but you will be required to be experienced in playing various games on different platforms. It would help a great deal if you had any practical background of training as a graphic artist, graphic design, or computer programming. Video game testing careers are not for those who are sort of lost and without direction. Game testing is not the last resort for losers. It's a serious business, a job that game developers could not stay in business without. Read on to find out the best way to get your foot in the door onto the game testing career path.

Finding a Game Testing Job

Many young gamers get into a video game testing career through friends already working as game testers of game developers. That's the easy way, but it's not a method available to every gamer. There are other ways, however, that have been proven to be effective. There are excellent guides available on line that can help you to hook up with good jobs at gaming companies. Just be aware of scams. Clever unscrupulous crooks know how badly some people want a career in game testing, and will try every which way to use that commitment to cheat you out of your hard earned money. Before you sign up for any training, counseling, or advice, check out the companies references, testimonials, and recommendations. Log onto some of the online forums to hear what others have to say about different companies and opportunities.

Think Career--Not Hobby

There's a good chance that you have read this article to this point because you are seriously interested in a game testing career. If you're drawn to this industry because you think that game testing would be full of fun, doing what you like most, playing games, you might want to sit back and think about what the job is really all about. It's work. It requires attention to detail, patience, and the ability to adapt to a routine of repeatedly testing and retesting the same game over and over again to root out any bugs. If you can do that consistently and reliably, you'll have an excellent chance of succeeding in the business.

Schedules and Deadlines

Once you've become lucky enough to land that first all important job, make sure to plan your time to meet all schedules, even if you must work a few extra hours. Game release dates are etched in stone for most game developers. Being late is bad for the reputation, and the media blasts it all over the country as evidence of failure and incompetence. Also, make sure that you are meticulous about your documentation. Record all testing methods and bug finds so the developer can understand things well enough to make the appropriate corrections. This sort of attention to detail is the key to ongoing work.

Document, Document, and Document

Make sure that you are meticulous about your documentation. Record all testing methods and bug finds so the developer can understand things well enough to make the appropriate corrections. Be very specific about what methods you used and exactly what the result was. There will never be too much information for the programmer. This sort of attention to detail is the key to favorable recognition by management, which is the recognition required to ensure ongoing work and a successful game testing career.