I Want To Be A Game Tester!

So you got it in your head that you want to be a game tester, huh? Ok, you’re not the first and definitely won’t be the last person to be bitten by this bug. But before you get too far ahead of yourself, you should think about what kind you want to be.

I hear it now…“Huh? What do you mean? I just think it would be cool to get paid to play games,” you say.

Ok fair enough, but as you journey down this testing road, you should remember this…

There are game testers and then there are
Quality Assurance Professionals

You can test only video games and try to make your mark in that corner of the technology/entertainment industry. There are always job openings to test mainstream games.

You can position yourself to become a beta tester, testing games that are in their final stages and providing valuable playability feedback as titles near their public release. If you can build a solid reputation as expert in a particular market segment you may be able to carve out a much sought after niche for yourself.

Or you can be a more skilled and versatile testing professional. You can test for smaller designers and developers who create the next Doom. You can be a QA educational software; “Edutainment”.

In my personal experience, educational software testing was the most rewarding game testing that I did. In addition to helping create something that actually benefitted society, I got to test more and varied titles since they were released quicker and more often than a yearly sports game. Edutainment software testing allowed me to see more titles, more technology, and more opportunities quicker than had I been relegated to testing, for instance, a first-person shooter franchise.

It may not seem very exciting to learn to paint and spell with Curious George, but it opened the doorway to years of fun, rewarding, and good paying work. I had steady work testing game titles like Curious George, Spongebob Squarepants, The Incredibles, Pokemon, Carmen Sandiego, and Magic: The Gathering to name just a few.

Can you see how this offers up far more variety? Do you see an opportunity that excites you yet?

But maybe that is not the path for you. If what you really are looking for are video game testing jobs then just know what to expect. There is little that compares to testing your favorite game franchise at a big software company. Simply having the opportunity to get your two cents in about your favorites titles and helping create a game that you know is better – that is a feeling that cannot be replicated.

Game testing can be a fun, seasonal gig or it can lead to greater opportunities. If you learn how to test and develop the skills every tester needs to succeed, you will be well on your way. Once you become proficient as a tester, you should investigate whether making the move to lead tester sounds like a good fit.

Being a lead tester requires additional skills, but I found the move to be exactly what I wanted. If you find that making the move to lead tester is for you, then you should look even further down the road and begin thinking about a career in software testing. The opportunities in game testing abound! It is up to you to decide where you want to make your mark.

Go Boldly and Succeed!!

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