Games tester.

[RogueShadow]

I have always wondered how do you become a games tester so you can play all those brilliant games early? I realy want to get a job as a games designer and so thought becoming a games tester might be a step in the right direction, could someone please give me a hint or some information on either how to become a games tester or a gammes designer.

Thanks (Y)

[phatmuther]

I think theres sometimes ads at the back of some mags maybe? EDGE perhaps?, Other than that check game developer's and publishers' websites for job listings, doubtful, but you may get lucky. Failing that send out a few emails to a few places asking about it, saying that you want to be a games developer and whatnot, sound fairly formal and put solid reasons, not just so that you can play the games early ;) and they'll probably point you in the right direction (Y)

[Suga]

I've used this website before, it found me a short term job, you should give it a try it gives you links to really useful websites that are guides on how to get game testing jobs.

www.leadinggametestingsites.com


Good luck!

[RogueShadow]

Thanks for the posts guys, lol to phatmuther, I didn't really mean just to play games early XD, although that is a good thing about games tester you must agree.

I'm sorry about all the questions but: what sort of qualifications would I need to become a games designer?

p.s thanks v. much for the link Suga. (Y)

[Veteran]

Games designer eh? I shared a house with a guy while at University who wanted to do the same thing. He was completing a doctorate in some really really heavy maths subject. He showed me some of the books and some of the work that he had. I'm no slouch at maths either - I've got a Mechanical Engineering degree - but this stuff was complex.

I met another guy a while ago who called himself an artistic director for a games company in Lyon, France (think that it was these guys http://www.eden-games.com/). He wasn't a technical guy but did some sort of film studies degree and he said that it could be applied to games development. He was working on the Alone in the Dark for the Wii at the time. He had one of each console and had games shipped to his company for 'testing'.

Reckon that its a pretty sought after job, so you'd better be VERY good. Best of luck.

[RogueShadow]

I like to think I'm good at art, lol. I'm good with computers so I'm guessing that could help, but might look at doing some sort of games designing course.

[bingo83]

Games testing is ground level stuff and a good `In' to the games development process. The job of a games tester is too look for bugs, work through a list of features and other crap and complete a report. Games are so complex these days that they fix one problem which then creates another down the line. Most of these bugs are kept on a database and you would be tasked with testing only one aspect of the game at a time.

Its not as glamourous as you might think, yes you get to play games before the public, but you also have to complete the same level or even part of a level hundreds of times over. Its very mundane stuff.

If you want to get into it you could start with signing up for some betas (the COD WaW one would be ideal). Play the game, spot the flaws and put it down in writing to see what you can come up with. Try and keep the explanation as simple as possible, but if you do see a problem you would then have to replicate it.

Once you think you have found all the bugs and glitches on the level,, youtube it and see if anyone else has found the same thing or maybe you've missed something.

Its all in days work for a GT.

[RogueShadow]

Oh, bye the way I forgot to mention I'm only 13, but I was asking about this for future referance and so I know what options to take. Although I think I'm doing well at school so I think I have quite a good chance of getting a decent job. XD

[bingo83]

If you are serious about it speak to your schools careers officer, ask them if they can get you a visit to any local games development companies to see 1st hand what goes on there.

[H34DSH0CK]

RogueShadow, i'm looking into the same thing mate!
And yeah Games Testing is a brilliant way to get into it, but it's solid work.
I'm 15, but i've got a clear path on what i need to do, and how i'm going to do it.
A possible way is to look into Universities that do Game Design as a course, and there are alot of them starting courses like that for the popular demand.
Lucky for me, i have a college the next borough down that does a course in Game Design.

Hoooray!

[Project-Cooper]

QA Tester is what your looking for.

I spoke to a guy from RARE yesterday at Eurogamer Expo, I was told that the best path to take would be to go in through being a QA Tester.

[RogueShadow]

I'm sorry if this is a dumb question: but what is a QA tester?

[Project-Cooper]

I'm sorry if this is a dumb question: but what is a QA tester?

Quality Assurance Tester. Its what Bingo83 wrote, that's just the name for it. Hardly any company will employ anyone under 18 to work as a QA Tester.

Even if you were to get a position as a QA tester, you could be working that for a while and then move onto say be a MQA (Manager Quality Assurance). Though there is always the option of moving on from there.


Some companies do not offer internal QA, sometimes they have external companies working for them.

Hope thats helps. :)

[Veteran]

I don't want to burst any bubbles, but can I just say that at 13 years old (or even 15) choosing what you want to do is a bit ... premature.

I don't want to sound like your parents either but the best chance of getting a good job, any good job, is to study. Do your GCSEs (or whatever they may be called now), then do some A levels in the subjects that you are good at. Then get yourself to University. If you can do something else instead of A levels that can get you into University, then do it, but make sure that you can get in on a degree course. If you want to do something in a technical area, then get a technical degree. Engineering or science degrees like Mechanical Engineering, or Maths or Physics will show potential employers that you can handle complex problems. Don't go getting a criminal record either, lots of companies can now see if an applicant has had a criminal past.

Try and get some work experience for a couple of weeks in a company that does games. When you're in University, try and find summer placements in companies - reputable companies - so you can see what its like.

I did Mechanical Engineering (I wanted to make planes OK), and now I work on databases. I started a Computing degree before Mechanical Engineering but found out that we were using such old software that one company thought that it was a Computer History course.

Best of luck.

[thecase69]

hello rougeshadow i am your friend :)

[bingo83]

hello rougeshadow i am your friend :)

http://www.eteamz.com/SCOLL/images/alert.gifSTALKER ALERThttp://www.eteamz.com/SCOLL/images/alert.gif

[RogueShadow]

Lmao i was at his house and told him to do a quick post so he could start a new thread, as you can't unless you have 1 or more posts. XD