Do You Want to Become a Video Game Tester?

There is not a gamer alive that would not leap at the chance to land a job as a Game Testers. The video game tester is involved early in the development stage of a game to catch and eliminate design flaws. In basic terms, Game Development is the process of designing, writing, and programming a video game to create the final, interactive product known as a video game. The game tester runs the game thru the gamut to ensure that it is error-free before hitting store shelves. When bugs do pop-up, the game tester documents the error so that the programmers can fix the problem. A video game tester's primary role is to find and document problems. There are different types of game testers. Some may only test the software under certain conditions. Others only test for hardware issues under different scenarios. Both roles are both equally important. The developers need to know how the game reacts under a multitude of extreme gaming conditions. Equally important is to know how the gaming console reacts under extreme gaming scenarios. When a video game is tested, the game tester runs the through a set of very specific instructions and then documents the results. Therefore, one character trait a game tester must possess is the ability to follow directions closely. Furthermore, the tester must possess excellent communication skills in order to document and relay the results of the test to the game programmers, so that the errors can be corrected. When an error is found in the game, it is reported to the programmers so that they can remedy the issue. To ensure quality control, game testing is introduced into the game development process early. The game is tested before some of the game components are even tied together. During this stage, the tester is only testing a very small section of the game’s software. Yet, it is necessary to do this in order to catch and correct bugs as early as possible. Finally, Game Design is very important. The thought of sending a flawed video game to market is enough to send shivers up a video game executive’s spine. They understand what is at stake, specifically revenue, market share, and their reputation. Nobody wants to lose their hardcore gamers. They are the not only the best customers, but they are a great word of mouth advertising force as well. A recall of video games from store shelves would be one nearly the ultimate of bad publicity for any video game company, and this is why the testing process is so rigorous and important. In the end, anyone who loves video games and gadgets should consider becoming a game tester. You will need to be disciplined, have patience, be able to follow methodical directions, and possess good observation and communication skills. However, for the right person, this job just might be a video gamer’s dream job.