What You Need To Know About Becoming A Video Game Tester

by Dave Francis
Game testing can be a lot of fun, and in many cases can be a Full-Time "Quit your Day Job" kind of income. This is an overview of what you can expect during the process of Becoming a Game Tester.

While it might be very easy to imagine getting payed big bucks to play video games, did you ever imagine that it was anything more than just a wistful fantasy? Your dreams might be closer than you think as game developers expand and refine their merchandise for a wider audience; becoming a game tester is an occupation that can give you looks at the newest releases months before they hit the shelves, insight and contacts in a rapidly developing industry and some cash, all at once.

There's more to becoming a game tester than you might think. Of course, a certain amount of skill regarding basic game play is necessary; so are good documentation abilities! The job is to spot errors, and while some are fairly straightforward ("hey, if you go too far to the left here, parts of the scenery disappears!") others are more complex, requiring several paragraphs of explanation. As a tester, you will usually receive the game when it is anywhere from 50 to 75 percent done, and one thing that the programmers and your employers will expect is a a steady stream of feedback.

Game testing can be a lot of fun, but keep in mind that it can also be very demanding. You'll be working under tough deadlines, just like the rest of the company, and you'll be expected to provide feedback to make sure that the game itself runs smoothly. Spoken and written communication skills cannot be emphasized enough in this kind of work.

Of course, the easiest way to get involved in game testing is to know someone in the industry. While it's not all about who you know, it certainly doesn't hurt. The nice thing is that it's not that hard to get to know people. Check the forums of your favorite game designers, be polite and jump on any hint of an offer of game testing, because, face it, that's exactly what a hundred other people will be doing as soon as they see that offer.