July 06 2010

What It Takes to Become a Video Game Tester

The ‘passion to play’ is the first requirement of video game testing.

However it takes more than the fun of playing to become a video game tester. Aspiring video game testers should have other qualifications and skills inorder to be expert in this field. They need to be patient, be able to spot game errors, have a good understanding of English, comprehend programming and the ability to play innovative video games.

Once a copy of the video game is delivered to the testers they can begin testing. Video game testers will then methodically log all the errors that they uncover. Most successful video game testers are good communicators and have a high level of English skills. Video testers need these unique qualities to pass on to the developers who can then quickly mend problems and errors in the program.

It is not easy to get a video game testing job and can be quite nerve-racking. Patience is needed as video game testing is repetitive on the same level where bugs are found again and again and the video game device has to be switched on and off as the game has crashed. It is dull to play an unfinished video game again and again. Video game testers have to play the same game or at the same level for hours at a time – it can sometimes take five hours or more to find the bugs.

To find out if the bugs have been fixed by the game developers the video game testers have to repeat playing the game sequences to check found errors. Doing this kind of job is stressful and can use up much of your time, but that’s what you’re being paid to do. As the release date approaches video game testers have to work long hours doing these repetitive tasks checking if the game developers have done their jobs in fixing the bugs and errors.

Trawling through a game sequence and checking the working features function well is normal practice in quality assurance before release date. If a new bug is found where it used to work then testing needs to done again to make sure all the bugs have been ironed out to maintain the game’s quality. It may be difficult being a video game tester but it can be well paid. As a tester you can earn 30 to 100 dollars per hour depending on your experience and is a good beginning to move higher up the ladder.

Now that you comprehend what to do to be a video game tester and you think you have the right qualifications and temperment, it is time to search out  video testing opportunities.

About the Author:

Jon Dersona has been managing testing teams for more than 20 years. To know more about video game testing and how you can become a game tester, visit the website http://www.video-game-testing.info. For free advice on software testing concepts, please visit http://www.qa-software-testing.com .

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