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Confessions of a Game Tester

Getting paid to play isn't all fun and games. Find out what testing games for a living is really like

Words: Matthew Keast, GamesRadar US

Moving on

Where are you now? Are you on the path you expected/wanted when you started testing? Where will you go from here?

Tester A: I'm a producer and yes I'm doing what I expected to be doing at this point.

Tester B: I got out of the testing business after just 6 months. I found work in a non-gaming company that paid about four times what I was making. Being a tester is a lot like starting up a band; I remember sometimes 3 or 4 guys would all live in the same 2 bedroom apartment to save on rent, eating rice and beans, hoping that they could get promoted to supervisor or producer if they put enough time in.

Above: A future in the games industry lies ahead of most of our interviewees. Rumor has it Tester B has a big project up his sleeve as well

Tester C: I've been given a design position and have no plans on returning to school.

Tester D: I am an Associate Producer, which is just like what it sounds. I basically poke people in the behind to get them moving. It is a bit like herding cats. I often listen to people's pissing and moaning about this and that. I get to have an opinion and I am often responsible to making sure things get done.

People have a tendency to get lost in the details, which is good, but you don't want them trying to lead people at the same time. I am happy with how far I have come in the industry and I look forward to trying to break new ground in interactive art.

Want more information on what it's like to work in the games industry? Check out our Confessions of a Game Store Clerk feature.


 
5 Comments
Order Comments: Newest First | Oldest First
fuseo  - 1 year 13 days ago 
What do people think about http://www.becomeagametester.com ?
zmason  - 11 months 19 days ago 
re: becomeagametester.com

Never trust anybody who is selling something and can't use spell check on their ad text. If they can't take the time to hit F7, then how much care are they putting into the product they're trying to sell?
AnonymouZ  - 10 months 22 days ago 
Well, thanks a lot! Now my dream of playing videogames forever is ruined... oh wait a min, i already do that. I meant getting paid to do it. Same difference.
shadownot  - 4 months 2 days ago 
wow i thought game testers had it easy...
lawman259  - 1 month 21 days ago 
So sad. Oh so sad.

But this is my first comment ever,so thats somthing to be happy about.
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