How to become a game tester
Thursday, February 08, 2007 (11:36:22)

Posted by Hexer

Someone recently asked me for info on becoming a game tester, however he left the wrong email address so I am unable to reply :'(

However I am sure it is somthing that MANY people are intested in so here follows infomation on how!

(read more...)

There are really four types of game testers out there:
>Paid game testers working for the game development company
>Members of the press (and some fansites) who get the game early for review/testing purposes.
>Open beta testing stages where members of the public can apply to be beta testers.
>People working for a independant firm commissioned to test games.

The first and last are proper paid jobs, and for working for the company you are going to be full time employed, and most of them are going to want a university degree. However, the later is often more part time. Some game developers offer seasonal testing jobs, where they employ testers only during the later development stages. Trust me when I say this - being a games tester is not easy, nor fun. It gets unbelievably frustraiting when you simply cannot progess because of a fault, this often means you have to complete a whole level over and over again to make sure you know exactly where - and why you fell through the floor. Was it because you were running? Was it because you were looking at your quest log while running? Was it because you had the sword of doom equipped...? Once you finally manage to recreate the fault over and over again, you have to write a report about it...! It can get really tedious. As for the other job requirements, it varies from company to company, as does the salary. Elevtronic Arts if the worlds biggest publisher and developer, so its fun to check them out, try http://jobs.ea.com

For example here is the UK tester requirement:
Requirements:
You must be 18 or over
You must have GCSE C or above passes in Math's and English
2 A levels or equivalent
Degree is preferable
A Gamer

We are offering 3 month contracts
Remuneration