This is Joel Marcantel. His job is more fun and emotionally fulfilling than yours will probably ever be. He is a game tester for THQ, and has been for the past few months. In an effort to find out more about this dream job, I interviewed him.
Hit the jump to find out:
• How to become a game tester.
• What the job entails.
• Why chicks dig men who get paid to play games.
DESTRUCTOID: Where do you work and what is your specific job title?
I work for THQ Inc. as a playtester. Technically I'm employed through a temp agency called the Acro Service Corporation, but for all practical purposes I'm a THQ employee.
If you're still around after a year as a temp, they'll take you on as an official employee depending on their needs. Because THQ just opened a new office in Phoenix, the odds are looking pretty good right now.
There's no specific title per se: we're simply in the Quality Assurance department and call each other "testers".
DESTRUCTOID: How did you hear about the job?
I heard about the job through my career advisor at the Art Institute of Phoenix. If your advisor has a mailing list, get on it. They provide you with useful updates about jobs around the country. When possible, visit your career advisor personally so they get to know your interests and skills.
DESTRUCTOID: How did you get it?
I was able to get this job because my advisor knew I wanted to join THQ and got me a last-minute spot on their interview day. I asked my instructors and contacts advice about the interview process and followed it. Remember what they say about first impressions?
In the games industry, showing up to an interview dressed in a suit and tie isn't a great idea. Walk in wearing something business casual; you want your interviewer to know that you'll be comfortable in a more relaxed environment.
DESTRUCTOID: What qualifications were they specifically looking for?
Versatility, creativity, and a burning passion to play games. It's easy to hire someone who can just run through a level, but if you're being hired as a playtester they want someone who can push a game past its breaking point. Finding interesting and new ways to test the game will get their attention.
For instance, one of the questions was "What would you do if you've found most of the major bugs and haven't received a new build of the game in a couple of weeks?"
Simply saying "Play through the game a couple more times" isn't going to give them any real incentive to hire you. Let them know that you're aware of the factors involved in games and how you would exploit them, and even make references to other games you've played.
If there doesn't seem to be a bug in your assigned level, see if you can wall-jump to the highest piece of geometry, start raining fireballs at every rock and tree below you, and then skydive and try to hit a passing NPC. You don't have to be completely silly about it, but they'll remember you if you give them an answer that's different from everyone else's.
Know your favorite game and why it's your favorite, because they'll ask. The ability to analyze a game's structure and what makes it tick are both essential skills when the solutions to less obvious bugs are lurking in the shadows.
DESTRUCTOID: What does an average day entail?
Punch in, sit down and play an assigned game, take an hour of lunchtime (relax by playing games), play the assigned game again, and punch out.
Teams are divided up and put under Test Leads, and it's the Leads who determine exactly who will be doing what. Most of the time we're just allowed to run through the game causing as much mayhem as possible, but sometimes someone is assigned to test a particular level, area, or gameplay function.
The most important part of this job isn't necessarily the ability to find bugs, but to reproduce them. If a bug occurs, testers must backtrack every step they've taken, and then try to narrow it down to only the essential things needed to trigger the bug. Problem-solving and deduction abilities are crucial to being able to quickly route out a bug and get on to the next.
DESTRUCTOID: Can you see yourself getting bored of it in the future?
This is a job for people who absolutely love videogames. You have to if you're going to last for more than six months playing the same game over and over again. The programmers and designers will change things between builds, but it basically remains the same levels, same plot, etc. You may get juggled between a couple of titles depending on where they need you, but you'll usually end up coming back around to the same game.
One of my friends just got through a weekend of testing a game that's entered crunch-mode. He put in 12 hours a day for three days straight, and it looks like there's plenty more to come. He's tired of playing the same levels over and over, but for right now he just has to deal: it's part of the job.
The trick is to find new ways to approach the game, or you'll get bored out of your skull. I think that so long as I can keep this in mind, I'll be just fine.
DESTRUCTOID: What future jobs are now accessible to you now that you are part of the industry?
Ah…here's a prickly question. While anyone who knows their stuff will tell you that getting your foot in the door, any door, of the industry is important, playtesting is no longer the golden gateway it once was. Companies grow and acquire each other, studios become compartmentalized, and sections are kept separated for efficiency reasons. Long story short: you probably won't be having lunch with game artists if you're a tester.
The job looks great on your resume because it shows that you have experience with game design and can work in a team, but it will still be up to you to take initiative and keep sending off your resume and portfolio to potential employers.
DESTRUCTOID: What advice would you give to someone who wishes to become a game tester?
Be creative, be outgoing, and sharpen your writing skills. Love games, love playing games, love being around people who play games, and keep up on your personal hygiene. Seriously: 180 nerds on one floor can get the place smelling mighty ripe.
DESTRUCTOID: Are the wages good enough so that you can live on them?
You wouldn't want to plan a family around it, but right now this weekly paycheck seems mighty chunky. If you're splitting an apartment with someone, you'll be able to live just fine.
DESTRUCTOID: Best part of the job?
Just look at my job description. I play videogames for a living. I'm surrounded by a crowd who loves videogames as much as I do, and at lunch time we duke it out on Guitar Hero or Super Smash Brothers.
The community is really great. Oh, and not having to deal with irate customers because their DVDs are scratched. Big plus. (Joel's last job was at Blockbuster Video. -Rev)
DESTRUCTOID: Worst?
Tracking a single bug for six hours. Sometimes you'll want to give up, but you'll just have to soldier through.
Contest:
1:06 PM on 02.08.2007
| 
--Blade Marcantel
Also, it's not a minimum wage job. It's not a lot, but it's a fair sum. Plus, you don't ever have to worry about coming in contact with an irate customer again, and who can place a value on that?
*click*
*click*
"Your pony died because it wasn't cute enough"
Bah, a man can dream.
flawless victory
The best route I can see into the games industry is just making my own free/shareware stuffs. Even if you don't make it in, at least you're doing what you want to do.
There is no place in the industry for this crack head...game testing is a grind, you are treated like slave labor and with disdain from all above and around you. I'm sure THQ is a nice place to work, probably have more money than sense being in Arizona. Think you're an employee of THQ? Try asking for a raise or calling in sick...watch how long you last.
Also try testing in California and see all your money evaporate from taxes, rent and food. Average work week during Crunch-Time™ is about 80+hrs for 4-8 months. You never see your friends, never see your family and lose touch with reality. The checking account at the end of the grind is nice, but you're more likely to be laid off, fired, let go, not needed anymore, dismissed, sent on "vacation", disappeared with extreme prejudice, or simply burnt to a crisp and dead inside you never show up again.
This is the stupidest article I've ever read...might as well ask G.W. how much fun it is being President. Let's hear from some real testers...not dooshes who worked for a few months.
Digital Coal Miner #041503-3112-319
I wish you luck, but you will soon be as jaded as the throngs of constantly laid off game testers. Try working in silicon valley.
And don't fool yourself. You're not a THQ employee. You're a temp and you work for the temp company meaning you'll be the first one laid off after your game is done.
02/08/2007 19:16
...one decent working eyeball and from some of the writing samples of some coworkers...
10 out of 10 times, Comments, the word 'from' is used rather than 'form'.
Don't listen to these chumps. I've been working pretty hard for the last 8 years as a contract tester at namco, and Glen told me that I'll probably get hired soon. Sweet!
If THQ is anything like the QA departments of established top-name companies I've worked in, QA is an entirely separate entity and is completely isolated from the other departments. All that's needed to properly test a game is rudimentary problem-solving skills and an attention span greater than an ADD-afflicted toddler. Management knows that testers are just warm bodies hired primarily for the sake of meeting manhour quotas, so your access will be severely restricted and it will become exceedingly difficult to interact with anyone that's not in QA. That's not to say QA people never make connections or move up in the company, but you've got to really work for it, not sit on your carebear cloud and think happy thoughts.
If you do not give your all every day and show that you are more than just another tester robot, you will get fired (diplomatically speaking, your "contract will expire"). This means stepping up to do overtime, up to and including 24-hour shifts, as well as being extremely creative and writing up bugs that anyone can understand without confusion.
One thing about being a lead is to... you know... know where to hide confiscated items (like radios or walkie-talkies). Garbage cans work good. Um... you see, the testers under you will do whatever they can to slack off, and if you want to get promoted like me, you'll have to stay on top of things and make sure everyone around you stays on task.
Also... um... appearance is important. Khaki vests and goggles are fine, but t-shirts alone are not. You don't... you know... want to look like a slob.
I highly recommend game testing. It is the most honorable way into the industry.
Your Pal,
Management
anyway i took the job and had a good time. i sometimes fell asleep especially after lunch but my coworkers were cool with it and nobody ever said anything. it's a fun atmosfere too, one time the president of the company came and one of our qa members said he was going to chalenge him to a duel for ownership of the company. his pos replica samurai sword wouldnt stand a chance against the real thing tho lol. but srsly though we all had good times and everyone has a good sense of humor. except for me sometimes i get pretty pissed off when i lose at games. i swear under my breath and people are afraid to talk to me sometimes rofl.
HOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLERRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
Don't expect perks, don't expect free games or schwag, expect to work alot and often, on weekends and on holidays. Expect for people to treat like crap for the simple fact that your a tester. Anything else you dont like about your current job or past jobs expect that. Do it for 4 years like me trix, excal, dtrizzle and all the rest of you guys. Then write an article.
I don't recommend it, I in fact discourage it. Anyone who is the least bit intelligent and personable comes to their senses and leaves after a few months if not weeks.
If you still think this is the job for you get out your dog collar(company badge), put it on and when someone says jump you should already be up in the air. Oh yeah- the pay is shit, respect from everyone above you is non exsistant, there is no job security, benefits, and 9 out of 10 folks get fat(take out and long hours sitting on your ass.)
I tested for about 8 months total. Anyone who can test for over 2 years has to be crazy or stupid. And if you have been testing for that long and arn't crazy or stupid try to start a f***ing union for god's sake. It'll make games better and you might actually get some respect at work.
The tone of may responses from people who are in the industry should clue you in on how stressful the job can be. When your job is to find mistakes that other people has made, and you have pressure from above to find lots of them, you become critical of every last thing. This often creates a rift between QA and the Devs. There is a reason why regular testers and developers cannot directly talk to each other: they will kill each other. There are always too many inane or dumb bugs written up, and there are too many bugs that are already written but ignored by the devs, who ask a month later, "Why didn't anyone write this up?"
All of this tension could easily be remedied by meeting face to face, as it is easy to be biting and sarcastic through a database. For this reason I would recommend finding a QA job at a developer rather than a publisher. You may work on less games or be stuck on a really terrible game, but the work environment is much better.
One thing that was pleasantly surprising about the job was that a great variety of people work it. They are definately not all video game nerds (and some of them did not even seem to play video games outside of work.) When you work 12 hour days with the same people over and over, it is good to know that certain people can make you laugh and hold a conversation and have interesting things going on in their lives. On the flip side, there are some with hygiene, weight, or speech problems. Some will have genuine psychological problems. I had one co-worker try to fight me (physically) because I had a faster playthrough time than he did. Usually you will make fun of these people with your newfound friends. And you will have enough stories to write a book (or atleast Grandma's Boy.)
Newcomers to this industry do not appreciate how stressful it can be. They think that since they can play at home 12, 13, 14 hours a day that they would have no problem with working 8. Imagine the worst part of your favorite video game. Now imagine the game freezing or crashing after playing through that part, and being unable to save the game. Now repeat that for a whole work day. You have to find the cause of that problem, and it can easily be frustrating.
At the same time, when you do figure it out, you feel a sense of pride and ownership with the game. You saved some other poor soul out there who would have gone through the same agony. You will also see some outrageous bugs that you will rarely see in the final product, things that will cause you to laugh uncontrollably at 2 AM when deadlines are looming in. And when you show it to your co-workers they will also laugh hysterically.
One last note: When you find a bug in a finished game, 90% of the time, a tester has found it, reproduced it, written it up, and send it to the developers, but for some reason or another, it still slips through. Please do not blame the QA testers on this fact. As for the other 10%, I leave you with a bit of math:
50 testers (a pretty high number for most projects) x 4 months of testing (pretty average) = 50 x 16 weeks x 40 hours = 32,000 hours of testing. This can seem like a ton of testing, however..
1st day release: 30,000 buyers x 3 hour (if they only play for three hours each and never touch the game again) = 90,000 hours. In just the first day alone there is more testing done by consumers than in four months of in-house testing. In reality the ratio is even worse, especially for popular games.
Holler to the old peeps!
Joel: my advice is to remember that testing aint all fun and games. You obviously know that you’re only testing in the short term, so remember that this isn’t the place to have a career.
Everyone else: Testing > flipping burgers at McDonalds for 5.15 an hour. If I was still young and needed the money, I’d have taken testing over those shitty summer jobs any time.
FYI, That crappy QA job is in the past, I found a good company to QA test for, and after 6 months I was hired full time, after 3 months of that I was promoted. Many people in my new company have moved out of QA and into the other areas of development.
Is that complaining enough for you?
Douche: Hey! I’m some random jack hole that makes accounts for the sole purpose of griefing others!!!
Numba1Testah: Das right foo, you is some random jack hole. Infact, griefing griefers is just as bad. Shoot, dis one time I was chillin wit mah homies an' dis foo was like, y'alls a bunch of fakers! So I was like, you just some random jack hole foo! I really said dat. I woonit be surprized if dis wuz dat same dood.
Douche: Just look at what the kid is saying folks! Does he want to be doing this the rest of his life? No. Is he happy where he is now? Sure! How miserable with yourself do you have to be to go out of your way to make such hate filled comments for no reason?!!
Numba1Testah: Foo, i'm happy wit mah job dawg. Last week, I got to work 20 minutes early and I was able to still get a donut. Den later mah lead came over and tried to "WTFPWN" me at dis game, but he was so bad we just wound up clownin' on him all day. Dat foo had da nerve to call my skills "suspect". I'm just livin' da dream yo.
Douche: When he’s had his fill he’ll leave for better things, unlike the dumbasses redsoag, drizzle, Trixwon, tronfanusa and the rest of that group who apparently know how to COMPLAIN about how shitty their lives are but can’t DO anything about it because they’ve shoved their heads so far up their asses.
Numba1Testah: Well das da point ain't it? He won't "Have his fill and den leave", he's gonna get his ass laid off as soon as his projects done. I mean, I love mah job. I love getting a 2 - 4 month vacation throughout da year without pay. It's coo. I can just chill wit da homies and earn more street cred. Mah momma let's me stay up later now cuz I been wit da company fa so long, it's pretty sick. "who apparently know how to COMPLAIN about how shitty their lives are but can’t DO anything about it because they’ve shoved their heads so far up their asses." Was the "shitty lives" and "heads so far up their asses" pun intentional? Cuz dat was pretty funny.
Douche: Joel: my advice is to remember that testing aint all fun and games. You obviously know that you’re only testing in the short term, so remember that this isn’t the place to have a career.
Numba1Testah: Good advice jack hole, dass about da only intelligent thing I read in yo little rant.
Douche: Everyone else: Testing > flipping burgers at McDonalds for 5.15 an hour. If I was still young and needed the money, I’d have taken testing over those shitty summer jobs any time.
Numba1Testah: I flip burgers on da weekends dawg! Supplimentil income iz wut its called. I got big plans man, I got big ideas! Ya'll don't even know! Shoot. Just you wait, ya'll will see mah chewin-gum-bug-repellent in stores soon 'nuff. Oh yeah, minimum wage is 5.15 where you live? That sucks. Payce!
- Numba1Testah "Testin' fo life!"
However, I see nothing wrong with expressing enthusiasm and love for your job. I've been a tester for a year and a half and have loved every second of it, even through the difficult parts. I've never lost my passion for playing games and still play regularly on my free time. And, there are more of my coworkers who feel this way than don't.
Joel obviously loves his job. More power to him. I imagine he'll become a grood tester and use this job to springboard into something great.
(super mario boxin) playstation can make toy guns like nintendo