Video Game Testing jobs

[kahljorn]

Anybody know anything about finding these types of jobs? I've heard you can do them "online" or through mail or something, without having to "go to work". I want a part time/extra job i can do in my freetime

[Mockery]

Talk to Dr. Boogie, he just got one. :picklehat

[RaNkeri]

A friend of mine from other forums got a job like this few months ago. If I remember it right, she just filled an application in which she stated that she's willing to do this job etc.

[Chojin]

I recommend you read 'Paid To Play'. It's actually very illuminating.

[the_dudefather]

flatmate works as a play tester for 'Crackdown', he has to go to the actual office though, fortunately its down the street.

from what he says its not a terrible job, but it does get very tedious.

[kahljorn]

thanks guys.

Chojin do you have an online resource for this paid to play because everytime i look it up/looked it up i got pages like, "HELLO IF YOU BUY MY PAID TO PLAY VIDEOGAMES GUIDE TO THE BEST JOB IN THE WORLD YOU WILL HAVE JOBS AS A PROFESSIONAL VIDEO GAME PLAYER WITHIN MONTHS. I GIVE YOU ALL THE TIPS AND TRICKS YOU NEED TO KNOW TO BECOME A PROFESSIONAL VIDEO GAME PLAYER! ALSO FI YOU ORDER NOW ILL GIVE YOU A FIFTY PERCENT DISCOUNT THATS RIGHT FORTY FIVE DOLLARS FOR THIS PRICELESS GUIDE. DONT WAIT, ORDER NOW".
and things like that scare me :(

[MetalMilitia]

I've heard several reports saying that testing games isn't nearly as fun as it sounds. :(

[kahljorn]

it sounds totally lame really running around in circles doing the same shit over and over but it seems better than working at mcdonalds or something.

[Chojin]

look on amazon, it's a book with illustrations from the penny arcade guys

or go to really any ebgames/gamestop and they should have a copy

[ArrowX]

I was a volunteer tester at HermitWorks INT for a little while, it was fun but gets incredibly tedious when the build is rough and you fall through the ground every 2nd step and the buttons only work half the time, if you do your job well tho and fill out the mounds of bug reports and remembering what you did to fuck up the game.

[Supafly345]

Seanbaby did an afterward for that book that never got printed: http://www.seanbaby.com/egm/paidtoplay.htm

[kahljorn]

I'll have to check out that book but buying books to get a nearly mininum wage job seems weird to me.

I'm surprised there's no places online hiring for jobs like this, but all I found was aforementioned advertisements.

that afterword was kind of funny ;o

what is hermitworks INT? I've never heard of them.

[Shifty]

if i remember right, hermit works is just a local video game producer here in Grande Prairie

[Chojin]

What it boils down to is that you can either try to get in with a producer or a developer's QA team.

Producer-
Contracted work, paid overtime, work on all sorts of projects, typically play games 6 months before release, work long hours. Way easier to get into.

Developer-
Salary work, work on a few projects, typically playing games from alpha .00001, work regular hours (most of the time), opportunity to advance within that company. Way harder to get into.

[ArrowX]

if i remember right, hermit works is just a local video game producer here in Grande Prairie

yeah there hoping to "make it big" just like bioware did. Wich is pretty sad since the one guy who works there wears S&M Leather Pants :lol

[AChimp]

Testing software is a boring shitty job, and I imagine that testing games is even worse.

The reason you see ads for it is because there's really high turnover in the grunt level QA positions. People see "video game tester" and think that it means fun-times and that you get to play games months before they're released. In reality, those games are half-made piles of crap (which is why you're testing it) and you have to fill out dozens and dozens of bug reports about how you did the same repetitive thing for hours while trying to figure out exactly what you did that broke the game.

It's a very important part of developing software, but it's probably the least interesting.

[kahljorn]

yea guys don't worry I'm not expecting this to be a party I just don't want to have a job where I have to look at people's shitty faces. Plus I'd probably be good at something like this because I pay attention to details and i have smart idears. Plus I've played games with bugs in them before and I'd have to find out lame ways to get around them ;/

do any of you guys know the name of some producer companies or something like Chojin was mentioning? Maybe if I send them e-mails they'll know how I can apply etc.

ps i can't afford a book right now :( maybe i can find an online copy for free ;/

pps what does QA mean? Quirky Assistants? Quality analysts? Quality Assurerrerers?

Maybe if I look up QA+Producer company i can find something online :O

[thebiggameover]

yea guys don't worry I'm not expecting this to be a party I just don't want to have a job where I have to look at people's shitty faces. Plus I'd probably be good at something like this because I pay attention to details and i have smart idears. Plus I've played games with bugs in them before and I'd have to find out lame ways to get around them ;/

do any of you guys know the name of some producer companies or something like Chojin was mentioning? Maybe if I send them e-mails they'll know how I can apply etc.

ps i can't afford a book right now :( maybe i can find an online copy for free ;/

pps what does QA mean? Quirky Assistants? Quality analysts? Quality Assurerrerers?

Maybe if I look up QA+Producer company i can find something online :O

it means (and i gonna fuck up this spelling) Quality a-sure-ints.....

can you do this online? i looked, and everything looks like you have to do 9 to 5.....

[Comrade Rocket]

just get a job at a video game store, as much as i bash on it, its actually better than testing. The only good part about game testing is a foot in the door for the gaming industry. But seriously, we did the math and i get paid better than your standard tester. 9-5 doing basically tedious work and getting paid minimum wage. thanks ill stick with the stupid kids and soccer moms.

[kahljorn]

man it must've just been all the scam places saying you can get paid to do it online ;/
I figured they'd have some thing worked out by now where you could do it online.

I probably will try to get a job at a videogame store :(

the job i had before this one was cleaning up a ghetto apartment and I seriously can't imagine a worse job. There was this area of grass where there was ALWAYS flies and I found out it was because before it was an area of grass it was an area of dirt and sort of a hole and people who lived there used to throw their chicken bones in the dirt along with other trash.
the only thing I liked about it is that I could go in to work any time I wanted.

[the_dudefather]

yeah think a game store would be better than cleaning the ghetto any day

[kahljorn]

anybody who thinks that "outside" is a trash receptical sucks balls :(

[Archduke Tips]

I have worked in Quality Assurance, but not for video games.

If Grandma's Boy has taught me anything, video game testing is awesome and you will have wild pot-smoking parties with Dr. Shakalu and your grandmother and her friends.

[ArrowX]

how do you go about getting a job as a ghetto janitor?
Like did you go looking for it?

[kahljorn]

my friend managed the apartment complex and bribed me by telling me I'd be able to come into work whenever I wanted. I even worked nights if i wanted. but not too late because it's scary and bums shit in the parking lot :(

[Supafly345]

It helps if you don't mind not liking videogames ever again.

My ex's brother did it, and even though he is still a huge dork who works at microsoft, he hasn't played a videogame since he was 18.

[Angryhydralisk]

Minimum wage!? It's kinda like being hyped for somehting that gets delayed too much and comes out like shit.

Yes it's shit but THIS is what you wanted! :)

[kahljorn]

If I started hating video games I'd probably be more productive, IRONICALLY.

I'm glad I'm not stupid enough to get suckered into sales pitches because it does seem like those online game testing jobs were LIES.

PS the information on from this thread helped me find reliable information thanks guys. All the terminology made searching more productive.

[Dr. Boogie]

Chojin and chimp summed it up pretty well. It's low pay, long hours, and high turnover. Especially if you fall asleep on the job.

I've heard a bunch of higher-ups in game companies say that it's a good way to get a start in the industry, if that's what you want to do. Me, not really, but they were hiring, and that's a definite plus.