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esumitkumar
Call me Sumit
Does anybody still want to be game tester ???
*www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/all/gamespotting/032303/2.html
The Lowly Life of a Game Tester
I'm going to be perfectly honest with all of you. Going into this, my first attempt at the fearsome task that is GameSpotting, I had not the slightest idea what to write about. Seeing as how this is my first week here and, thus, my opportunity to introduce myself to the GameSpot loyal, I felt I had to come up with something relevant and yet at the same time descriptive of my personality. And so I eventually settled upon a subject that has some actual relevance to me and I think to many of you as well. This week I'll be discussing a job that many gamers out there have either tried their hands at or at least thought about in their lives. No, not stripping--I'm talking about quality assurance, or as it's better known, game testing.
I was a handsome man once...before game testing.
You see, before coming to GameSpot, I had worked a number of different journeyman-type freelance writing jobs to make ends meet. Last year, when all that sort of work began to dry up due to a less-than-stellar economy, I started to seek out some fashion of "real" work. I wanted to stay within the game industry, but it seemed less and less likely that I'd get any sort of media job, as people were being laid off and sites were shutting down at a record pace. Finally, when all hope seemed lost, a friend of mine told me about a job opening where he worked as a game tester. Naturally, being about as close to broke as I'd ever been, I jumped on the opportunity, applied, and was hired immediately. My life as a game tester had officially begun. Little did I know what I was in for.
Game testers are, by nature, temps. Testers are brought in for the length of a game's development cycle, used, abused, and eventually sent back into the wild. Your job as a tester is exactly how it sounds. You're plopped down in front of a TV screen or computer monitor, given a build of an unfinished game, and told to break it. Every time you do break it, you enter it into a database, thus letting the programmers know about it. You continue to do this in a lather, rinse, and repeat-like fashion until a new build of the game comes around, and you have to break it all over again. This can go on for weeks, months, or even years, depending on the allotted production timeline. Sounds superexciting, right?
The key theme in game testing is monotony. Generally speaking, your job is to test the same game over and over again. You don't get to mess around with a variety of different games, as most companies don't have more than one or two projects in the development stage at once. On top of all of that, since games do have release dates, required hours have a sneaky way of piling up on you. Twelve-to-fourteen-hour workdays are not uncommon during crunch time, and while you may get overtime for your efforts, it's little comfort. One day you may wake up, as I did, and like a ton of bricks, you will be hit with the realization that you've just spent somewhere around 70 hours of your week in front of a TV screen trying to track down an elusive crash bug that may or may not actually exist, and the clarity of what your life has become will be staggering.
I spent about nine months working as a tester, and in that time, I went through about as many bouts of depression as one man can go through without jumping in front of a bus. I love video games more than most anything else on this planet, and this job was actually making me hate games. I couldn't look at, touch, or even think about a video game for nearly two months after my test job ended. But I can't be the norm, right? There have to be people out there who like being game testers, right? Right?!? Indeed, there are many gamers out there who thrive on jobs like game testing. The trouble is, many of them thrive so well and so long working test jobs that their lives simply pass them by. Confused? Allow me to explain.
Chances are if you're the kind of person looking for a job in quality assurance, you're also the kind of person who would ideally like to be designing games for a living. And therein lies the trap. With all the overnight success stories and tales of bottom-tiered employees coming out of left field with the next big RPG, many gamers delude themselves into thinking that testing is a quick shortcut into game production. I can't even count how many guys in my test department spent their days talking about their own lofty goals and how one day they're going to "make it." And these aren't just 20-something kids I'm talking about either; a lot of these guys were hovering around 30 or older and have been bouncing from game company to game company for more years than they'd care to admit. These are guys with wives, children, car payments, the whole nine yards, and there they sit, still testing games after all these years, making the same crappy hourly wage and still hoping for their shot at that lucrative production job. You would think that this kind of delusion would be reserved for wannabe actors and rock stars, but even the game industry has its stories of defeat.
Do not take this as an out-and-out roasting of game testers and game testing as a whole. Testing is an absolutely necessary evil, and without it, games would simply never get finished. It's a thankless job without a lot of upside, and you have to appreciate the hard work these guys do. In the end, this story has been only the sum of one man's experiences. If you want to pursue a job in quality assurance, go for it. Just make sure you understand what you're getting yourself into lest you wake up one day 10 years from now, still testing games, wondering where your life went.
*www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/all/gamespotting/032303/2.html
The Lowly Life of a Game Tester
I'm going to be perfectly honest with all of you. Going into this, my first attempt at the fearsome task that is GameSpotting, I had not the slightest idea what to write about. Seeing as how this is my first week here and, thus, my opportunity to introduce myself to the GameSpot loyal, I felt I had to come up with something relevant and yet at the same time descriptive of my personality. And so I eventually settled upon a subject that has some actual relevance to me and I think to many of you as well. This week I'll be discussing a job that many gamers out there have either tried their hands at or at least thought about in their lives. No, not stripping--I'm talking about quality assurance, or as it's better known, game testing.
I was a handsome man once...before game testing.
You see, before coming to GameSpot, I had worked a number of different journeyman-type freelance writing jobs to make ends meet. Last year, when all that sort of work began to dry up due to a less-than-stellar economy, I started to seek out some fashion of "real" work. I wanted to stay within the game industry, but it seemed less and less likely that I'd get any sort of media job, as people were being laid off and sites were shutting down at a record pace. Finally, when all hope seemed lost, a friend of mine told me about a job opening where he worked as a game tester. Naturally, being about as close to broke as I'd ever been, I jumped on the opportunity, applied, and was hired immediately. My life as a game tester had officially begun. Little did I know what I was in for.
Game testers are, by nature, temps. Testers are brought in for the length of a game's development cycle, used, abused, and eventually sent back into the wild. Your job as a tester is exactly how it sounds. You're plopped down in front of a TV screen or computer monitor, given a build of an unfinished game, and told to break it. Every time you do break it, you enter it into a database, thus letting the programmers know about it. You continue to do this in a lather, rinse, and repeat-like fashion until a new build of the game comes around, and you have to break it all over again. This can go on for weeks, months, or even years, depending on the allotted production timeline. Sounds superexciting, right?
The key theme in game testing is monotony. Generally speaking, your job is to test the same game over and over again. You don't get to mess around with a variety of different games, as most companies don't have more than one or two projects in the development stage at once. On top of all of that, since games do have release dates, required hours have a sneaky way of piling up on you. Twelve-to-fourteen-hour workdays are not uncommon during crunch time, and while you may get overtime for your efforts, it's little comfort. One day you may wake up, as I did, and like a ton of bricks, you will be hit with the realization that you've just spent somewhere around 70 hours of your week in front of a TV screen trying to track down an elusive crash bug that may or may not actually exist, and the clarity of what your life has become will be staggering.
I spent about nine months working as a tester, and in that time, I went through about as many bouts of depression as one man can go through without jumping in front of a bus. I love video games more than most anything else on this planet, and this job was actually making me hate games. I couldn't look at, touch, or even think about a video game for nearly two months after my test job ended. But I can't be the norm, right? There have to be people out there who like being game testers, right? Right?!? Indeed, there are many gamers out there who thrive on jobs like game testing. The trouble is, many of them thrive so well and so long working test jobs that their lives simply pass them by. Confused? Allow me to explain.
Chances are if you're the kind of person looking for a job in quality assurance, you're also the kind of person who would ideally like to be designing games for a living. And therein lies the trap. With all the overnight success stories and tales of bottom-tiered employees coming out of left field with the next big RPG, many gamers delude themselves into thinking that testing is a quick shortcut into game production. I can't even count how many guys in my test department spent their days talking about their own lofty goals and how one day they're going to "make it." And these aren't just 20-something kids I'm talking about either; a lot of these guys were hovering around 30 or older and have been bouncing from game company to game company for more years than they'd care to admit. These are guys with wives, children, car payments, the whole nine yards, and there they sit, still testing games after all these years, making the same crappy hourly wage and still hoping for their shot at that lucrative production job. You would think that this kind of delusion would be reserved for wannabe actors and rock stars, but even the game industry has its stories of defeat.
Do not take this as an out-and-out roasting of game testers and game testing as a whole. Testing is an absolutely necessary evil, and without it, games would simply never get finished. It's a thankless job without a lot of upside, and you have to appreciate the hard work these guys do. In the end, this story has been only the sum of one man's experiences. If you want to pursue a job in quality assurance, go for it. Just make sure you understand what you're getting yourself into lest you wake up one day 10 years from now, still testing games, wondering where your life went.
OP
PainKiller
thug for life...2pac
man...that was "lord of the post"
newayz, I agree with ur opinion and experience bout game testing...but did u tested games in india or abroad?? bcos i think in US, game testers are treated at par with game developers n given same kind of benefits..i have not much time to write thats bcos im in my office right now...but i would like to discuss this topic further...
bye for now....take care....and play some games
newayz, I agree with ur opinion and experience bout game testing...but did u tested games in india or abroad?? bcos i think in US, game testers are treated at par with game developers n given same kind of benefits..i have not much time to write thats bcos im in my office right now...but i would like to discuss this topic further...
bye for now....take care....and play some games
esumitkumar
Call me Sumit
Thanks.......
No man...I didnt tested the games...I just copy pasted the experiences of a game tester ...His name is Alex Navaro.....I also quoted the link in my previous post....... I am in banking domain testing.... Anyways, I love games too but hadnt time to play them
But it feels some guilty playing games after reading how much frustation game tester goes...............
OP
PainKiller
thug for life...2pac
im so sorry...i didnt follow the link
what does "banking domain testing" involves??
what does "banking domain testing" involves??
i havent read most of the post abov........but as far as topic is concerned....my classmate jus joined icad frm chennai...abt game development course......patd ard 1 lakh 4 the course duration 1 year......
and he said his first lecture was frm the guy who did special effects for lord of the rings.......so guys try to find information abt icad......mayb that might help someone
and he said his first lecture was frm the guy who did special effects for lord of the rings.......so guys try to find information abt icad......mayb that might help someone
OP
PainKiller
thug for life...2pac
@magnet
gd course for 1 lack rupees.....u got 2b kidding me....in us/canada/uk gd course are roughtly around 7-8 lakhs...so think bout the quality of the courses at icad. moreover, what is "lord of the ring" fx specialist doin in a gd course...i think ur friend's first lecture should have been done by someone who created a successful game not a successful movie...fx comes later in the course...just a thaught
my friend joined vfs for 1yr 3d course...n the cost was around 8 lakh 
gd course for 1 lack rupees.....u got 2b kidding me....in us/canada/uk gd course are roughtly around 7-8 lakhs...so think bout the quality of the courses at icad. moreover, what is "lord of the ring" fx specialist doin in a gd course...i think ur friend's first lecture should have been done by someone who created a successful game not a successful movie...fx comes later in the course...just a thaught
my friend joined vfs for 1yr 3d course...n the cost was around 8 lakh
esumitkumar
Call me Sumit
Painkiller wrote
Actually testing process is same only your client area may be different (like banks, telecom sector, insurance, game companies etc)
Hope this helps...
It involves testing web based application which the bankers will be using, developing test plans, executing them , finding bugs etc...
Actually testing process is same only your client area may be different (like banks, telecom sector, insurance, game companies etc)
Hope this helps...
OP
PainKiller
thug for life...2pac
@esumitkumar
hey man...do u use any s/w to automate the process of testing or u do the stuff manually.
@voops2k5
sorry man...but i dont think there is a single institute in india who provide formal 3d programming trainning..
hey man...do u use any s/w to automate the process of testing or u do the stuff manually.
@voops2k5
sorry man...but i dont think there is a single institute in india who provide formal 3d programming trainning..
esumitkumar
Call me Sumit
HI painkiller
I do it manually ...depends on application but u can use winrunner , QTP etc depends on all ur client expectations....
new appln --->test cases--->execution --->defects ---> fixed--->again test same appln --->again bugs ---->again test..............goes on.....
till client is satisfied ............
testing is very boring job.......
I do it manually ...depends on application but u can use winrunner , QTP etc depends on all ur client expectations....
new appln --->test cases--->execution --->defects ---> fixed--->again test same appln --->again bugs ---->again test..............goes on.....
till client is satisfied ............
testing is very boring job.......
kato
Karthiksn
3d Software
i thought u guys were dicussing about which 3d s/w is better and on which does arena consentraits.I am in the course for animation and maya is considerd the best.One problems other face is it requires lots of coding and is difficult to learn compared to 3ds max.Actally 3ds amx is so easy that eventhough me is 1st sem(that is simple basics) i and my friend know how to do 3ds max a little bit .(we learnt it just by peeping into the neighbouring class)
i thought u guys were dicussing about which 3d s/w is better and on which does arena consentraits.I am in the course for animation and maya is considerd the best.One problems other face is it requires lots of coding and is difficult to learn compared to 3ds max.Actally 3ds amx is so easy that eventhough me is 1st sem(that is simple basics) i and my friend know how to do 3ds max a little bit .(we learnt it just by peeping into the neighbouring class)
OP
PainKiller
thug for life...2pac
@mako_123
hey...i dont think there is any pre-requisite for learning opengl...except u know the basics of coding(which is very easy)..so good luck
there r lots of tutorials on the net...from beginner to advance..just search it
hey...i dont think there is any pre-requisite for learning opengl...except u know the basics of coding(which is very easy)..so good luck
there r lots of tutorials on the net...from beginner to advance..just search it
sid_ashok
Broken In
Hay guys please help me
I want to build my carear as game developer.
Currently I will give class 12 exam. Then I will join some
engg. college and do B.Tech in Computer Science( I have planed every thing).
Then what to do
Can i do BA in graphics and anemation while studieng in college
I wana learn Maya
I want to build my carear as game developer.
Currently I will give class 12 exam. Then I will join some
engg. college and do B.Tech in Computer Science( I have planed every thing).
Then what to do
Can i do BA in graphics and anemation while studieng in college
I wana learn Maya
OP
PainKiller
thug for life...2pac
@sid_ashok
hey man...good to c that u r interested in game dev...however learning maya and learning gd r two different things...after learing maya u might become 3d modeler in game industry but game developer doesnt do that...they program the game.
in order to become game developer, u need very strong coding skills. i will recommend that u should concentrate on basics of computer architecture/ coding/testing etc..and after doing ur engineering degree, go 2 uk/us/canada for a specialised course in game development.....btw best of luck
hey man...good to c that u r interested in game dev...however learning maya and learning gd r two different things...after learing maya u might become 3d modeler in game industry but game developer doesnt do that...they program the game.
in order to become game developer, u need very strong coding skills. i will recommend that u should concentrate on basics of computer architecture/ coding/testing etc..and after doing ur engineering degree, go 2 uk/us/canada for a specialised course in game development.....btw best of luck
OP
PainKiller
thug for life...2pac
hi sid_ashok ,
i m not getting enough time to reply...kinda busy but i will definitely post a long reply very soon...in the mean time try surfing foreing university website...they provide vital info
bye
i m not getting enough time to reply...kinda busy but i will definitely post a long reply very soon...in the mean time try surfing foreing university website...they provide vital info
bye
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