Naza Sutera Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Okay, where do I begin? Well, I might as well start off by saying I aspire to be a video game tester. (Yeah, I know, right?) (warning: life story ahead Xo) ...I recently dropped out of college, not because I didn't want to attend, mind you, but because of personal/family problems (especially with my father). Of course it's normal for any parent to want the best for their kids, but my father was too manipulative and controlling for me to tolerate. So, to abridge a long-winded story, I left (on poor terms, I might add) and haven't looked back. My mom/best friend (yeah, I'm a momma's boy, so sue me XP), held her hand out to me. She's been trying to help me become independent, but she's dealing with issues of her own. Heck, she's letting my stay at her house rent free with full access to the fridge, so I couldn't possibly ask her for more. Everything was a'ight for a while, but things started to steadily suck... I did eventually find a job, but t was a LAME job (...I hate fast food...>_>) At that point, I wasn't complaining. THEN, one night I was coming home from work, and... I frigging hit a deer and totaled my car...Then the deer got up and ran >_>. I got another car, but the junker broke down on me not even after a month of ownership... So as of now, I'm car-less, and since I haven't been able to get to work I'm um...*cough*...unemployed. But this ain't all about me... See, my mom, albeit she works at a fan-tabulous hotel in downtown Orlando, has a lame job too, and she's unable to keep up with the bills; also her car is broke-down too, and sitting on the side of the interstate somewhere. My mom's boyfriend makes a decent amount of money, but his funds are being eaten up by a rental car; his car is out of commission too; he has a big Ford F-250 Tonka truck (you know, with the raised suspension and big tires?) a, but it has a flat tire, and it's gonna cost a helluvalotta money to fix since the the danged thing. So, everyone's car is broke down, and for about a month, we've been squeezing into some rental car. We're having s**t luck right now. SO... back to me: Since I'm broke and car-less, I've been lounging around the house, filling out applications online, lounging around the house s'more, and generally waiting for some kind of solution to fall out of the sky. Then one day, something came out of nowhere and hit me in the stomach: Videogame testing. "Say, huh??" Yes videogame testing. I don't know how or why, but I suddenly became interested in video game testing. I decided to check online for information about how to get into it; who to call, what to do, ect., ect. All of the info sites said more or less the same things: It's not easy to get into, blah blah blah, hard work, yadda yadda yadda. After surfing the web with "video game testing" on my mind, i've come up with a billion and one questions and I'm wondering if ANYBODY at all can help me out... But I'm only gonna post a few of my questions... 1: Is anyone around here employed as a videogame tester? If so, how'd you get into it? what steps did you take? 2: Is there anything wrong with picking up the phone and simply calling some Capcom or EA Games or something, declaring that I wanna test games for them? 3: While surfing the web, I came across several sites saying pretty much that if you fork over some dough for membership, you'll get access to developers who want people to test their games. Can those sites be trusted/which one(s) can I trust? 4: Am I an idiot/dumb-ass/retard for thinking of this in the first place? I honestly though that sitting around on my ass and playing video games for a living was just a fantasy. Please tell me. If anyone here at all can help me, please IM me at babygngst@yahoo.com, email me a ImTheCoffee1@yahoo.com, pm me on this site, or just post it here. Well, that's all for now! *scampers away* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Krystal Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 I'm sorry about your problems, I'm afraid I'm about to make them worse. 1. I'm not, but I know quite a few people who are or were. They got into it because: A. They're local. B. They're at Digipen. 2. Game testers are usually in pretty high demand because there's a large turnover rate, at least from what I've seen. I think it would be better to actually go to their corporate offices and file out an application. They also sometimes post jobs online. 3. I wouldn't trust them at all. 4. No, not an idiot. At first, it sounds like a great idea, but the fact is, video game tester is a horrible job. A "lame" job as you put it. You don't get to choose the games, the games are usually broken. When they are broken, you have to write a report about what you were doing when the error occurred. You have to play the game an insanely long time, the same parts over and over and over, and it's usually not fun after about 3 times. They also have you coming in at weird hours, and long hours, weekends, etc. But even with all that, you'd still need to move to Redmond Washington or some other place with a number of game studios. They usually hire locally for these jobs, so it's not a really good career move. The people I know who've been game testers do it as a summer job or as a gateway to better jobs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naza Sutera Posted January 29, 2008 Author Share Posted January 29, 2008 I'm sorry about your problems, I'm afraid I'm about to make them worse. 1. I'm not, but I know quite a few people who are or were. They got into it because: A. They're local. B. They're at Digipen. 2. Game testers are usually in pretty high demand because there's a large turnover rate, at least from what I've seen. I think it would be better to actually go to their corporate offices and file out an application. They also sometimes post jobs online. 3. I wouldn't trust them at all. 4. No, not an idiot. At first, it sounds like a great idea, but the fact is, video game tester is a horrible job. A "lame" job as you put it. You don't get to choose the games, the games are usually broken. When they are broken, you have to write a report about what you were doing when the error occurred. You have to play the game an insanely long time, the same parts over and over and over, and it's usually not fun after about 3 times. They also have you coming in at weird hours, and long hours, weekends, etc. But even with all that, you'd still need to move to Redmond Washington or some other place with a number of game studios. They usually hire locally for these jobs, so it's not a really good career move. The people I know who've been game testers do it as a summer job or as a gateway to better jobs. Well, dang... that sucks...>_>. Well anyway thanks for the info. The way you put it, this job doesn't seem too rewarding...albeit I'm not completely discouraged. I'll just keep this under my mattress until further notice. :friends: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabre Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Your not alone in this position. Genrally, most testers are in it not for the dream, but for the foot in the door. I was turned down for university because I am classed as disabled. No places for retard in higher education. However, I persiver and I'm currently learning the animation trade as a hobby, and plan on making my own films, with plans for games in the future. If you can get it a games industry job professionally, then do it at home. While you will lack the 100+ staff, you will be able to create YOUR game the way YOU want without deadlines or changing things to increase sales. Games tester, like most work, it's not what you know, it's who you know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mewfii Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 What Canadian state are you closes to, it might work out if your near mine. :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DZComposer Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 I don't do it, but I know some people in software testing (though not necessarily games). It is probably not as fun as it sounds. You will likely end up playing lots of games that you don't like. Plus, you likely have to file bug reports and write-ups for every little thing. Plus, it doesn't pay very well. These people are just using the jobs as resume fillers to move up the software development ladder. Though, outsourcing to India and desire for H1B applicants is really hurting that job market. It is probably not as bad in game development, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caboose_The_moron Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 I test games for free at this place. But you have to put in an app and see if they will accept you. https://www.combattesting.com/index.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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