Memoirs of a Game Tester
A personal story and tips on how to break into the games industry
Here’s a breakdown of various positions and what I have learnt/was told was the best way to get into them.
Testing: Testing only begets more testing in higher up positions, if you know another language perhaps you could go into the languages department. We were on contracts that meant they could drop us with about a week’s notice and the job was only dependent on what games they had on their roster. It was the job equivalent of running down one of the halls in a platformer where the ground could go at any moment, everyday was a suspenseful day.
Also, I worked with some great people but I’ll be honest I was surprised some games even got released with the amount of idiots in the test department. You could’ve slashed about 3/4 of the staff and it would have been more productive. The contracts we were on also meant that no matter how bad you were they couldn’t have fired you AND they had to hire you back before anyone else new was brought in. COME ON!
One of the advantages from this is that job opportunities in any field of the company are first given to their employees before they cast out their net to the rest of the populace. That was perhaps the most lucrative part of working in a low-level position.
Programming: Companies want a great portfolio and examples of work, anything published draws wood from them. A degree isn’t as important (but helps a lot) as the work you have produced. If you’ve created a great game, interface, whatever then they’ll beat a path to your door. Also, choose a company you’d like to work for and get to grips with their programs and tool sets.
Games Designer: Senior programmers, artists, producers’ maybe, people who have worked their way up or been present since the company’s inception. If one leaves from their studio they either get the next guy in line to do it or send out for someone who has had years of experience doing it at another company. NO ONE starts off in the industry doing this job.
Artist: Be good at art. If you’re a great artist then that’s enough, when contacting a company it’s pretty good to show your own style and maybe something done in their vein to show that you have depth. As far as software goes, it’ll help but it won’t be the reason they won’t take you on.
Producer: Not necessarily from a games background, and not that I know particularly much about it but from what I heard it’s about knowing a product and knowing the market. Others deal with costs, budgeting and scheduling, making nice with press, team-building etc. Google it.
It would take more time and require me to have a greater attention span delve further into the minutia of the industry, and again those ‘insights’ and I use the term very loosely are mine and mine alone. In reality it’s not all bad, it’s just the emotional equivalent of the scene in “The Shawshank Redemption” where Tim Robbins had to trawl through an ocean of crap for sweet, sweet freedom.
In the end, it’ll be worth it. Right?
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