The Reality of Game Testing
by aleen634
As seen on Penny-Arcade : Penny Arcade: Here's Your Reality Program Sony has just started up a new reality series called: The Tester with the ultimate prize being a job as an official PlayStation game tester (although the $5000 signing bonus is a plus). But behind all the glitz and glamor of the reality series lies the hard truth. Being a game tester is anything but a fabulous job that instantl...
As seen on Penny-Arcade:
Penny Arcade: Here's Your Reality ProgramSony has just started up a new reality series called: The Tester with the ultimate prize being a job as an official PlayStation game tester (although the $5000 signing bonus is a plus). But behind all the glitz and glamor of the reality series lies the hard truth. Being a game tester is anything but a fabulous job that instantly makes you cool or gives you the chance to 'play' the latest and greatest games all the time.As many of my friends can attest to video game quality assurance is a very long and very tiring process. Long unforgiving hours, average pay and tons of unexpected overtime are all part of the job. Of course for every Assassin's Creed or Uncharted there are hundreds (if not thousands) of other games that need to be tested for the gaming public. I've always told people interesting in game testing the same thing, "Imagine playing the game you hated the most for 3 months straight. If you can deal with that, then you should look into game testing as a professional career."
That doesn't mean I don't want anyone to become a game tester, it makes a great summer job and if you take it seriously there is always the chance for long term contracts or full time employment. Just don't be in for a shock when you first start your job. After all, the dream and the reality are always 2 different things.