Video Game Testing 101 – How it Works

One of the great myths of the video game industry is that there are thousands of lucky game testers currently in their basements working self-appointed hours and getting paid to play through video games well in advance of their release.

While some game testers are allowed leeway to work at home and there are certainly a limited number of paid beta testers, the vast majority of game testers work in an office setting for a set salary and are given not only specific tasks to complete, but are often on a very tight deadline for completion of the tasks set before them.

Now, that isn’t meant to discourage you – just to lay out the false impression many potential testers have of the industry. So, here’s how the testing process really works.

What You Do As a Tester

Video game testers work in three phases, usually in succession. The first is alpha testing. During alpha testing, you’re not playing the game so much as dissecting it carefully to determine exactly what actions you take will cause the game to crash. If you press a certain button combination on one level and it crashes, does the same button combination cause a crash on every level? These are the types of questions you must ask and then answer during alpha testing.

Beta testing is the next phase and involves going through a more complete build of the game, checking for smaller bugs and glitches. This is the segment of testing that most gamers think of when they dream of the ultimate gaming job. However, while the game is closer to completion, beta testing is often done on a script, where you follow specific runs through the game to see how it will react.

Finally, QA testing has you meticulously analyzing a final build of the game to find any last minute glitches that might cause serious damage to the game or the system. This stage is often extremely rushed as the game is close to release and the programmers need as much time as possible to make bug fixes.

Becoming a Tester

If you’re interested in becoming one of these game testers, your first task is to get experience. You will need to use Microsoft Office, Excel and Access a lot for data entry. You should also have strong technical writing skills, and programming experience in C++ or XNA is very useful. Overall, though, be persistent and start applying now. The jobs are out there if you’re willing to put the effort into finding them.

Learn more about how alpha testing, beta testing, and QA testing are necessary in the testing field and how you can stand out to hiring managers in need of people like you. Visit Beta Gaming Testers today for more information. CLICK HERE