Becoming a video game tester is easier said than done. There are many people out there who would love to do the same job. If you know a specific company you want to test games for, you may have a slight advantage over the competition. This is because you can specifically target the various ways that company hires game testers. One company you may want to test games for is Konami.

Being a Konami game tester puts you right in the middle of many action games. Konami has been around in Japan since 1969, although they were actually Read more »

Working as a video game tester requires a number of different skills, and you may be surprised to learn that game programming and graphic design are not among those skills. Since you won't actually be programming the games, you really don't need to know anything about how video games are made. Instead, it's your job to pay close attention to the final product and report back on how playable the game is.

The first important skill, then, is attention to detail. You have to be able to view the game in several ways at once: you've got to be very attentive to what's happening in the level or area you're Read more »

There are many different qualifications for being a video game tester, and by showing how you meet these various qualifications on your resume or application, you'll be able to beat out the many other potential game testers for jobs. Here are some of the main qualifications and ways you can meet them.

The first major qualification for being a game tester is being able to write well. Programmers will most often rely on your written reports to discover what is wrong with their games. If you can't present them with a well-written, detailed report, they won't be able to reproduce the exact circumstances that led to the bug you discovered, and if they can't do that, they may not Read more »

You might think that there are no disadvantages to being a video game tester. It's the dream job for those who love video games, isn't it? Well, yes and no. There are some disadvantages to working as a video game tester, and some of them may be things you never considered.

Play to work – serious stuff

First, you have to play video games all the time. While this may sound great, it is possible to become burnt out on them. There's a reason why we have the mentality of work verses play - work is "supposed" to be serious stuff that involves doing something that is not always exciting or fun. However, when your fun hobby, video game Read more »

There are many different companies that hire video game testers. No matter which company you work for, you'll get to do what you've always wanted to do: play video games for a living! Depending on which company you work for, your duties may vary a bit, but mostly, you'll find yourself taking notes while playing various video games. Here are some ideas about joining the top video game tester companies.

Before you can look into actual companies, though, you need to decide which part of the video game testing industry you want to get into. You can work directly for a video game company, work for a testing company, work for a magazine that reviews games, or work for a website that focuses Read more »

When working for a video game company as a game tester, it's very important that you avoid making some of the common errors.

If you make too many of these errors, in fact, the game company may decide you are not the best tester and will let you go. However, while the game company may tell you what they want in your reviews, they may not give you any examples of what NOT to do. Here are some of the most common errors video game testers make and how you can avoid them.

» Error #1: being too vague. Read more »

PC Gamer is one of the most well-known and authoritative voice in the gaming world. The magazine was founded in Britain in 1993 by Future Publishing. While the UK version is the original, the magazine soon realized it could expand its readership by creating a US version of the magazine.

Both editions became one of the, if not the, top selling PC games magazines. A typical edition of PC Gamer will feature reviews, previews of new games, what's going on in the video game industry, and much more. A related website has also been launched that expands on the reviews and Read more »

Being a game tester sounds easy enough. After all, all you really need to do is know how to play video games, right? Well, not exactly. Video game tester training requirements vary from company to company, but there are some things they all agree on. Get these basics down, and you'll have a great chance of landing a job as a game tester.

Know your genre

First and foremost, you must know your video games. You need to know the different genres, the main series in each genre, and have an idea of what's going on in the video game industry. This doesn't mean Read more »

When it comes to video game testing, you want to make certain you make note of everything the game company requires. How do you go about doing this? Well, if you follow these seven steps to video game testing, you'll be able to write up a very detailed report that should give the company and the game programmers everything they need.

1.) Read any materials sent with the game. Often, the game company wants your feedback on how well the instructions match up with the actual game. Plus, you'll want to have a good idea of what the game is about before you start playing.

2.) Have a method. While playing a video game normally, you can Read more »

If you find yourself in the envious position of being a video game tester, you may find the job isn't exactly what you expected. In fact, you might find yourself a bit overwhelmed at first or feeling uncertain about the job.

Video game testing involves more than just playing a game and telling the company if you like it or not. Here are some tips that will help you review video games like an expert.

First, remember that you're not playing the game for fun.
It's very easy to get caught up in the game, especially if it's a Read more »