Video Game Tester Guides 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 playing in this case, becomes your work, you may find that it becomes somewhat tedious and not as fun as it was before. Another issue is that, while you generally test games that you enjoy playing, the testing company may occasionally need you to test a game in a genre you don't like playing. This can really seem like work, especially if you don't find anything enjoyable about the game.

Part of this is because you're no longer just playing the game. You have to take notes on what you're doing, carefully look for any errors or other issues, and really think about the game as a whole, not just enjoy it. This is another disadvantage: you're not really getting the same gaming experience as a normal player. If you slip into gamer mode, you may miss important details, so it's important that you always play as a tester, not as a gamer. It can be difficult, especially at first, to switch roles.

Switching roles is never easy

Switching over to this testing mentality creates another disadvantage: you may never be able to play video games again without thinking like a tester. This happens to everyone. Advertisers look at ads in magazines and think about how the ad could have been better designed. Editors note down grammar errors in books. Video game testers find themselves analyzing each feature of the game, looking for things that are wrong or could be fixed.

Strategy Game Tester Map

Video game testers also have to be self-starters and dedicated to working. This can be an advantage if you do better working under direction. You may also find that you have to work more than a standard eight to five workdays. You may find that you have to play games on the weekends, too, just to get all the testing done.

But video game testing isn't just about playing games, and here's another disadvantage: if you don't like to write, you're going to have some problems. There are two main parts to game testing: playing the game and writing up your report on the game. Some people don't enjoy this part as much, but there's no real way to get around it. You have to be able to tell the game programmers what's wrong with the game, after all, and the best way of doing that is writing down your observations.

Despite these disadvantages, remember there's one huge advantage to being a video game tester: you get to play video games for a living! What could be better than that?