Video Game Tester Room Getting into video game testing sounds like a dream come true for those who love playing video games all day, but few people actually understand with a video game tester does. They don't simply play games for a living, which is what a lot of people assume. Instead, their job is much more detail oriented, and it may actually not be that appealing to video game players.

Too Much of a Good Thing

Video game testing means playing video games from a different perspective than you may be used to. You're not just playing through the game to beat it. Instead, you have to play through the game looking at every different aspect of it. You've got to constantly be asking yourself what if questions. What if you don't do what the game's storyline is dictating? What if you press different buttons than those listed? You'll often play a game for three or four times as long as you normally would, and that can get tiring. When it's work and not play, playing a game can get very exhausting.

Taking Notes

The main thing a video game tester does other than play the game is take notes. You've got to record every single detail about how you caused errors or did something that made the game react in a way it shouldn't have. It's very important to give the programming team enough information so they can recreate what you did. If they can't recreate the error for themselves, they may not be able to figure out what caused it or how to fix it. One of the most important qualities in a video game tester is to be detail oriented. If you aren't, or can't learn to be, you may find that you don't enjoy testing games.

Writing Reports

Once you've finished playing a game and taking all the notes you feel you need to, it's time to write up your official report. This is going to be the main (and possibly only) way that you communicate with the video game programming team, so it's important that your report is written in a clear, concise manner that is easy to read and understand. You'll need to clearly state what type of error you got, how you caused it, and list any factors that may have contributed to that error. You also may need to talk about other aspects of the game that aren't necessarily errors but don't seem to fit. This might include sound effects that don't sound quite right or graphics that seem to be off. You'll also need to report any spelling or grammar errors you see in game text.

Provide More Information

Finally, a video game tester will need to be able to provide more information or answer any questions that the developers have. This means you'll need to keep all information related to every game you test. You never know when the programmers will need you to answer a question or two. It might be a week or two after you file your report, or it could be several months. You may even have to go back and play the game again in some cases.