Writing a Cover Letter to a Video Game Developer

When applying for any job, you’ll likely need a cover letter to introduce yourself, outline your desire to work for a company and describe what you can bring to them as a unique applicant. In the case of the video game industry there are very specific things you should and should not do when applying for a job.

What Not to Do in Your Cover Letter

A cover letter is designed to show the reader why you are applying, what your goals are in the position, and how you will bring something unique to their company. So, it is not designed for you to provide advice on their future game line-up, ask questions, or gush about how much you loved their last blockbuster.

Specifically, it is important to stay on topic. When writing a cover letter for a game developer, avoid making any direct comparisons between game companies. The only thing I would say is okay here is mentioning genre or specific titles that this developer has produced, but only in the context of your career goals.

For example, if your goal is to one day be a lead systems designer on an MMO and you are applying to NCSoft as a game tester for their newest online game, you should specifically outline how Guild Wars has been such an influence in your search for a career in the field. Avoid saying that you think Guild Wars needs a central hub or that it should incorporate more Warcraft style quests (which would be awful, by the way). Stick to the job and how you’re a good fit.

What to Include in Your Cover Letter

As for what you should specifically mention in your cover letter, start with the exact reason why you are applying. Honest is important here, but avoid saying anything that will marginalize you. Declaring that you really like video games and want to get paid to play them gets your application tossed in a pile with a thousand other gamers who won’t be considered.

Honestly ask yourself, why do I want to be in the gaming industry, and then answer the question in a professional manner. The developers want to know that you’ll treat the job as a job not as a hobby that you get paid for. They also want to know that you have long term ambitions in the industry – this will ensure you work hard and stay dedicated in the face of long hours and potentially demanding deadlines.

With so many applicants every year, the gaming industry is tough to land a job with. However, with a good cover letter that sets you aside from casual gamers and teenagers seeking their dream jobs, you’ll eventually land that magical interview that can lead to the job you’ve always wanted.

Writing a Bug Report as a Video Game Tester

Video game testing is about a lot more than just playing new games before they are released. In fact, a good chunk of the job involves writing and reading technical reports that clearly outline the bugs in the game. Specifically, you must be able to clearly identify a problem, outline how it occurred, and under what circumstances you were able to make it reappear.

When You’ll Write Reports

Bug reports are written throughout the process, usually between builds when you are completing any given test case. While you must follow the walkthrough or checklist provided in a test case, if you do find a bug, you will stop your progress and focus heavily on the bug and what causes it. This might occur in the alpha, beta, or QA stage and should be treated with priority in all three cases.

Writing Your Bug Report

Just finding a bug in the game is not enough. You must be able to identify how the bug occurred, what circumstances are needed to recreate the bug, and most importantly, what the bug does to the game. Programmers are working with millions of lines of code and need to know where the bug is mostly likely to have an impact. The more data they have, and the easier that data is to interpret, the faster they can pinpoint and fix the bug.

The bug report will also be read by a lot of people before it ends up in the bug database, so it’s vital that you are clear in a way that can be understood not only by the programmer, but by production leads and directors as well.

Part one of a bug report will describe the bug. It might be that a wall disappears when you put on a certain tunic in a game. If this happens, the bug report would start with “northwest wall of city in Big City disappears when putting on Bright Tunic.”

The second part of your report, however, is the most important. It needs to be concise and to the point – no adjectives or descriptions beyond the exact actions you took to create the bug. This should be written as a numbered list that lays out exactly what happens from start to finish in generating that bug.

You may also be expected to learn the IBM ODC system to classify bugs. This not only helps to prioritize the bugs as they arrive, but to pinpoint where in the code they appear. As a tester, programming skills can be very handy for this exact reason.

What’s the Goal of Video Game Testing?

Video game testing is the dream job for millions of game fans around the globe. Players around the world look desperately to invest time into their careers so they can start playing video games and getting paid for it. Sounds like a pretty sweet gig, right? Well, before you also get caught up in the dream, consider what the game testing field really involves and how much energy and time you’ll need to invest in it before you get started.

What Game Testing Does

To start, game testing is not done for players to determine if they “like” a game. Studios can find people perfectly willing to do this for free and most of them don’t even bother due to budgetary concerns. Some major games like Halo or Call of Duty might go through screenings and panel reviews, but most games are handled purely internally and that means you need to actually get hired by the developer before you become a tester.

Game testing as a rule is done to rule out all potential bugs in the game. There are three phases of testing, starting with alpha testing to determine major game breaking bugs in the first builds of the game (usually at the 75% completion point). The beta testing phase is done when the game is approaching completion and is used to root out smaller glitches and problems like holes in the floor, broken characters, or missing textures.

Finally, there is the QA phase in which testers will work through menus, levels, and various environments in meticulous fashion to dig up every possible little issue that might arise. As a QA tester, you’ll spend time working through the game on a very minute level. Yes, the game is finished, but you won’t be enjoying the full story arc. You’ll be going through thousands of menu combinations or exploring one environment looking for any possible way to create a bug in the game.

How You Can Use Game Testing

While game testing as a job is not exactly glamorous – it’s entry level pay and tedious work with heavy deadlines – it does open up numerous opportunities to new jobs in the game development field. Many top developers and programmers got their start in game testing, providing needed feedback on major bugs before moving to the big time.

What Jobs Are There in the Video Game Industry?

A lot of people think they can get along in the video game industry. It’s a glamorous thought – spending your days coding a masterpiece of interactive entertainment. But, if you’re anything like most people interested in the video game industry, you probably don’t know what jobs are available or how to get them.

Programming

The most common jobs in gaming are the coding and programming jobs. Someone has to sit down and write the hard code that will power the game. Coding is done in a variety of languages, so you’ll need to be familiar with things like C, C++, and XNA to be effective in this role. For the most part, programmers are encouraged to have degrees. However, not all developers require degrees if you can prove you have the skillset needed to be an asset to the company.

Art and Design

There are an equal number of designers and artists who work closely with the development team as well. These are the people who invest hours of their time into creating the game world in which players will be immersed. While the programmers are responsible for bringing it to life, artists and designers are essentially the world builders – what they create is what the consumer sees.

Writers and Systems Designers

Scripts are needed to focus a game. Not only that, but someone needs to sit down and decide how best to balance the game mechanics. If the game is multiplayer, how does each character perform? Is anyone overpowered or underpowered? These are major issues that can ruin a game experience for players – as a designer, your job will be to make sure nothing goes wrong between inception and application.

Game Tester

At the bottom of the totem pole is the game tester. These are the employees who will sit in a cubicle day in and day out and check for possible bugs, holes, or errors that will ruin the game experience for players. This job can be tedious and it can be very time intensive, especially when you approach a deadline, but it can also be very exciting as opens up a number of opportunities for advancement in the company.

No matter what role you take on in the gaming industry, prepare for a fast paced, high stress job that can be very demanding but that will also vastly reward you and your efforts for years to come.

What is QA in the Gaming Industry?

For most video games, there are three full phases of testing – the alpha stage for internal, major bug testing, the beta stage for catching smaller bugs and prepping the game for full playthrough, and the final QA phase in which small bugs and quality issues are taken care of. This Quality Assurance stage allows the game developers to reduce the chance that there will be any hiccups when the game goes live and is shipped to all the eager fans waiting to play it.

For game testers, the QA stage can be a very frustrating stage in game development. For the most part, all major bugs have been worked out, so the developers and programmers are in the frame of mind that their game is done and ready for shipping. On the other hand, testers are paid to go through it as much as possible and map out any reason why the game is not quite ready yet. So, if you are a tester, this stage of testing requires a great deal of will power and an attention to detail that will help you not only find the bugs, but pinpoint their cause immediately so they can be repaired.

Types of QA Testing

When a game reaches the QA stage, the testers will go through either Static or Ad Hoc testing. The static testing phase will have you going through the game linearly, following specific directions given to you by developers or lead testers. You can then record anything that doesn’t work exactly as it is supposed to. This is the most common form of QA testing as it allows the game developers to check specific sections of the code for problems. It can be incredibly tedious as you go through menu combinations, specializations for characters and modes, and very clearly outlined walkthroughs of levels over and over again.

Ad hoc testing, however, is completely different in that you can play it anyway you want in an effort to effectively break the game. You won’t work toward completing anything. Rather, you might spend hours in a single level trying to find a way to make it break. Remember that there will be millions of people out there playing this game when it releases and they will inevitably find ways to break it – your job will be to break it first so the hole can be filled.

QA testing is a vital stage in game development. It allows the publisher to work out any last minute bugs that can have a negative impact on their public image during a game launch. It is also among the most tedious and stressful periods of game development, so you’ll want to have a patient, detail oriented attitude if you plan on being a QA tester.

What is Beta Testing in the Game Industry?

If you’ve heard nothing else about game testing, you’ve probably heard the term “beta testing” before. This is the phase of testing in which the game is getting incredibly close to launch and players are needed to check on certain features that might cause minor bugs like texture ripping, reset bugs, or other small bugs that can hinder the gaming experience without quite breaking it.

Of course, that doesn’t mean there are no bugs in the game that can lead to flat out breaking of the system – that’s always a possibility (even after the game is released), but usually, a good beta test is designed to simulate what real world circumstances will look like when thousands or even millions of gamers pick up a game and play it for the first time.

Types of Beta Testing

There are actually two types of beta testing for video games – the first being the internal round of betas that are done by employees. Most games don’t have open beta testing – rather they have a number of internal beta tests that strive to remove any of the bugs that will make the developer look bad and the game play poorly.

The number one reason that beta testing is done internally is that when you pay someone to check for bugs as they do with beta testers, they get far better results. Certain criteria are followed and the game is broken down into many small parts to make sure nothing is missed. In short, it’s more of a chore than what most people would want out of a game.

So, open testing usually is only done for very large games that will have a multiplayer aspect to them. These games have so much content that they need hundreds or even thousands of outside people to test the system and look for any and all bugs possible. The most common open beta tests are for online RPGs like World of Warcraft that generally have thousands of bugs, even just before game launch. The open beta also allows developers to tweak game balance issues so that the characters are well suited to face each other.

Open beta testing is not always easy to get into, however. Many times there is an application process and players are either chosen based on their computer systems or through random lottery. For those interested in console betas, they do exist, but they are even rarer and usually are relegated to online based games that need heavy testing like Halo or SOCOM.

Becoming a Beta Tester

If you want to be a beta tester, start applying now. Play games frequently, start taking notes of what you see in the game and be ready to showcase your talents when asked. Most people think this is a glamorous job with free game and big pay, but it can actually be very gruelling with lots of small detail-oriented tests. If you’re serious about being a beta tester, be ready for the hard work. It will pay off, but only if you put in what is required by the developers.

What is Alpha Testing in the Game Industry?

A lot of people show interest every year in becoming official game testers – on the payroll of major developers around the globe. However, what exactly will you be doing when you get that job? It’s a good question, because not all testing is actually fun – in fact, it can be downright tedious when a game first starts development.

This is the first true phase of the game that can be “played”. Months and potentially years of development are finally put into an operational build that can be played and subsequently tested. The testing in this phase, however, is not just looking for tiny little bugs that might annoy gamers. It’s designed to act as a rough overview of the game, allowing testers to go through the content and look for bugs that can potentially crash or break the game.

It’s like crashing a car as many ways as possible so you can enhance the safety features. Your job as an alpha tester will be to play the game with an intense focus on bugs that will cause fatal errors and failures in the software. If it completely shuts down, crashes the hardware or worse yet, causes actual damage to the hardware, you not only report the bug, you spend hours recreating the bug so the developers have as much data as possible with which to fix it.

During this testing phase, the lead gaming tester will start developing a bug database for issues that plague a new game. That database will be updated whenever a new bug is found and whenever a fix is tentatively provided by the game’s programmers.

How to Be an Alpha Tester

While beta testing is occasionally made public, alpha testing is always in house. Only hired employees are used to test the game in its infancy as there are very specific requirements for how the game can be tested, what you should look for, how to fill in your reports, and ultimately, how to respond to bug fixes from the programmers.

All that work requires hours of training and practice which can only be provided by the developers of the game. Even if you’ve worked as a tester on a previous game, a new title will usually have its own Alpha testing protocols to follow.

So, to become an Alpha tester, you must develop credentials that can get you into the gaming industry, including but necessarily requiring a degree in programming or game development, and special training with game testing on your own. It seems like a lot of work, but for those looking to land a dream job in game testing, it’s very doable with the right attitude.

What a Game Tester Does on a Daily Basis

Game testing sounds like a glamorous job in which you spend hours of each day playing video games while on the clock. What could possibly be better? But, in reality, game testing is a job like any other and it can be quite gruelling at times. It has its rewards, but before you jump at the chance to work in the game industry, make sure you understand what will be expected of you well in advance.

Reviewing the Test Cases

Every game is developed in different builds. Each build is an independent version of the game that has been updated with bug fixes and is set for testing. However, just because a build has some bugs fixed doesn’t mean it won’t have any bugs at all. So, as a tester, your job may often involve going through the same segments of the game over and over again between builds to make sure bug fixes went through.

Test cases are written up between builds by the lead tester to identify what portions of the build have changed and what needs to be tested.  Your job at the beginning of each build then is to read the test case or the test suite provided and test the specific list of items highlighted for your review. Many times, the programmers will specifically want to know about certain things that have been changed in the game.

Testing the Game

When you start testing the game, you will follow the directions or instructions in the test case very specifically. As you move forward, you must record each step taken and any potential bugs that appear. If you do encounter a bug, your job will be to recreate the bug as many times as possible and document the situations that occur to create the bug.

Simply creating a bug is akin to solving a math problem in school without showing the work. Sure, you did it, but you won’t get credit unless you can prove you know how you did it. Similarly, the programmers cannot fix anything unless they know under what circumstances it happened in the first place.

Game testing can be tedious at times, and depending on what cycle you are currently in, it can be more than a little boring, but it is also very rewarding when something finally works and you see the fruits of your labor in the final game build.

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 analysing 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.

Three Degrees that Will Help You Get into the Gaming Industry

When someone asks how they can get into the gaming industry, there are a number of possible answers. Some people get into the industry by playing with a hobby game at home. Others become chronic open beta testers, standing out as premiere testers in ways that developers will take note of. Others still will go to college and obtain degrees that can lead to a role within a developer. Here are three degrees for all the college bound out there.

Computer Science

The easiest way into gaming is through a computer science degree. By far the best paying position in any compute related field is that of a programmer. However, this is also the hardest degree to acquire and your future job will be the most demanding. Programming requires high levels of proficiency in math, logic, and problem solving, as well as the ability to work independently and think non-linearly about potential solutions. If you have a computer science degree, you’ll find it much easier to get into game design.

Art and Digital Arts

An art degree can help you immensely, especially if you acquire a specialized art degree in digital design or art development. These degrees, often offered at specialty cart colleges will show you how to utilize advanced technology to create three dimensional figures on a computer. Beyond simply getting a degree in digital art, you should also work on developing a portfolio focused on this form of art. Potential employers need to see that you have the specific talents they need.

Writing and English Composition

Writing is a valuable asset in any industry. If you want to be an asset to a game developer, work on your communications skills. This can extend to creative writing and script development or even translation of texts for localization. A degree in English is general, however, so you will need to work consistently to develop a portfolio that makes you appealing to a potential employer.

The easiest way to get a job with a game developer is to establish the necessary experience in the gaming industry. This can be done in a number of ways, but first and foremost, you need education. It doesn’t have to be formal education, but it does need to help you focus on what it takes to be successful in this particular industry. Game testing can also be a great way to get a jump start in this field.

The Three Phases of Game Testing

During the testing of a new video game, there are three phases in which testers are needed to go through, analyse a build and check for certain bugs. If you plan on pursuing a career in the game testing field, it’s a great idea to know well in advance what those testing phases involve and how much work you’ll be expected to do.

Alpha Testing

Alpha testing is the stage in which the game is at its most raw. For months, development focuses on producing the game systems and graphics. So, when the first builds are finally ready for testing, the game is about 75% of the way done.

As a tester, you probably won’t have a lot of fun in the alpha stage unless you greatly enjoy problem solving and helping in mapping out solutions (a big plus in this field). Your job will essentially be to sit down and play through a game repetitively and look for circumstances that can literally break the game.

Anything that crashes the software or the hardware needs to be documented, recorded and outlined so the programmers can reproduce and then fix it.

Beta Testing

Beta testing is the stage after the initial major bugs are all fixed. This is where a game most closely resembles the finished product. Yet, despite being so close to printing, the game is still very rough. You might find missing textures, broken menus, upside down maps, or any number of other major bugs that won’t necessarily break the game, but will very easily cause problems for the gamer if they are not careful.

QA Testing

The final stage of game testing is called QA testing and involves going through a game that is about 95% complete and looking for any last minute bugs. This stage is literally the “find a way to break it” stage. In this case, testers will be tasked with analysing levels as thoroughly as possible looking for ways to cause new bugs. Many times, that means spending hours going through menu loops or doing circles through a single level.

Game testing goes through many iterations. A good tester will transition smoothly between each mode, providing useful insights into the bugs that appear along the way.

The Stressful Environment of Game Development

Most of the time, the only thing you hear about game development is how amazing it would be to land a job with a big time game producer or how well compensated they are when they have a hit game on their hands. However, while game development is for sure an amazing field with a lot of opportunities for anyone who has the drive to move their way up, it can also be a very stressful environment.

Expectations of a Game Developer

It doesn’t just include programmers and producers; everyone working at a game development studio will feel the pressure when a deadline starts to loom. For the most part, games are produced on schedules that have very little to do with the needs of the development team. The producer and its shareholders have certain demands of your team and that means you need to have a sellable product ready by a certain time.

Some developers are afforded as much time as they need, especially once they’ve found success with an existing game. However, others are far less flexible and must meet deadlines as they arise without sacrificing quality in the game.

So, while the early months of development will generally move by briskly with a normal 40 hour per week schedule, the closer you get to those final deadlines, the more hours you’ll work and the more pressure will build on you.

Compensation and Advancement

While there is quite a bit of stress in the final two or three stages of development, especially after beta testing starts, most developers will reward their workers if they do a good job. A good game that makes a lot of money will usually result in bonuses, not the least of which is job security when a sequel is ordered.

Team members on a successful game production are gold in this industry – your stock immediately rises based solely on having been a part of something that made someone a lot of money. For those in entry level positions such as game testing, you’ll quickly find that a successful developer will need more people in more roles quickly after those initial weeks or months of success.

Overall, while game development is a very stressful field at times, it also rewards those who work hardest with tremendous rewards, not to mention the fact that you get to play with video games all day.

The Programming Languages Required for Video Game Development

If your career goals have you aiming for the game development industry, you’re more than likely planning on becoming a programmer – someone who can code the game on the backend, developing the systems that will support everything the gamers see. However, to get there, you need to focus heavily on the languages that most games are written in.

Of course, you can also study programming in college and get a degree that will surely help you in acquiring a job. Even a two year degree in basic programming can be a major boon in getting a job as a game tester on your way to programming. However, know that most developers do not require degrees in computer science. They simply want you to know what you’re doing, something that is possible with self-study (though it can be harder to prove).

·         C++ - This is the most common and basic of programming languages used in game development. Taught in almost all computer science programs, C++ is the basic Object Oriented Programming language in gaming and will be incredibly easy to find information about. If you need more details or help with specific issues, join the Microsoft developers network – a major resource for all software developers.

·         Java – Java is a powerful web based object oriented programming language. Not nearly as complex or powerful as C++, Java is still a very useful tool to have in your programming toolkit. You’ll use it frequently for all browser based gaming. It can also provide the tools needed to showcase your programming skills in a portfolio.

·         XNA – The XNA programming language is a newer game-only language developed by Microsoft to speed along game development. It reduces repetition and therefore cuts out quite a bit of potential errors and bugs that develop in highly user crafted code.

For the most part, programming is the basis of the gaming industry and the variety of languages used is vast. If you plan on getting into the development field, you should spend time learning what you can and even attending college courses where possible to supplement that knowledge.

And spend as much time with games as possible. Testing, programming, and design are all good ways to build your own portfolio and prepare for a career in this field. At the end of the day, game development is a very competitive field, but it is also very rewarding, so be persistent and it will definitely pay off eventually.

 

Test Cases and Video Game Testing

If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to work as a video game tester, you probably wondered what a test case was. Test cases are a unique tool used by programmers and testers to communicate specific actions needed during a build test.

For example, if the game has just gone to beta testing and the programmers want to make sure the fixes they provided for a particularly nasty disappearing wall bug work, they might write up a test case that forces the testers to walk in certain patterns around the wall.

The test case might focus only on a certain action, or a combination of menu options that have been resulting in bugs up until this point. The goal, however, is to communicate from programmer to tester a specific thing that needs to be tested.

When One Becomes Many

The thing about test cases, however, is that there are usually a lot more than just one of them being sent out with each build. A single build of a game might have thousands of bug fixes that all need to be checked. So, instead of writing up one complicated list of instructions, the programming team (and sometimes lead tester) will develop what is called a test suite.

The test suite will document a series of test cases that all need to be checked in turn. Each test case will usually be an independent run of changes that have been made to the game, but in some cases, test cases are placed in chains. If a single fix worked, does it have any impact on other parts of that level? What about the game as a whole?

The testers are then tasked with tackling individual test cases or parts of the suite to ensure that the data requested by the programmers is available.

The Testing Process as a Whole

What makes game testing such a long process is that the test cases are only one part of a much larger testing environment. While game testers might spend 80% of their week going through test cases and checking the bugs that have been fixed, they will also work tirelessly to turn up new bugs that were never caught in the initial run throughs. Longer games with more interactive features may have thousands of builds and test cases.

Ten Phrases You Need to Know in the Gaming Industry

Before you jump into the video game industry, it’s very important you know what you’re talking about. The people who hire new employees need to know that anyone they hire will be well versed in their work and the requirements that each programmer, developer and tester is held to. Here are ten terms that you’ll hear a lot as you start your search:

·         Alpha Testing – This is the earliest stage of testing, when the game is roughly 75% done. Alpha testing is done entirely internally and strives to find game crashing bugs in the build.

·         Beta Testing – When the big bugs are tracked down and quashed, the next stage of testing starts. Beta testing occurs internally and sometimes externally to test for small bugs, user interface problems, or simply balance issues in the game.

·         QA Testing – Finally, QA testing is done just before launch to find any remaining bugs. Many QA testers will play through a game level for hours, simply looking for ways to break it.

·         Black Box – This refers to the experience a player would have playing the game. Testing is done in this phase later in the cycle to see how the game operates under consumer circumstances.

·         White Box – A game tester can access the game as well as the code so they can see what is happening under the hood as they test.

·         Build – A build is a single iteration of the game as it has developed. Each build is numbered and separated during testing. Bugs will be fixed in one build and tested again in the next build to see if they have been effectively patched (or if new bugs have developed).

·         Test Plan –A walkthrough of the specific needs for a game tester. Programmers or lead testers will map out test plans to help the tester go through the content in the necessary order. A test suite is a set of test plans that will describe the testing needs for an entire build.

·         C++ - A common Object Oriented Programming language that focuses on function based code. This is a very common programming language used in game development.

·         XNA – A relatively new programming language developed by Microsoft to help game developers speed through certain common functions and reduce potential bugs in the testing phase.

·         Bug Report – A report produced by a tester after a test case has been followed outlining a bug, how it was produced and what it specifically did to the game when activated.

This is only a starter list of terms you’ll need to know as you get going in the game industry. If you’re truly interested in learning more about how to become a game tester or developer, make sure to read up on the industry as much as possible. Not only does your technical knowledge need to be top level, you should understand the world into which you will be entering if you get hired.

Technical Skills that Will Get You Ahead in the Gaming Industry

If your dream is to work in the video game industry, you are probably wondering right now what skillsets will help you most in landing the first job. There are a lot of positions within game developers, and most of them require very specific experience, but these general skillsets will help you immensely in your quest to land one of these jobs.

Programming Skills

Programming is a fundamental skill in all game development. Even if you don’t plan on applying as a programmer, programming skills can help you land jobs in game testing or animation. Testers are asked frequently work on white boxes to determine the roots of a bug in the game. They are also asked to provide detailed data about bugs and programming knowledge will help you better present that information in a bug report.

Data Entry and Processing

While the primary duties of any game developer will be in programming, design, or testing, you will also need to retrieve and input a lot of data every day. This includes bug reports, test cases, and new information going into and out of the computer. Speed and accuracy are key here.

Technical Writing

Directly with data entry, developers are expected to write detailed reports that outline what they have done. Bug reports are required from testers, test cases are required from programmers and builds must be highly documented to ensure the right information is provided to all parties. Hundreds of people provide small bits of input on a major project. To make sure it runs smoothly, they all need to communicate clearly.

Math and Logic

Finally, there is general math and logic. Thinking logically will help you solve problems and postulate new ways to do things in a game. This will come in handy not only in programming but in testing or animation.

Building your reputation in the game industry won’t happen overnight. You must prove to your prospective employers that you have specific skills they need and that you can put them to use in the confines of their corporate environment. If you can do that, you will not only have one foot in the door, you’ll be able to start working your way up quickly. Remember; it’s all about confidence. Show you can do it, and you will be rewarded.



Non-Programming Aspects of Game Design

The first thing anyone thinks about in game design is the programming required to craft a new product. There are more than a million lines of code in even short games and that means hundreds of thousands of man hours poured into the production and development of a quality game that actually makes sense in the context of its genre.

But, game programmers only make up one portion of the employees at a developer. If you can’t wrap your brain around all that math or if you’d rather work in something a little more creative, there are opportunities.

·         3D Animators – Animators are needed to develop the 3D environments and textures used in the game. Degree programs are offered in the advanced software used by these artists, as well as at home training programs if you have the PC power needed to run the software.

·         Art Designers – More traditional designers are also employed for developing the creative side of a game, mapping out the routes and game world of a new production. Character design, item development and general aesthetics are all a major part of this process.

·         Game Testers – Testers are needed from the moment the game gets its first build, and are used until only days before a game’s release. Game testing is generally an entry level position but can quickly blossom into a higher paying, high yield job over time and is a great stepping stone to other positions in the industry.

·         Producers - Producers will oversee every aspect of a game development. Like super-powered project managers, producers are used for each segment of a game – from sound to video to animation and game systems.

·         Writers – Most games have dialogue, menus and storylines that require writing. Creativity, technical ability and flexibility as a writer can all help you in your quest to land a job writing game scripts. In many cases, multilingualism can also help.

Game development is a team effort. There can be anywhere from thirty to five hundred people working tirelessly on a new game, pouring hours of effort into every inch of it from start to finish. Programming only makes up one small part of that process. If you have the skills, you can be a major part of any other aspect of the team.

Is Video Game Testing Right for You?

If you took a survey of teenagers and twenty-somethings and asked them what their ideal career would be, I guarantee one of the things you’d find at the top of the list would be “game testing”. This is a career field that has a glamor about it that makes people everywhere think “I want to get paid to play video games!” But, in reality, game testing is a job like any other and it has both its ups and its downs. So, if you are seriously considering a career in this field, keep reading because it is important to know exactly what you might be getting into.

Testing and Recording

The actual job requirements vary depending on the type of game you are testing and the testing phase in which you are hired. But, for the most part, your job will consist of taking a build of the game, following a very detailed Test case checklist and checking for specific bugs in menus and levels of the game.

That does not mean you will be able to play through the entire game pre-release. In fact, most of the time, you will work on a game before it is ready for release and is only a handful of levels. In some cases, such as QA testing, you will spend days working through the same level looking for ways to break it and showcase a hole in the programming.

When you find a bug, you must be skilled not only in catching the entirety of the bug and everything it does to the game, but you must be able to recreate the bug with specific directions. The programmers need to know exactly what causes the glitch so they can work toward fixing it.

Hours and Pay

For the most part, you will not be able to work from home and you will not be able to choose your own hours. Early in a testing cycle, you might be given some leeway with certain quotas for testing on a daily basis, but as you approach deadlines, you will be asked to work long hours and continuously cycle through new build orders and test cases. It might seem never ending and it can be very tedious.

Pay is usually entry level for new testers – an hourly rate that is determined by your level of experience. There are positions for high level testers that pay decently, and as you grow in the company you can try to get your foot in the door for other jobs such as programming, development, or design.

Of course, this article is not meant to discourage. The gaming industry is still a fun career with lots of opportunities, but before you start pursuing a career here, make sure you know what you’re getting into.

How to Get Video Game Testing Experience Right Now

If you’re interested in becoming a video game tester, you may not know all the steps involved in getting to your dream job. You might have seen some ads or read about someone who works for a developer playing new games before they release. However, while game development and testing can be a very interesting career, you can’t exactly walk into it. It is a very serious field and requires dedicated, highly motivated workers with the right skills in place. To get those skills, you’ll need to work on landing a fair bit of experience in the field of game design and development.

Technical Experience

The easiest way to start is simply by learning the stuff that testers are expected to know. Get books on C++, Java, XNA and other programming languages. Learn about 3D animation, game test builds, and the software used to produce and distribute bug reports during the testing phase. Most game developers will look for at least some experience with the basic programming languages, excel and access experience, and CV or resume experience related to technical writing.

Your Portfolio

You don’t need to have worked on a video game before to build a portfolio. In fact, nearly any technical writing experience will get you there. You just need to sit down and write some content that clearly outlines problems, solutions, and clear steps between them. This can be done in school, or it can be done on your own with any number of exercise-filled books from your local bookstore.

Education

Game developers won’t discriminate if you don’t have a degree in programming or game development, but they may choose someone else over you if they can more effectively showcase their expertise because of that education.

So, if you want to guarantee yourself a job in this field, some college courses or even a degree can definitely. Degrees are available in computer science, logic, technical writing, and 3D animation, while certificates are available in things like game development (and some schools even offer degrees in video game development now).

Finally, don’t neglect actually playing games and spending time learning how they work. If you can get into open or closed betas for new games, by all means do so and take the opportunity to develop a clear understanding of how the bug reporting process works. Use the forums for a game in beta, write about bugs, and talk to the lead testers and GMs as much as possible. You never know when you might impress someone.

How to Find Video Game Companies that Are Hiring

If you’re currently looking for a career in video game development, finding a job is one of the hardest parts of the process. Sure, education was tough, and building your portfolio was trying, but actually landing a job as a programmer, designer, or even a tester is hard. To start with, you have to deal with heavy competition in the industry, and not all job openings are publically advertised as developers strive to keep certain projects under wraps.

However, there are a number of ways to look for major publishers in your genre of choice beyond simply checking the classified ads.

Online Ads and Postings

If a project is not secret or if a publisher is simply trying to expand its operations, you can find job postings on public boards. These are the hardest to get, however, as they require you to go up against the largest chunk of competition. Generally, you’ll have the most luck with these listings if you live in a publisher heavy area like southern California.

Job Services

Some jobs go straight to hiring services that will screen candidates in advance. These services will use discretion to sort through applicants, find people with related skillsets and set them up for interviews. Of course, you must join these job services and they can cost money at times. Other times, they are selective in matching.

Cold Calls

Cold calling a developer is the least effective way to get a job interview, but it does work. The reason it is so ineffective in general is that most people will just send a resume and cover letter and leave it at that. You must be persistent though. Developers exist across the United States and Europe and will often have needs that don’t require a major ad or call for employees. To get in place for those roles, you must position yourself as a persistent, highly skill prospect. Major developers like Vivendi, EA, Activision Blizzard, THQ, Acclaim, and Sony are all looking for new employees regularly.

References and Contracting

Some smaller development companies will outsource their smaller needs between projects. Rather than hiring dedicated workers, they will pick up programmers for small projects or testers on sites like VWorker.com and vet them that way. If you do a good job, however, these onetime projects can turn into recurring work that will help you develop a portfolio and eventually a permanent position.

Getting a job in the game industry is not easy. It takes persistence, experience, and thick skin because you’ll be rejected a lot. But if you go in with the confidence that you can do a good job for these companies, you’ll eventually land that job you’ve been dreaming of.

How Much Do Game Testers Really Get Paid?

For anyone interested in becoming a game tester – someone who gets paid real cash to sit around and play video games all day – the big question is how much cash will you really come home with every week. You’ve probably seen the claims that you can make $60,000 a year as a game tester and work only a handful of hours each week, but realistically, that probably won’t apply to you. Most numbers like that apply to the top paid testers – the lead testers who oversee teams of newbies like you.

You will likely be paid on an hourly scale and will work hours accordingly to the development team’s needs. That can mean 20 hours one week and then 80 hours the next depending on where the game is at in the development cycle.

Entry Level Expectations

At the entry level for game testers, pay is usually around $10-$15 an hour. This applies to black box testers who don’t have any experience and will likely work part time playing through the content as a normal player would.

However, there are certain ways to improve your prospects coming into the industry. For example, if you want to get a lot more pay out of the gate, you can get a college degree in something like programming or technical writing.

Having a degree can almost double your entry level pay and set you up for a path to advancement in the company. Many game developers will hire game testers with 2 or 4 year degrees in programming and let them prove their way up the ladder to a position with higher pay.

Chances for Advancement

While some game testers can make a lot of money to start (comparatively), most will enjoy only a healthy hourly rate. It’s not bad, but it’s also not the big money you’ve been dreaming of. The real bonus in game testing comes from the chance to move your way up to new positions that can pay a lot more money.

Specifically, you can work your way into lead testing positions. These testers will have access to the bug database, write up test cases, and act as a liaison between the testers and programmers to make sure all bugs are properly communicated. You can also make the leap to the programming team if you have the coding skills needed. Game testing may not be the super glamorous job many people think it is, but it is a very good career option with lots of opportunities to move up for those prepared.

How Does the Video Game Build Process Work?

During the game development process, eventually there comes a time when the game is considered “ready for testing”. This usually occurs about 75% of the way through the development process. Producers and designers spend months or even years developing a game world and system, programmers spend months developing the core functions that will generate that world and animators constantly revamp and process imagery to bring that world to life. But, eventually, it all must come together in a functional, playable way that can be tested.

The First Builds

The first builds of a game are often in pre-alpha and are produced simply to see if the game can be compiled properly. Many times, major bugs will keep a production from even coming together in the earliest builds. After those initial builds are completed and the game is at least playable, however, it will go into Alpha testing and game testers will start the long process of testing and documenting bugs as they arise in the game world.

Alpha testing can last a few weeks or a few months and involves tracking any major game breaking bugs. At this point, the goal is to ensure the build can remain stable and the system active no matter what the player does. So, texture gaps or bugs are less important than major crashes.

Going into the Beta

Once the development team feels comfortable that all the major crashes and bugs are worked out, the builds will go into beta. Beta testing involves tracking and documenting smaller bugs that can range from annoying problems to major balance issues in the game.

For example, a missing wall in a level, or a menu combination that causes a character to appear without any clothes on are both major bugs that, while they don’t break the game, can be incredibly disruptive to the play experience.

Finishing the Game

Beta testing will last as long as it takes to get those bugs worked out. Some games will have as many as 15,000 builds before they are considered ready for final consumer play. At this phase, the testing will go into QA where special scripts are used to try and find new ways to break the game. Testers will put the game through the ringer to find any remaining issues that might cause issues. If a game passes QA, it’s time to let it loose on the public once and for all.