The Video Game Tester Lifestyle

By Sean Saunders

A lot of people will tell you that being a professional video game tester is the ultimate job. You can sit around and do nothing all day except for playing video games; and in addition to that, you'll make a lot of money. This is not exactly true. Let me give you a more accurate picture of the lifestyle of a professional video game tester.

First, if you are a paid game tester and test games from your home, you can work whenever you want to -- just as long as you get the game thoroughly tested and your feedback returned on time. You save time not having to travel to and from work, and you lessen stress because you get to work from home and set your own hours. These are very nice perks.

However, testing a video game is much different than just simply playing it for fun. A professional game tester will sit down with a notepad or some device to capture detailed notes of analysis, as he/she plays. It is not enough to simply recognize and spot a glitch or bug. You must also be able to give feedback on exactly what occurred in the sequence that caused the bug to happen.

Some bugs are simple and straightforward. They are easy to find, easy to document, and easy to reproduce. On the other hand, though, some bugs are very subtle and you won't be sure exactly what triggers them. This results in a lot of level repetition in order to figure out exactly what is happening that is causing the glitch. As you can no doubt guess, this can be tedious and extremely boring.

Another thing, when the tester finds a glitch, you have to make sure to check it against a list of known bugs that already exist. The rule here is not to report a glitch that is already known to the programmer, but to find new ones that plague the game.

Sometimes the pace is slow and quite simple, but as the deadline approaches, things being to pick up. The programmer is working around the clock to get the game ready in time for its debut on the market, thus requiring the game testers to spend longer hours testing every different feature and double checking every other level.

When you have completed the testing instructions to the letter and mailed back your reports, the job is over. Collect your check and then move on to the next game to test, or the next company to apply, whichever is most convenient.

As you can see, it isn't the fantasy lifestyle some make it out to be, nor is it as hard as other people will lead you to believe. However, in any regard, it is still quite rewarding and more fun than any other job your friends probably have. If after reading this, you are still interested in being a professional video game tester, I urge you to check out additional resources on how to become one.