A revolution in home entertainment began when computer genius’s designed and developed a video game called ‘pong’. The excitement was overwhelming as people far and wide got their eager hands on the Atari game console and would sit in the comfy confines of their own homes challenging their family and friends to a game of ‘pong’ tennis. Although gaming was actually created in the 1950’s, it did not begin to hit the market until the 1970’s with the creation of the a home gaming console that would actually attach to the television allowing people to enjoy the game in their own living rooms.
Fast forward to the new millennium. Gaming has progressed light years from the 1970’s. Not only can people enjoy a three dimensional high definition experience with their Xbox 360 Pro’s, Wii, Nintendo’s and PS3’s, they are able to play interactively with other gamers across the globe via an internet connection.
Of course the gaming enthusiasts are entranced and basically ‘in love’ with their magnificent machines and have little time to think about the gestation and birth of their favorite savoury gaming delight. They want what is newest and what will allow them to test their knowledge and skills anytime, anywhere and with anyone. Going behind the scenes, there are myriad people responsible for the ingenious design, development and testing of all games released to the hungry gamers chomping at the bit to get their hands on the most up-to-date and the challenging games released.
After a game has been contemplated, designed, analytically created, evaluated, developed and come to fruition, it is far from ready to be released to the general public. The end users are expecting quality sans ‘bugs’ and irritating glitches that would in essence ruin their day. No gaming manufacturer can risk releasing a game that isn’t glowing with perfection. Enter the gaming testers. These people are in actuality the ‘quality control’ group for all games. Their function is to play, seek out, discover any bugs that keep the gamer from actively doing what the game is designed to do. The game tester is a very intense animal with the ability to not only interact with a machine but with people as well. Communication is of the essence because once a glitch has been discovered, the game tester much be capable of expressing exactly what is going awry and how to potentially correct the bug.
Game testing can actually be considered a viable career as the industry is huge and shows no signs of slowing down. All the large console and game manufacturers have in house game testing in action at all times, however, there is also the opportunity to be a game tester from home. It is imperative that a game tester not only possess the communication skills mentioned before but have a strong propensity for understanding computers and computer language. In order to impress the powers that be who might hire someone to be a game tester, it would be advantageous to show initiative by creating a game, writing reviews on other games on the market, and doing some free beta testing for game developers.
Just as any other profession, game testing is difficult to break into. Knowledge is power and the more an individual knows about the nuts and bolts of game creation, the more apt he will be to find a way to get paid for testing new game concepts. Game testing requires ingenuity, attention to detail, written and oral communication skills, love of gaming and ability to spot potential problems. Without game testing, the market would be overwhelmed with games that irritate and anger all avid gaming enthusiasts. It almost appears that game testing is as important as the game development itself.