Skills and knowledge of game tester

To become a computer games tester you will need:

• excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
• a passion for playing computer games and an ability to play at high levels
• good written and spoken communication skills
• an understanding of quality assurance processes
• the ability to work well as part of a team
• a tactful manner
• good negotiation skills
• the ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines
• patience and persistence, for repetitive work
• a methodical and disciplined approach
• excellent attention to detail
• a good knowledge of the games market
• a willingness to work flexibly
• good office computer skills.

Foreign language skills are also useful for testing games aimed at overseas markets.

Coordinated with programmers and producers of game.
Performed tests on all new games throughout the development cycle of game.
Identified all errors in game application and made necessary changes to resolve issues.
Managed all programs and conducted trial runs of applications and ensured that results were according to client requirement.
Documented all program development procedures and changes made into same.
Maintained various programs on a regular basis such as storing and retrieving data.
Managed and tracked inventory of products and controlled all equipments.

what is the work of game tester

Testing is a vital part of producing a computer game. As well as finding and recording programming faults (bugs), you would also play the role of the game’s first public user. You would report on its playability and recommend improvements.

As part of a team of quality assurance (QA) testers, you would:

• play games in detail and in as many ways as possible
• test different levels and versions of a game
• check its performance against what the designer intended
• compare the game against others on the market
• note problems and suggest improvements
• try to work out what is causing a problem
• try to recreate the problem, recording the steps you took
• check accessibility options
• check for spelling mistakes and copyright issues such as logos
• check the text on packaging and in instruction manuals
• enter each 'bug report' into a quality management system
• work to strict deadlines.

You would work closely with programmers, artists and designers before a game is released, and with customer support teams after it is on the market. Some jobs may involve checking and translating in-game instructions and manuals for overseas markets.

A good games tester has the ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines. You will also need patience, persistence and good office computer skills.

Process of game testing

A typical bug report progression of testing process is seen below:

• Identification. Incorrect program behavior is analyzed and identified as a bug.

• Reporting. The bug is reported to the developers using a defect tracking system. The circumstances of the bug and steps to reproduce are included in the report. Developers may request additional documentation such as a real-time video of the bug's manifestation.

• Analysis. The developer responsible for the bug, such as an artist, programmer or game designer checks the malfunction. This is outside the scope of game tester duties, although inconsistencies in the report may require more information or evidence from the tester.

• Verification. After the developer fixes the issue, the tester verifies that the bug no longer occurs. Not all bugs are addressed by the developer, for example, some bugs may be claimed as features (expressed as "NAB" or "not a bug"), and may also be "waived" (given permission to be ignored) by producers, game designers, or even lead testers, according to company policy.

what is a game testing ?

Game testing, a subset of game development, is a software testing process for quality control of video games. The primary function of game testing is the discovery and documentation of software defects (aka bugs). 

Interactive entertainment software testing is a highly technical field requiring computing expertise, analytic competence, critical evaluation skills, and endurance. 

In recent years the field of game testing has come under fire for being excessively strenuous and unrewarding, both financially and emotionally. 

In the early days of computer and video games, the developer was in charge of all the testing. No more than one or two testers were required due to the limited scope of the games. In some cases, the programmers could handle all the testing.

As games become more complex, a larger pool of QA resources, called "Quality Assessment" or "Quality Assurance" is necessary. Most publishers employ a large QA staff for testing various games from different developers. Despite the large QA infrastructure most publishers have, many developers retain a small group of testers to provide on-the-spot QA.

So now most game developers rely on their highly technical and game savvy testers to find glitches and 'bugs' in either the programming code or graphic layers. Game testers usually have a background playing a variety of different games on a multitude of platforms. They must be able to notate and reference any problems they find in detailed reports, meet deadlines with assignments and have the skill level to complete the game titles on their most difficult settings. Most of the time the position of game tester is a highly stressful and competitive position with little pay yet is highly sought after for it serves as a doorway into a rapidly growing industry.

A common misconception is that all game testers enjoy alpha or beta version of the game and report occasionally found bugs. In contrast, game testing is highly focused on finding bugs using established and often tedious methodologies before alpha version.

Quality assurance is a critical component in game development, though the video game industry does not have a standard methodology. Instead developers and publishers have their own methods. Small developers do not have QA staff, however large companies may employ QA teams full-time. High-profile commercial games are professionally and efficiently tested by publisher QA department.