Game Tester

Game Tester Career

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A Game Tester plays video games before they are released to make sure everything works as it should. As a Game Tester, you are like a proofreader: Just as writers can’t pick up all their typos, Video Game Programmers gloss over errors because they are used to looking at the material. It is your job as a Game Tester to play the game with attention to detail and find and document any glitches that exist.

This involves everything from making sure you can complete the game, to seeing if the Death Scion of Doom interacts with the Artisan Light Beam Reflector in the manner that it should. In other words you need to examine all details of the game, both big and small.

Because of the required attention to detail, game testing can become somewhat tedious. You need to make sure that every movement and option is functional, that each weapon, map, and skid of your tires looks and performs well. You will always run into a few (if not a lot) of malfunctions, and you need to report them when they pop up.

But in the bigger picture, yes, you are you are getting paid to sit and play video games. Granted you are not getting paid very much, but who really cares as long as you can make rent.

How do I become a Game Tester?

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Play a lot of video games. OK, qualified, check. Now finding a job is the hard part. As you can imagine, there is a large willing work pool for this position. To avoid a flood of applications, job openings in this field are not widely publicized. Try to contact some smaller game developers, or network into local and online gaming communities. Once you find someone who works or worked as a tester, they can put you in touch with their contacts and you can break into the inner circles. So it’s a bit of work just to get the job, but well worth the effort.