Ask the question: “if you could do anything as a job, what would it be?” and the response for most gamers will be the same – a video games tester. Little wonder. Play video games all day everyday, and then get paid for the “effort”? That has to be one of the sweetest rackets going on.
A common and idealistic misconception about game testing is that the tester will do little else other than playing games 24/7. Whilst there can be no denying that this is a part of the process, it is by no means the only part of the puzzle.
Testing a game is often a tedious, dull, time consuming affair because the tester will be playing through the same segment of the game over and over in an attempt to remove any bugs, glitches and technical issues that may decide to rear their ugly heads. The process is an intricate and pain-staking one, and doing the same thing over and over can really take its toll.
A tester must ensure that they take precise and meticulous notes during their sessions so that the coders can then work out the problems in the code. Communication is a critical skill for video game testing as the tester must be confident enough to report the findings direct to the technical department so that they can use that information to good use.
Now that we have for all intents and purposes stripped the process bare, the next question we must consider is: just how much money does the average game tester earn for their labor?
There are a number of variables and factors to consider whenever trying to gauge how much in wages you will earn for video game testing, and some factors will weigh more heavily and importantly than the others. Without fail, one of the biggest factors to consider is the actual level of experience that the tester has, and this is both to the issue of seniority as well as passive skills such as proficiency in report writing and error spotting. There is a common mistake that a game tester must limit themselves to a single company, in truth, there is plenty of work to go around and so many testers will supplement their income by doing freelance work with various bodies and groups.
For a free report on how to break into the games industry, and start earning a game tester salary visit betagamestester.com and download the free ebook to learn the secrets of how to test games for a living.