Video game testing is a key aspect of the video game development process. It’s important that any defects present in a video game get detected and fixed before they make it to market. Video game testers work by playing the game while simultaneously checking for errors and reporting those errors back to the development team to make corrections. While it might appear to be all fun and games on the surface, the fact is, there’s a lot of work involved. Of course, those who become video game testers love video games and find the job so enjoyable that it usually outweighs any work stress.

A Video Game Tester’s Responsibilities

Once a game is three-quarters of the way done, a video game yester is called in to start playing and troubleshooting. What the tester will do is start playing the game and look for any bugs, defects, abnormalities and then report anything they find back either via live chat, a cloud interface or in document form. Wages for video game testers tend to be hourly. Some of the more skilled testers garner as much as $80 per hour.

To join the ranks of video game testers, you don’t necessarily need to have experience or schooling in the computer science field. That said, some college is preferable. Additionally, you’ll need some relatively advanced computing and gaming skills, analytical skills and critical thinking and evaluation expertise. Endurance wouldn’t hurt either, since most testers will be required to play video games for hours on end.

Volunteer Video Game Testers

Many game companies have actually started to recruit volunteer game testers to work for free as a way to cut down on expenses. These volunteer video game testers are usually gamers themselves who want exclusive dibs on a much anticipated game. Since the games are already popular, recruiting free testers is much easier to do. Of course, this can be a potential problem since if the game isn’t popular among the free testers, they can alert the masses via social media and potentially hurt the game’s sales in the end.

A Career Path With A Future

Video game testing is a viable career for no other reason than the demand for video games by the gaming public shows no signs of waning. What’s more, the salaries for those in the video game design field continue to rise as consumers demand hi-tech, interactive and top-notch gameplay.

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