Yesterday, I received an intriguing question from a 47 year old woman who's interested in entering the games industry as a game tester, a field that is commonly known to be taken up mostly of young males. In this day and age where there are different sorts of games for a very wide variety of people, it makes perfect sense to get varying types of people for the job, and I can imagine some real benefits for games that are tested by a different mindset from that of young men. Different games really do require different types of focus groups.
For all those working in Quality Assurance and others in the industry, what is your opinion? How realistic is this person and others like her in entering the games industry as a game tester? Please read the message below and respond to the comments area!
Hello. I am a 47yr old women and I would love to work as a console game tester. I have no experience other then playing at home. I presume game testing could be the greatest job in the world. Is it at all possible to get into or just a pipe dream for someone in my demographics. Thank-you for your time and I look forward to a response.
"I presume game testing
"I presume game testing could be the greatest job in the world."
That presumption would be totally incorrect. But otherwise, there is absolutely no reason a 47yr old female couldn't be a game tester. Obviously she would have to go through the standard application and interview process and would be employed on her merits with respect to all other applicants.
A QA Lead
It is more than possible for a person of any age / gender to work in QA.
What I look for in my applicants, is a solid work ethic, a love of games, thick skinned ( if a mum joke offends you, this job is not for you... and someone who can handle repetitive tasks.
After all, the industry is not like Grandma's boy. When your in QA, your not testing games, your testing A game. you will be working on one project for a long time. so the applicant needs to understand this.
so, i don't think she should hesitate to send out applications, provided she knows what she is getting into.
AQL
PS. A strong grasp on the English language is preferred too... or at least, the ability to write instructions, with good spelling.
Yes.
I agree 100% with everything that's been said. No, Games QA is not necessarily the best job in the world, but it's certainly not rocket science. Unfortunately this often relegates the pay scales to the more menial end of the employment spectrum.
However, there is a thread of QA which is absolutely a skill, or perhaps a calling. You will find that the one good tester who has just that sort of cross between analytical and diabolical is worth their weight in gold. That person is a true asset to a game, and in an ideal world the studio will recognise that.
So sure, an attention to detail even while performing somewhat mind-numbing tasks and a willingness to do what's necessary to give the final player the best possible game experience is all you need. Finding tsumea is a good start, as it shows that you're at least interested and willing to do the research!
Go for it!
"When your in QA, your not testing games, your testing A game."
PS. A strong grasp on the English language is preferred too...
As well as knowing your you're from your your. :)
(i joke, i joke)
-mcdrewski
AQL
i was typing fast. i had a lot to do at the time... >.<
Someone best send her along
Someone best send her along to Tom Sloper's website for a picture perfect portrayl of the industry!
www.sloperama.com
Well there we go!
Yeah...
I was about to say exactly what poster #1 said - It's not exactly the best job in the world.
I think what we need to establish here before we can accurately give an answer is whether this is talking about focus testing, or whether this is actually talking about a career in Quality Assurance. Actual QA is more involved than just sitting and playing a game all day. Depending on the place you work and the roles they want you to fill, you may need some technical programming knowledge (or at least knowledge of debuggers to provide better reports), you may need artistic knowledge or at least knowledge of art terms and basic knowledge of art packages (remember, QA is often used as a kind of "translator" between programmers and artists/designers). Many QA jobs require you to not only test the game you're making, but handle build and rollout tasks as well. Maintaining bug databases is another one, testing and maintenance of internal tools is another. And of course you need to be very proficient with the English language and be able to communicate clearly and write accurate bug reports.
A tertiary qualification in *something* usually helps too. It doesn't need to be a technical or computing degree of some description (I know some QA Analysts with degrees in English or Media for example), although something like that would be beneficial to understanding some things. While a tertiary qualification isn't essential (it can even be a one-year diploma), it certainly helps, and will give you the edge over the 100's of other applicants who don't have one.
Another thing to keep in mind is that you're not *playing* the game. You're testing it. There's a big difference. When you're playing the game, you're playing it for the enjoyment. When you're testing it, you need to approach it with a completely different mindset, and be able to think "How can I break this?". If a programmer says that what they did is unbreakable, you need to be able to say "We'll see about that!".
As poster #2 said, you're testing *A* game, for perhaps 2, 3 or 4 years. It takes a long time to make a current-gen console game. You need to think about whether you've got the patience to stick it out for that long on the SAME game. And you need to keep in mind that SAME game, that you'll be testing for all that time, is NOT going to be fun to play. At all. The game will be incomplete. It'll be missing a lot of cool stuff. It'll look like crap a lot of the time. It'll crash every 5 minutes on occasions. There's a lot of pain and frustration in the time it takes to get a game up to finished quality, including weekend work and lots of long hours.
QA requires unique skills just like every other discipline and needs to be approached that way. Many places are only after people with experience too - but if you look around and just send off applications to various developers, you may get lucky and get one who is willing to give you a go (that's exactly how I got my break in the industry 5 years ago). Finally - you might have to be willing to travel if you really are serious about it - depending on where you are, there may be limited opportunities, and you may need to travel long distances (perhaps even interstate) to get the job you want. Most Aussie developers are based in Melbourne or Brisbane...if you don't leave in or near either city, and you aren't willing to travel, you're reducing your chances very considerably. Some developers don't even have permanent QA staff apart from maybe a lead and some seniors - and only hire temps when the project gets to a certain stage.
I think it's awesome that a 47 year old woman is a gamer, and is interested enough to work at getting a job in the industry. I strongly encourage you to pursue it. Yes, it's tedious, frustrating, tiresome work at times (did I mention the ridiculous hours?) but it's also a lot of fun and the rewards are there, especially when the game finally ships. I say go for it!
Thanks
Great replies, everyone. I'll pass on this thread to her to read.