I'm a game tester in montreal
Have you seen the movie grandma’s boy? It’s amongst the first films to explore the subject matter of being a video game tester. If you can handle the boob, pot and feces jokes for 90 some minutes, I suggest giving this funny stoner/videogame flick a bit of your time. Many people who have seen the movie now assume that being a video game tester is all mirth and shenanigans.
This however, is not the case at all. Now I’m not up on what happens after work at this place where I am working, but I must mention that nothing about the movie “Grandma’s Boy”. So far there have been no shenanigans, no gamer rivalries, no zany co-workers, and no guy who talks like a robot. In many ways, this current job is exactly like any job that doesn’t fall in to the “Dream” category.
Firstly, there is a lot of security. Most places dealing with pre-release software or music must be tight due to potential piracy/espionage issues. This is no lax matter, it’s rather serious and not a lot of tolerance is given to those who break the rules. No Bags, No Cellphones, No USB Keys, No baggy sweaters with pockets. Essentially it is a good idea to limit yourself your clothes, a drink and leave everything else in a locker. When you do get to your desk, your internet connection is severely limited.
Second, there is procedure. The most freeform of games can be made in to a repetitive chore by having to test the most minute details, scouring for bugs and glitches. What was once fun can become very boring and dreaded. I won’t slam it completely however, there are fun portions of the whole procedure, I just won’t rack it up next to the shenanigans featured in “Grandma’s Boy”.
Thirdly, the actual company I am working for doesn’t actually make games. So the best and the worst games get outsourced to us, we play and test them, they fix it, repeat. There is nothing wrong with the company, they’ve been nothing but great to employ me. However I must say the entire thing seems a bit drab. Apart from some awesome Lego, desk toys and desktop pictures, the office is fairly boring. Plain blue walls are screaming for posters and random other fun, maybe there is someone I can e-mail about that.
So anyways, where was I going with this? Was I trying to paint a picture for you? Regardless, I hope I have cleared up some misconceptions about working as a video game tester, and this post was entertaining enough. I’m sure it would have been a lot better if it wasn’t for this darn NDA.
Have a nice day.
Tags: testing, video game
