Are you playing games all day? Does that mean you are a born Game Tester? In the world of video games, there is a group of passionate individuals whose role is crucial in creating quality experiences for players. The way from ideas, plans and projects to the finished product is long, and someone has to follow that process – among others, Game Testers, enthusiastic professionals responsible for testing and evaluating video games before they reach the market. Game Testers play an important role in video game development. Their job involves ensuring the project’s vision and standards, its transition to the finished product, and testing games at various stages of development to identify errors, bugs and other technical issues.
As with all testing, the actual results must match the expected results, so it is desirable to have a Game Tester involved in the earliest stages of development. Following the design documentation, knowing the video game market and standards, as well as playing a large number of video games are of great benefit to the Tester as they give them better insight and references when testing. In the early stages of video game development, it is crucial to create a test plan that follows the production flow so that the testing process starts as early as possible. It is not uncommon for a Game Tester to become part of the team in the later stages of development but previous experience and knowledge of video games are significant.
Je li ovo bag ili feature ili to još nismo uradili?
Game Tester je odgovoran/-a za testiranje svih funkcionalnosti igre kako bi se uverio/-la da sve radi kako treba. Pažljivo će prolaziti kroz sve nivoe, opcije i karakteristike igre (ponašanje, grafiku, animacije, tekstove, zvukove), beležeći svaku nepravilnost ili problem, više puta, svaki dan. Prolazak kroz naizgled iste sadržaje i svakodnevna repetitivnost se podrazumevaju, ali uz različite rezultate i veštine komunikacije. Nije isto igrati video-igru u slobodno vreme i raditi na njoj, u pitanju je veliki broj konstantnog ponavljanja različitog broja slučajeva.
A game tester is responsible for testing all the functionality of the game to make sure everything works as it should. They will carefully go through all the levels, options and features of the game (behavior, graphics, animations, texts, sounds), writing down every irregularity or problem multiple times every day. Passing through seemingly the same content and daily repetitiveness are a must but with different results and communication skills. Working on a video game is not the same as playing it in your free time, there’s a lot of constant repetition of a different number of cases.
There’s a bug here, now what?
A game tester is an expert in finding bugs. They will document every error, bug, or poor performance they notice while testing the game. Documenting a bug, in addition to identifying it in the game, implies that the problem is recorded and passed on in the simplest possible way, following these steps:
This information is then passed on to the rest of the production team and the QA team in order to correct those issues during development or before the game is released.
Hey, guys…
Giving feedback to the game development team is a key part of being any kind of Game Tester. They will evaluate the playability, difficulty, balance, graphics and all other aspects of the game. Their feedback helps improve the game and provide the best possible experience for players. It’s not just bugs, there are also questions and suggestions – the more the merrier.
The beauty of diversity…
A Game Tester must be familiar with the various platforms on which the game will be available. This may include testing on consoles, computers, mobile devices, or virtual reality. They must be able to identify specific problems or differences on each platform. Also, it is highly desirable to know the operating systems on which these platforms work, due to the behavior of the game and the diversity of end users.
Hey, guys, me again…
The Game Tester is responsible for making detailed reports on all problems, bugs and suggestions found during testing. These reports serve as a basis for further development and improvement of the game. The Game Tester ensures the quality of the project in relation to the defined vision as well as market standards.
We are people, too…
After all, every Game Tester is also a human being, who is not only there to get on the nerves of the rest of the production team but has certain affinities, too. Therefore, there are a large number of different types of Game Testers as well as their narrow specialties that are further developed by working on different projects over time.
There’s no end…
Their job is to research, test and provide feedback on games before they reach players. This is extremely important to ensure a quality experience for players, and they will benefit from:
If you’re passionate about video games, have a keen eye for detail and love research, maybe the Game Tester role is ideal for you.
Learning about different platforms, understanding the technological aspects and being able to communicate with the game development team are key steps to success in this field.
