- Introduction
- Who is a Game Tester?
- Skills required as a Game Tester
- Roles and responsibilities of a Game Tester
- Game Tester Salary
- FAQs
- What are the advantages of the Game Tester course?
Introduction
Video games are turning out to be the new attraction in the 21st century as the GenZ generation is involving themselves more often in the games. The upcoming boom in the gaming industry is going to create numerous job opportunities for the candidates out there. There can be two reasons why you choose the gaming industry; one can be because of your interest and another one can be because of the less crowd as of now.
There are various stages in the game development, it starts from the idea and then that idea is turned into designs, reality and reaches the consumers. Game development is a team effort where game programmers, designers, testers, sound engineers, graphic designers, developers work together to get the desired result.
This article will help you to understand how to become a game tester, what are its roles and responsibilities, salary range and many more.
Out of all these profiles in the game development, the most interesting and exciting profile is of a Game Tester. What if you are paid just to sit and play the games? Isn’t that interesting! Every product before being launched in the market goes through a quality assurance process and the same happens with the games. The games developed are tested to check the bugs, glitches or any other issues which can disappoint the users , the testing process is conducted by a person who is known as a Game Tester.
Who is a Game Tester ?
A person working for the Game developing companies or studios to test the developed games before the launch of the game in the public domain is known as Game Tester. For testing the games, the game tester gets the almost final version of the game. Their work is to play the games a number of times and analyse the bugs and glitches in them.
If the game is not tested before its launch then it might not stand on the user’s expectation making it unplayable and this can destroy the reputation of the company or studio that has developed the game. The game testers play games on XBox, Playstation, Nintendo Wii and PC platforms to make sure games work smooth on all the available platforms.
Suppose if the game developed has ‘n’ numbers of level then the game tester will play all the levels of the game to check the glitches and the undiscovered bugs at each level, they also pinpoint the spelling or grammatical mistakes and error code during the game play. If the game offers more than one type of character then the game tester will play the game with each character or avatar.
They will play the game in always possible ways to make sure there’s no stone unturned which might later be discovered by the users. Once the testing is done, game tester will document the details and inform about the glitches and bugs to the developer. The developing team will then work to rectify the bugs, and once the rectification is done, a revised edition of the game will be handed to the tester for testing.
Skills required as a Game Tester
Game Testers have become an essential part of the game development process , to sustain in the market the video game should be of high quality, free of bugs, high graphics and attractive to users. To ensure all this it’s important for a game tester to have few specific skills.
● Attention to details: This is one of the most important skills for a game tester. A game can fail to survive in the market if the tester fails to pay adequate attention to the details. A tester should make sure that every aspect of the game is tested well, be the colour, font, buttons, speed, accuracy, sound, scenario, functions etc. The tester should be able to crack every bug in it as if the gamer faces any bug it will create a negative impression about the game.
● Focus: Focus is the second most important skill that should be possessed by a game tester. Make sure you are mentality prepared for the countless testing sessions and each session can last for more than eight hours a day. You will have to play and test the game for the time being and you can’t afford to get bored while playing the game. Your boredom can cost the game and the organization. So make sure you are focused enough to detect every single bug and glitch.
● An understanding in terms of design: A tester should be well aware of the design of the game. He must be aware of the programming language used, which graphics were used, which tools are implemented. These minute details are going to help the tester while preparing the bug report.
● Discerning sense of logic and reasoning : As a game tester, you need to understand the logic behind the game, how it works, its level of difficulty and the objective with which the game has been developed. A strong sense of logic and reasoning will guarantee zero bugs in the game.
● Technical writing skills: You should have good communication skills if you are willing to become a game tester. You will have to write a lot during the game testing process, this needs you to whet your communication skills. You have to be eloquent to the developing team regarding bugs and glitches.
● Patience and flexibility: As mentioned above, you will have to do countless sessions and to detect the bugs you should be patient enough to play the game numbers of time to make sure there’s nothing left. A tester should be capable enough of working in a productive and flexible manner to adapt the changes that occur during the game development process.
Roles and responsibilities of a Game Tester
The major responsibility of a game tester is to undiscovered flaws in the game. Mentioned below are a few roles and responsibilities which a game tester needs to perform:
1. Playing and testing the game several times in different ways and situations.
2. Playing and testing the game on different platforms to make sure the game runs smoothly on all the available platforms for the gamers.
3. Testing the different versions of the game.
4. Comparing the new version of the game and replicating whether the previous bugs are properly fixed or not.
5. Playing games with different settings and characters that are available in the game.
6. Checking the grammatical mistakes, typo, font and spelling mistakes.
7. Report the error code which may pop up.
8. Provide clear and concise critical analysis of the game after testing.
9. Documenting the bugs and presenting them in an articulated way in front of the developers and programmers.
Game Tester Salary
1. Based on the educational level : According to the Game Developer Magazine, a person with a high school diploma earns $52,500 per annum , a person with a bachelor’s degree earns $43,000 per annum. The average salary of a game tester in the US can be considered somewhere between $42,500 to $50,000 per annum.
2. Based on experience : A person with less than three years of experience roughly earns around $47,150 per annum, a person with four to six year of experience earns roughly around $53,850 per annum and a tester with the highest experience earns roughly around $67,500 per annum.
The average base pay for a game tester in India is currently around Rs 20,065 per month. The average base pay can vary depending on the cities and location. The salary increases with the increasing experience.
Salaries based on companies
● Ubisoft : Rs 2,52,368 per annum.
● Pole to win : Rs 3, 60,000 perannum.
● Rockstar Games : Rs 3,19,876 per annum.
● Indium Software : Rs 2, 77,000 per month.
● Babel Media : Rs 2,77,149 per annum.
● Amazon : Rs 14 k – Rs 25 k per month.
● Done by None : Rs 18,792 per month.
● Reliance Games : Rs 3,84,929 per annum.
A day in a life of Game Tester
The career as a game tester starts with a low payscale but the sector has high potential for anyone willing to grow quickly.
● A day of a game tester starts on the breakfast table with a coffee in one hand and mailbox in the other.
● After reverting to the important mails, the tester heads towards the office.
● A team meeting takes place in the office where tasks for the day are discussed.
● Most of the time testers find themselves busy playing games carefully to check the bugs and glitches.
● One single game is played numerous times to make sure no bugs are left which remain unnoticed.
● A documentation of bugs is created and is presented to the developer.
● Office day ends with a team meeting where the tasks accomplished in a day are discussed.
● Head back home and grab the meal.
FAQs
Q. What are the requirements to apply for a Game Tester Job ?
The requirements may vary. You can get a job at some places with a high school diploma and at some places a bachelor’s degree is required. You must have a basic knowledge of computers and programming languages. You should have good communication as well as technical skills.
Q. What do game testers actually do in the office ?
A game tester’s job is to play games for hours and discover the flaws, bugs and glitches that are present in the game.They may be asked to switch on and off the game more than a hundred times to test the time the game takes to load. They may be asked to multitask , playing games while downloading a movie or chatting with their friends on social media to make sure gamers don’t face any difficulty once the game is launched.
Q. What is the average salary of a Game Tester in the US and India?
The average salary of a game tester in the US is roughly around $43,000 per annum and in India it’s roughly around Rs 21,000 per month. The salary varies with cities, location and experience.
Q. What are the important skills to become a good Game Tester ?
To become a good game tester you should pay attention to all the important details and must be focused while playing the game. You should have patience and flexibility to adapt to any working environment.
What are the advantages of the Game Tester course?
The advantages of a game tester course is to share every important detail you need to keep an eye on while looking forward to growing in your game tester career. The course will teach you how to keep focus and be attentive while playing a game , so that you make sure you don’t leave a bug unnoticed. The course will teach you how you
will be keeping your patience level while performing the game testing. The course we provide at Great Learning will help you to upgrade yourself from beginners to advanced levels.
Conclusion
The game tester can be a good career option if you love playing video games. The payscale is indeed quite less in the beginning but you can’t deny the fact that you can get quick growth if you work with determination.
Work on your skills and keep upgrading yourself.
Hope you gained something from this article that can add value to your life.
All the best!
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