Dreams fulfilled, but at what cost?

[artielange]

hi all. so, i recently started working for activision last week. for those of u who arent aware, activision is the publisher of such games as call of duty and guitar hero. im a QA tester, basically i play games all day and find bugs/anomalies and report them. this week, i went to work for treyach. treyarch is the developer of the current game im working on. because of the non-disclosure agreement, i cant say which game that is or get into specifics. but if u look on their website (treyarch.com), u will see that they have three main titles in development at the moment. anyway, ive always wanted to pursue a career in the gaming industry, and QA is a good way to start. the hours are rough, basically 10am-whenever. a few nights ago we pulled 18 hours straight, so it can get pretty intense. most peple think its all fun and games, but its not. most of the stuff you're testing for is tedious and repetitive. like the other day, we spent 4 hours straight testing for proper spawn locations on several maps. pretty much checking for every single configuration/class on every map in every game mode. yesterday was the first day of pretty much just "play testing", checking for bugs/errors as u play thru the game. even that, after 10 hours, got pretty old.

so here's my point. ive been a gamer for as long as i can remember. i didnt think it could get better than to be a tester or have any kind of job in the gaming industry. now im realizing, with all the hours u put in and the amount of work that QA HAS to do, its not quite what i imagined. i spend all my time testing games, i dont have any time to play them anymore. i havent been able to log on ffxi this entire week because as soon as i get home from work, i jump into bed for 5-6 hours sleep only to work 12+hours again and repeat the cycle. when u work in the gaming industry, the job pretty much consumes your entire life unless u want to be a zombie all day on 2 hours of sleep (some ppl there do that btw, not pretty). i hope it doesnt come to this, but i might have to quit ffxi all together because i wont have time for it anymore.

i guess what im trying to get to is, be careful what u wish for. u just might get it. im happy cuzz im doing what ive always wanted to do. but on the other hand, my job comes with an incredible of amount of sacrifice i cant help but get bummed out because i dont have time for ffxi. i wasnt ready for that. its hard going from the schedule i had on ffxi where i did events almost everyday, to now not even being able to log on. im not about to do anything rash like, quit my job over this. i guess it just takes getting used to. oh well.

 

[Grandphoenix]

I've been told it's a rough job and quite boring to be a tester. Heard a company can give you three complete guides and you have to follow it step by step get all the items to make sure they work etc etc it really taints ones relationship with video games

 

[Moink]

Ive seen different videos and such of testers and its not the same light when you play them for fun... You sit in a room with 10-15 other testers each with dividers between you so you can't see what the other is doing and like grand said... follow specific directions and right down any glitches or possible problems... You are somewhat of a ginue pig... but they treat you alot worse then a small rat in a cage.

 

[Ecks]

Well first off, congratulations on getting your dream job!

Honestly, I really really wanted to be a Quality Assurance tester for a video game company too, back when I was in high school. And to be honest, I wouldn't mind trying it out still.

I have read up on it a lot, in fact back when I was in high school my Senior Project was basically me trying to design a video game. I only really accomplished creating main characters and a very vauge plot to the game. But managed to get a high grade on the project as a whole. Which in actuality is pretty damn funny, because in the grand scope of everything that I did, I really accomplished very little other than educating myself on just how much work was actually required. I also found out that because my location.. there really wasn't any type of video game company anywhere near me to work for. So, while the project was kind of fun, it sucked too.

I always wanted to be someone who created my very own rpg, and felt like being a QA tester would be a decent way to get my foot in the door. (and from what I've read, it isn't a bad option) It is rough, undoubtedly, as you have said yourself Artie. You now live that life, and it's going to be tough as hell for a while. You basically have entered the entry level of the video gaming world. But keep at it and I'm sure you'll find the job will have it's rewards, even if the cost is you.. well.. probably won't look at video games quite the same way anymore. Sad but true, I believe it comes with that job.

 

[Rips]

I would never want to be a QA tester, but it can open up opportunities and it gets you inside the business. Doesn't it pay no more then $10ish an hour?

 

[Tymon]

Yeah, I wouldn't want to be a tester, I'd rather be in computer science, someone who codes the games.

 

[Dani]

I thought this was going to turn out to be a goodbye thread. I'm glad it didn't. I'd rather my favorite waru take a needed break than leave completely. <3

 

[Uzor]

Yeah, I'd avoid the QA Tester at all costs. Really, I don't mind playing games at my leisure whenever I feel like it, but actually having it as a JOB and be FORCED to do it would be beyond boring imo.

 

[artielange]

yeah, it does suck and can be very tedious. at the moment, im not doing the step by step recreations of bugs called "verifies" yet. definitely not looking forward to it either. while i do admit its not exactly where i'd like to end up in the gaming industry, its a start. ive made some great contacts, and i definitely see the potential to branch upward in the company. hopefully after paying my dues for a while, i'll get the opportunity at a spot like floor lead or project lead, and those assignments arent that bad. QA is entry level grunt work, yes. the pay is meh, but i could definitely think of other ways to break my back and make less money. the long hours and overtime kinda balance it out tho. i mean hey, i'll be making almost 1k in a week sitting in front of a tv with a controller in my hand. plus, i think that given enough time, i could work this into something worthwhile.

and for the record dani, it almost was a goodbye thread. hopefully in a few weeks when my schedule evens out, i'll be back on ffxi. we'll see.