It’s in the Game

The Ultimate Prize!

“Dude! That’s freakin amazing. You get paid to play games all day!” Anyone who has ever worked a QA position in the video games industry has heard this… and cringed! I think everybody who grew up playing video games as a kid had considered how awesome it would be to be a tester at some point. After all, you get to play the games before everyone else, work in a fun environment, and get to brag to your friends that you work for Nintendo, Sega, or Electronic Arts. Hell, the glamour of earning a paycheck through testing games is so appealing that they even made a TV show where a testing position is the grand prize (enter Playstation Network’s The Tester)! Of course, there is a dark side to testing that many people don’t know about, and I’m here today to tell you about all the dirty little secrets, muhuhaha! Everything I write about below is based on my first-hand experiences as well as infamous stories I have through my coworkers at various game companies. Not to worry — I’ll sweeten it up with some of nice little benefits you always hoped would come with the territory.

Curb your enthusiasm! Grow some thick skin, and surround yourself with positive people, because — as the Brits like to say — this job will “take the piss out of you.” It becomes clear early on that as a new member of QA, you are the janitor, the coffee-fetching intern, the immature  kid who cannot be trusted to make his own decisions. You are carefully watched, paid in bread crumbs, and stripped of all possible privileges. No outside internet access on your computer, timed  and documented bathroom breaks, and psychotic hours (as many as 90-100 hours in 1 week in hectic times). The amount of disrespect shown to QA is sometimes humorous because you simply can’t believe humans would treat other humans in such ways.

I recall one incident about 3 years ago where I had started an email to a powerful member of production with “Good morning.” No joke — I was told that my positive attitude was not appreciated in these emails. “Mike, many people are unhappy in the morning, and when you say ‘good morning’ to them, it’s like spitting in their face.” When I heard that I had to just laugh it off and think — “At last! I have found my dream job!” Now picture this — imagine production and QA working in separate buildings on the same campus. In the QA building there are no privileges, your coworkers smell (refusing to take showers to squeeze in an extra 30 minutes of WOW time), and no food is ever provided when the team has to work 16+ hour shifts. Meanwhile (and I’m not exaggerating when I say this) the folks in the Production building are living the life of Riley. Nice catered meals every day, free massages from a professional masseuse during the shift, and nice creature comforts such as internet access. You know you’ve hit the big time when people no longer monitor your bathroom break usage. When production feels particularly generous, they sometimes are known to say “QA, we have some leftover food if you would like to come over and pick it up!” Meanwhile, back in the QA building, you feel a warm sense of fulfillment as you see your coworkers scooping up cold chow mein leftovers with a styrofoam cup onto a napkin and enjoying the fruits of their 16 hours of labor. Yes, being paid to test games rocks.

Generally, QA testing is a gateway drug. The majority of testers don’t want to be testers for life, rather they want to get a foot in the door. You wouldn’t believe the incredible amount of talent some of these standard testers have. Many of them have college degrees from some of the most prestigious art colleges in the US. Some of them graduated top of their class and can demonstrate skills greater than the people who currently have their dream jobs. Some of these guys have $80,000 of student loans to pay off and families to support with their meager $12 per hour salaries. They work in QA with dreams of becoming an artist/sound designer/game designer for some of the game franchises that were so special to them as young gamers. The harsh reality is, however, that many of these testers will never get to use their college degrees or truly utilize their incredible talents because the industry is brutally competitive and QA is often not the foot in the door they hoped it was. In the 4.5 years I have worked in the game industry, I have seen exactly 2 people move from QA into their desired positions on the other side of the field. It’s a long way to the top… if you want to get in the game. Testers are usually only employed for ~6 months at a time before being laid off for 3 months and then being allowed to return to rinse and repeat at a modest pay increase. But, you get paid to test games.

Alright, now let’s get the bitter taste out of our mouths and appreciate some of the sweetness this position brings. Time for some butterflies and QA rainbows! First of all, you get to go to the greatest and most exclusive gaming event on the planet: E3! I recall reading about E3 as a young lad in my Nintendo Power magazines, and envisioning it as the greatest event on Earth. And in fact, it is pretty awesome! You get to play all the hottest new games before everyone else, and see gaming legends like Hideo Kojima, Shigeru Miyamoto, and yes, even the guy who does the voice for Mario.

The Legend Himself

It is the Las Vegas/Disneyland of the gaming world, and it is available to you for working as a QA tester. In addition, you often get free or deeply discounted games from the company you work for. Many testers also experience a massive sense of pride when they see their names in the credits of a popular new game that all their friends play. In addition, when you tell people you work for Nintendo or Capcom, for example, you are often the envy of your friends because you easily work for the coolest company in your social circles. In addition, you make incredible connections within the industry and learn a ton of valuable knowledge that can be applied to many things both inside and outside of work. Let’s face it — at the end of the day, you still get to say you work on video games for a living, while other people work dull jobs as accountants or librarians. Also, some testing jobs pay remarkably well… and I do mean remarkably well! Plus, it’s called a job for a reason: it is work, and it is not designed to be a pleasure cruise, so suck it up, Donnie Darko!

How much do clothes cost in the Matrix?

Now let’s make this blog useful. I want to put my experience to good use and give some advice to anyone in this field and to anyone considering it. You may have noticed that the first few paragraphs of this post were particularly dark and unpleasant. I did this for two reasons: 1) I wanted you to know some of the unpleasant “truthiness” that comes with the position, and 2) I wanted to demonstrate to you how the standard QA tester feels. Many testers are generally very de-energized, jaded, and unwilling to do anything to improve their situation. They blame others and constantly complain about how they can do the glamorous game jobs better than the people who currently have the positions. Frankly, they are probably right in many cases. I’ve heard it said that cynics can never find success. There are ALWAYS opportunities. Even if nobody else has demonstrated that something can be done, you must know that it is within your power to be the change that you seek. Conan O’Brien once said something along the lines of, “If you work extraordinarily hard, are nice to people, and refuse to give up, you’re gonna make it.” Frankly, there are a lot of egotistical A-holes in the gaming industry. My advice to any testers or aspiring testers is: don’t become one of them. The disrespect will come back to bite you; I promise you that. There is no reason why these $80,000 college degrees can’t be put to good use.

I will also say this: not all game companies are created equal. Some game companies treat their testers exceptionally well, and the respect given to QA is equal to any other position in the company. From day 1, you must make it clear to the company that you want to move into “x position” in the organization. A good testing department will appreciate your goals and help you to pursue them. When all else fails, leave! Some companies are just not going to take care of you… PERIOD. When you know this for a fact, you need to get the hell out of there and go somewhere that will allow you to succeed. Plus, in my experience, you make a lot more money for moving around than you do for working extremely hard in the same position, for the same company. You are literally rewarded for quitting. It’s a shame, but it is a secret reality of the industry. Lastly, I HIGHLY recommend practicing your artistic skills on your free time in addition to your day job. I have done this for a long time, and as a result, have been fortunate enough to do awesome things like work on Hideo in a variety of disciplines in addition to my day job.

So I think it’s safe to say you now know the good, the bad, and the fugly of being a tester. It certainly is not all fun and games, but it can be a truly rewarding field to work in on your way to your dream game job. And to answer your question, when people come up to us testers and say, “Dude! That’s freakin amazing. You get paid to play games all day!” we generally tell them to “Eff off.” And now, you know why!