The career I chose to research is that of a video game tester, also called a quality assurance tester. A quality assurance tester plays the game as many times as necessary in an effort to check for software flaws, graphical glitches, sound levels and playback quality, and continuity of plot and character development, if existent.
While this sounds fairly simple and clean-cut, you need to possess some marketable skills, including dexterity and coordination. Simply having the passion to play video games forty hours a week isn’t enough; you will need to be an adequate player. You also need to be able to write reports that are detailed enough to give the designers a clear picture of what needs to be improved. Since you’re busy playing the game, you’ll need to write these things down by hand, so neat handwriting is a plus as well. A basic grasp of programming is useful, too, so that you understand their jargon and can write your reports in a way that is more explanatory than, “Character B’s jumping skills suck.” Attention to detail is a critical part of being a video game tester. The smallest overlooked mistake could cost you thousands.
High-school classes that would prepare you for this career are: computer science, digital arts, engineering design (specifically those that use CAD), game design, and image design & editing. As stated before, understanding the programming behind the games you’re testing gives you a more inclusive awareness while you’re playing the game.
As of right now, there isn’t a college pathway specifically designed for video game testing. However, degrees such as a Bachelor of Science in game and simulation programming can aid you in reaching that position.
The tools used in performing the tasks of this career ...
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While the general consensus is that video game testing is a dream job, it isn’t as simple or fun as it appears at first glance. It’s a tedious job, playing the same level thousands of times, and there would be a great deal of back-and-forth with the programmers that would be frustrating. Even so, it’s a position that appeals to a certain group of people.
Works Cited
"Get Paid to Play Video Games: Becoming a Video Game Tester." collegemajors.com. N.p., 17 Dec 2013. Web. 14 Apr 2014.
"How Much Money Can You Make As A Video Game Tester?" Video Game Tester Salary. N.p.. Web. 14 Apr 2014.
Lessmiller, Kevin. "Colleges for Video Game Testers." eHow.com. N.p.. Web. 14 Apr 2014.
"Requirements to Become a Video Game Tester." requirementstobecome.com. N.p.. Web. 14 Apr 2014.
"Video game-related health problems." Wikipedia. N.p., 11 Apr 2014. Web. 14 Apr 2014.
When we were little, we thought the word “Career” was not a big deal, but as a senior in high school the word has become our reality as we start to finish our last semester. The question we’ve been asked all these years was what do you want to be when you grow up? But our answer was simple; we don’t want to grow up. As an innocent kid it seemed like the time would never come, but it has. It’s time to get serious and really ponder on this question. My mind has wondered for so long on what my career would be. We all wanted to be an astronaut, but I never liked space or the fact of not having any gravity. What if I get lost in the universe? Maybe I’ll be a firefighter, but I never was interested. Well how about a cop? That’s it, a police woman. I grew up watching crime movies and cop shows but knew that that was never reality. I started getting interested in court cases and the mind of a serial killer. Why do they do it, was always my question. I searched for more answers and found that the behavior plays an important role. That’s when I decided I wanted to become an FBI profiler for the Behavior Analysis Unit (BAU).
Glazer, S. (2006, November 10). Video Games. CQ Researcher, 16, 937-960. Retrieved February 11, 2010, from CQ Researcher Online
Video games have been around since 1958, and ever since then video games have developed more. With video games becoming a bigger industry, there have been more people purchasing and buying more and more video games. For examples, up to 2001, “roughly 79 percent of America's youth played video games, many of them for at least eight hours a week” (Layton). Furthermore, in 2008, “97% of 12-17 year olds in the US played video games” (“Video Games”). With a growing industry, there has been more competition between video game companies. The companies that make these video games try to make a huge profit by appealing to people’s likes. In 2008, “10 of the top 20 best-selling video games in the US contained violence” (“Video Games”)
“The objective of video games are to entertain people by surprising them with new experience” (Shigeru Miyamoto).Video games have been a leisure activity for many people around the world but for some people it has become a way of life. Video games help us escape everyday life and bring us to a land of imagination. That is why many people play video games because it is a great way to relieve stress. Video games have many benefits than just being fun. Not only are video games shown to have positive effects on the individual if used in the right manner, but it also helps to connect people with common interest; bring a sense of community. It is also a resourceful way to find a career path. The components
Granic, Isabela, Adam Lobel, and Rutger C. M. E. Engels. "The Benefits Of Playing Video Games." American Psychologist 69.1 (2014): 66-78. Academic Search Complete. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
Video games are not always just for entertainment or to have fun, sometimes they can be of educational value toward many things or help develop your personality, most of the time people play games for more than just fun but to learn new ways to do some things in real life.
Video games have been connected to raising a range of skills. within the article “Video Games lead to faster decisions that are no Less Accurate” a study created by the University of Rochester, tested a variety of eighteen to twenty five year olds that aren't video gamers, one group competed in a quick paced action game, whereas the opposite group contended with a slow moving strategic game, they then had to accurately answer questions about the action that was happening on the screen. The result found that the action gamers were twenty five percent quicker at creating choices than the individuals who were strategic gamers. This shows that gamers who played action games were ready to create decisions quicker and more accurately than non-gamers. This may additionally facilitate with daily activities like multitasking, driving, reading tiny print, keeping a look out of friends during a crowd, and traveling around places.
Women are looked down on in the video game industry, like many other ‘male dominated’ factions of society, mainly do to the poor numbers of women in high jobs of the gaming community. Female game developers make up only 11 percent of game designers and 3 percent of programmers, dramatically low percentages in the light of their male counterparts. The percentage of women as game developers are low even when compared with the br...
As a college student, it has become increasingly difficult to enjoy playing video games. With all of the work piled onto me each and every day, I get lucky to spare a few hours to play every once and a while.
There is a lot of lines of code in video games. There are teams of people who work on games now.
Video games have come a long way. They have evolved from the simple game of Pong into a complex, multi-platform, multi-genre, multi-billion dollar industry.
Some students have played violent video games to have fun with their friends or siblings while they are online and offline. Plus they play to try to release their stress, frustration, and pressure after having a hard time doing their homework or in class. Video game developers goal is to make fans happy when they are playing their games. Video games are meant to have feeling of adventure, enjoyment, and excitement. It is helping the player to play video games without harm. Video games also help players to...
Video games are commonly known as games that you play for fun or as a hobby, but what if this fun could turn into your profession. Most video games started out as arcade games played to reach the highest score. People played with a "fistful of quarters" each day to try and reach the top of the score board. A prime example of someone who is well known on the high score board is Billy Mitchell. In the documentary, King of Kong: A fistful of quarters, Billy stated,
There are several negative stereotypes associated with video games and those who play them; some of these may often hold true. However, there are plenty of learning opportunities in video games. While the direct purpose of some games is to educate or train, other games that do not directly have this purpose can still become a learning experience for the player. As Ntiedo Etuk, president of the educational video game company Tabula Digital said, “The traditional view of video games has been that they are distractions from the task of learning” (Electronic Education Report 1). Video games are an effective tool for learning and retaining skills both inside and outside the classroom environment. The basic cycle of game play--the introduction to the game, game play, collaboration, improvement of these between each round, and evaluation at the end of the game (Klievink and Janssen 159)--are nearly parallel to the traditional classroom learning cycle of reading a textbook or listening to a lecture, taking a quiz, studying, focusing on items missed on the quiz, and taking a test or exam. Within this cycle, there are many opportunities to develop and perfect both educational, life, and occupational skills.
Computer programming can be a gateway job to many other interesting jobs. Programmers work in a wide variety of industries (Career Cruising). Programming can lead to making software for hospitals, banks, or even schools. But a very popular job for programmers is being part of a game development team. Programming can also lead to working for big companies like Google or Yahoo.