Game tester is the dream job of many gamers. But, this is not an easy job, as it may seem to be. To become a game tester one need have determination and patience along with the knowledge of highly technical skills.
To become a video game tester, the first thing you need to do is to get over with the myths and fantasies. Many gamers are under the impression that a game tester’s job is to just play the games and which is like a fairy tale job for them. But this is not the case.
Game testers are not paid to just sit and simply play the newest games. It is correct to say that they get to play the newest and the most advanced games before any one else. They have to play the game and search for bugs and program errors before it is marketed out to the public. Any normal player can hardly find these errors.
Game testers play a very vital role to game manufacturers because the company just cannot make and release games that contain lots of program errors and bugs. And if they do so, nobody will play their games, which will be a complete loss to the company. And this loss will not be a small amount. Companies invest millions of dollar just for one game.
Basically, the game testing is done on a personal computer, a PlayStation, Xbox and so on. The job of a game tester is to play the game and try to find the bugs or errors, if there is any. And if there is any bug or error, he or she has to report it describing what happened, where it occurred and how it occurred. This way, the programmers can easily locate the bug or error and find a solution to remove it.
Generally, the game testers have to play the same game again and again for long hours and that too at the same level just to find out the location of the error. They also have to check the durability of the game disc through a series of tests like how much damage it can resist before becoming unresponsive and so on.
Usually for beginners, the game testers get payment around USD 10 –12 per hour only. An annual survey reports that testers earn around $39,063 per year but those who have experience over six year get around $43,056 per year. And if you are a top video game tester, you
can expect around $200,000 per year. Some employers even offer extra payments to the tester for the number of bugs he finds.
As video game industry is growing day by day, the requirement for game testers is also increasing. So, one can easily get a job as game tester if he or she is really good in it.
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