How to become a video game tester

The video game industry is now a huge industry that has surpassed the film industry in terms of total revenue it generates. It's hugely competitive with video game manufacturers vying to take advantage of this phenomenal growth, and as a result, there is a constant need for game testers and game designers.

The manufacturers use video game testers to gauge opinion for the purpose of quality testing.

Role of video game tester

Video game testers are used to test games to iron out any glitches and bugs in the production phase. This is to ensure the games are fully compatible and meets the criteria they have set before it is unleashed on to the general public.

Requirements to become computer game tester

Below are steps that a person can take to become a video game tester

A computer game tester has to have an aptitude to playing games. They are usually gaming fanatics who have experience of playing on all the major formats i.e. Playstation, Microsoft Xbox, PC games and others. It is not just a question of playing games well but knowing how to look for glitches. It therefore requires some technical know how.

Salary

The salary for a computer game tester is surprisingly good, especially to get paid to play games.. One can expect in the region of $35,000 for a full time job.

The tester has have excellent communication skills to get his opinion across both orally but also in written form.

Test different types of games

They also have experience of playing a wide variety of games such as RPG, sports, action/adventure, etc. however, even if you specialise in playing one type of game, they may still want to hire you as a tester, but the greater the variety of experience, greater the opportunity to test more games.

There aren't any real age barriers to become a video game tester as this is a very youth oriented market and manufacturers need the opinion of young people, who make up a large proportion their markets.

Someone as young as 14 can apply to test video games but more likely that they will ask for those that are at least 17/18 years of age.

The tester has to have excellent communication skills to get his opinion across both orally but also in written form.

Process of applying

Manufacturers will have their own recruitment policies. One of the best ways of finding opportunities that are available to become a video game tester is to look on the websites of video games manufacturers such as Codemasters, Electronic Arts and also key players such as Microsoft (Xbox), Sony, Nintendo. There are usually announcements on their sites.

Another way is to ask directly to their game testing department by email, phone or even by post.

To participate in computer game testing, the tester is usually required to test on-site. Some manufacturers may allow participants to test the games in their own homes as it may require long hours of play. The longer playtime will allow the video game testers to offer better opinion on the quality of the games.