Post by: The Omen on March 06, 2005, 07:47:47 AM
Best. Job. Ever.
Post by: KnowsNothing on March 06, 2005, 08:39:38 AM
Post by: Ms.Pikmin on March 06, 2005, 08:46:07 AM
Post by: Hostile Creation on March 06, 2005, 08:51:19 AM
That is pretty cool (except for it being EA). Test playing video games would be awesome.
Post by: 09n on March 06, 2005, 09:01:05 AM
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on March 06, 2005, 12:02:48 PM
Quote
Originally posted by: The Omen
I am now an employee with the evil empire, EA. I am a gametester.
Best. Job. Ever.
Careful there. My friend was a EA tester for a few years between the N64-GCN transition years (haven't heard from him in recent years, tho), and he was the testing team leader for The World is Not Enough (N64). Be prepared to sleep there on mandatory overtime and all that other jazz.
Post by: The Omen on March 06, 2005, 12:47:44 PM
Post by: The Omen on March 06, 2005, 12:49:57 PM
Quote
Not only would it be awsome but you would make a decent buck on the side leaking what you've seen to the press. Oh and don't forget to keep us in the loop.
I believe if caught, I would be stoned to death...at least that's what the papers I signed said.
Post by: S-U-P-E-R on March 06, 2005, 06:40:21 PM
Post by: Ian Sane on March 06, 2005, 08:07:06 PM
Psst. They're going to release another Madden game. Don't tell anyone or I'll get fired.
Post by: KDR_11k on March 07, 2005, 12:57:10 AM
Man, why is everyone working for EA or Ubi these days? The world will become really boring once EA completely assimilates Ubi...
Post by: The Omen on March 07, 2005, 02:10:40 AM
Quote
Psst. They're going to release another Madden game. Don't tell anyone or I'll get fired.
Psst. We're all aware of your football and EA hatred.
Actually, they are not resting on their laurels, which they could easily do. I am somewhat shocked, truthfully.
Post by: vudu on March 07, 2005, 07:37:37 AM
QuoteBy all, do you mean everyone at the PGC forums, or everyone at EA? Because I think it would be really funny if EA had a file on Ian.
Psst. We're all aware of your football and EA hatred.
BTW, if you haven't already, you should check out this thread. Another poster here is a tester for EA. Maybe you two can swap stories.
Post by: KDR_11k on March 07, 2005, 07:59:44 AM
Post by: 09n on March 08, 2005, 07:31:35 AM
Oh well practise makes perfect. =D
Post by: KDR_11k on March 08, 2005, 07:46:18 AM
However, game testing is by far not the dream job some gamers might think it is. There's a difference between playing a game for fun and playing a game in order to find flaws. And there's a difference between playing for two hours in the evening and being in crunch mode for months (or years if you get into a company as awful as 3do), barely sleep or eat and basically lose all social life. Crunch time is soul devouring and some even die as a result of the stress.
Post by: vudu on March 08, 2005, 07:56:21 AM
Post by: nickmitch on March 08, 2005, 01:36:45 PM
Post by: Mario on March 08, 2005, 07:54:30 PM
Quote
Actually, they are not resting on their laurels, which they could easily do. I am somewhat shocked, truthfully.
EA cooking up something innovative? John Madden in NBA Street 4?
Post by: KDR_11k on March 08, 2005, 09:24:04 PM
Post by: The Omen on March 09, 2005, 02:12:23 PM
Quote
However, game testing is by far not the dream job some gamers might think it is. There's a difference between playing a game for fun and playing a game in order to find flaws. And there's a difference between playing for two hours in the evening and being in crunch mode for months (or years if you get into a company as awful as 3do), barely sleep or eat and basically lose all social life. Crunch time is soul devouring and some even die as a result of the stress.
It is not a dream job, but I'll tell you that we do in fact play games a lot of the time. I'll put it like this: There are areas of expertise. I was put into Multiplayer gameplay for Madden. My job is to test the online modes for PS2 and the offline multiplayer. How do you think we test? By playing the actual games. Granted, if I see a bug, I have to concentrate on reproducing it which can get repetitive. But it's kind of like being a detective-it actually fun to find the many intricate steps that caused a crash. All in all it's really a loose, fun atmosphere. And we were all warned about the crunch time in the interview, so you are either down with it from the jump, or you just don't take the job.
Quote
kingvudu: Bad, with all the overtime (of course unpaid, noone, not EA, not Ubi, not Nintendo pays for overtime) you effectively end up with less than minimum wage. Entry dev positions are 30-40k in most places, up to 50-60k in the most expensive areas (SoCal is often mentioned here).
KingVudu: We get overtime
But the hourly wage sucks. You take this job with the goal of moving up..which from what I see can be expediant.Quote
You don't need to be the best player, you need to be able to find bugs. In fact, if you're close to the casual gamer audience they'll want your feedback to make the game appeal to the casuals more.
So true. There are people from my training class that know nothing about the game they're testing, let alone being good at it. They (EA) kind of want that viewpoint as well.
If anyone considers themselves completist's, I would definately say you're right for the job. If you must have every star , every coin, get every Madden card or beat every challenge in Timesplitters 2, go for it.
Post by: vudu on March 10, 2005, 08:41:17 AM
QuoteAre you interested in moving up? What can you move up to? I mean, is it possible to work your way up to a programmer, writer, directer, producer, etc?
You take this job with the goal of moving up.
What was your major in school, if you don't mind me asking? I thought I remember you telling me you were writing a script for a movie once (it was during an argument; about what, I can't remember).
Post by: KDR_11k on March 11, 2005, 03:48:59 AM
Post by: The Omen on March 11, 2005, 01:44:33 PM
Quote
You take this job with the goal of moving up.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Are you interested in moving up? What can you move up to? I mean, is it possible to work your way up to a programmer, writer, directer, producer, etc?
What was your major in school, if you don't mind me asking? I thought I remember you telling me you were writing a script for a movie once (it was during an argument; about what, I can't remember).
What I meant was , you don't take this job to pay bills and live on. It's just not enough money, unless you have another profession that pays. You take it for love of games and while your at it, maybe moving up...which is absolutely possible. So I figure, while I'm here, might as well make the most of it. I write for a living, true, but the money is inconsistent to say the least... I am at the point, however , where I can take a low paying job I want that I think is enjoyable , rather than taking a higher paying job that makes me want to commit mass murder each and everyday. Hopefully this script I have bouncing around La La land right now will allow me to live care free, as is the plan. (Though one wonders if I could be any more carefree than I am
Quote
Tester -> Level (gameplay) Designer -> Game Designer. Without technical skills you're not getting an artist or coder position. Also note that these positions are exempt from EA's new overtime rule.
Who would want a coder position anyway? I'd assume someone with an interest in that area would only come to this position(gametester) if they have a background , i.e. degree, already. On another note, there are plenty of testers with computer animation skills that will have no problem gaining meaningful positions over time.
I took film in school, by the way. Film is my first passion...games second...so I'm doing a bit of one and a ton of the other. There has to be a payoff somewhere......?????????????????
