Beta Testing Video Games

nehpets81

It might be a bit of a stab in the dark but does anyone know if companies pay for people to Beta test their games? Also, anyone know if you sign up with a company that finds beta test jobs or if you have to sign up with each games company (and if this is the case, is it the developers or publishers who handle it)?

relic

Not to beta test no, you can occassionally find temp jobs to QA test games at various developers but unless you already have experience it's pretty unlikely.

Don't trust any company which allows you to beta/QA test any games online, they're a load of rubbish.

A couple of years ago I got a job working through the night (as well as my full time job) as a QA tester, was hard work, boring, tedius and not that much fun (oh, and the pay sucks too).

Try careerpowerups for local jobs in game development.

mitch161

Beta testing is more for the pre-release testing done for fun by fans. a few companies have been known to give away free demos or microsoft points if bugs are found which developers have missed/skipped as a thankyou.

but to be a developer/system tester you pretty much have to work for the developing company.

i know someone that spent alot of time getting his name known and highlighted with EA but eventually they offered him the job. they even paid for him to move to france to work in their offices.

testing from home for a commission is unheard of as i know millions of gamers would have already taken up the oppertunity.

plus proper testing is very mundane job. you cant just play the game as you want. you will be just given a section of a game a level or a zone/room and have to spend hours jumping on the spot in every step you make. shoot every angle in every direction from every spot. press every button imaginable. trust me it gets mundane when u have to jump shoot 500 times then take one step and repeat process again.

it makes your love of gaming disapear. and when you start playing games for social activity you lose the enjoyment knowing how they work.

for instance learning that in resident evil even if the background music starts getting louder where normally ud start running faster or shooting more in fear of death, you learn that you can still take your time and walk around the zombies. you lose respect for the games once you learn all the work-arounds to avoid getting eaten. the adrenalin excitement disapears and ruins the fun of gaming forever

nehpets81

Thanks for that guys, I guess I'll go back to the drawing board then as this sounds like a non starter - I don't have any developing experience and I'm a bit old I think for what sounds like an entry level QA position - plus that sounds completely soul destroying! And Beta testing for money obviously doesn't exisit, I heard that the new Gears of War had millions of beta testers, so these people are all doing it for free I guess. If it is this thorough, I wonder how so many bugs slip through the net...

spadoosh

I had a go on the gears beta.... was awesome love it. Think your maybe being a bit ambitious wanting to get paid to test beta's id almost certainly do it for free on most games as would alot of others. And as for proper game testing i could imagine how tedious it would be especially if it was a game you had no interest in. Think you should do what i do, put a couple of quid on euros on a friday night n hope one day that will be your wage whilst you rinse all day! Untill then deal with the 9-5 and shoot !!!!!! when i can!

mitch161

beta-testing is less of the bug testing of the game, but more of gauging game quality. basically if gamers love the game or not.

also especially for online games by having millions of testers it allows the developer pre-release experience of whether their servers can take the strain.

bugs can happen, but they are very few and far between. developers use this as their marketing ploy to get attention on the game and to drum up publicity through word of mouth,

beta testing is the new social media for marketing. the actual testing of it is a side issue not the main aim.

well thats what i have found anyways

nehpets81

mitch161 wrote: »

beta testing is the new social media for marketing. the actual testing of it is a side issue not the main aim.

well thats what i have found anyways

Hadn't thought of it like that, but it makes sense tho. Do you tend to get a free copy of the game?